Seth Putnam
Seth Edward Putnam was an American musician who was the founder, vocalist and occasional guitarist of grindcore band Anal Cunt. He was known for his high-pitched screamed vocals and lyrics that either shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor. Throughout his career, Putnam was also involved in numerous side projects.
Biography
Early years
Putnam was born on May 15, 1968, in Newton, Massachusetts to father Edward R. Putnam and mother Barbara Ann Donohue. His parents are divorced. Seth was married to his first wife, Alison, from December 1998 through June 2001. He married Julie, his second wife, in 2008. In the mid-1980s, Putnam played bass in the thrash metal band Executioner.Personality
Despite his shock humor and turbulent lifestyle, Putnam was often described by fans and peers as a warm, intelligent, sensitive man. Putnam saw himself as a comedian and used music as an outlet.In school, classmates who knew Putnam described him as intelligent and stern, but unmotivated, apathetic and often an underwhelming student. Putnam skipped a grade in school and became a very bright student, tutoring his classmates. In his own words, Putnam often blamed brutal fights with Catholic school nuns for helping to shape his cynical personality. When he reached high school, he had lost interest in excelling in education or academics, becoming more of a slacker and underachiever. By the time he had graduated school, Putnam had left the Catholic religion in which he was raised. After graduation, Putnam showed no interest in attending college or university.
The 2019 grindcore documentary Slave to the Grind explores Putnam in detail, with his peers expressing the duality of his nature: former bandmates Tim Morse and Scott Hull describe Putnam often being personable and relaxed, but Hull also notes that he'd often get arrested causing trouble on the street. Discordance Axis singer Jon Chang notes that he was really close to Putnam for years, but describes him as a "really disturbed guy" and a "backstabbing piece of shit at the end of his life". Chang also recounted an incident
after a show when Putnam introduced his mother to Chang, he remarked that they had met earlier when he pulled Putnam's mother out from the show's moshpit, causing Putnam to become aggressive and threaten Chang, much to the confusion of everyone present.
Putnam was also good friends with Pantera frontman, Philip Anselmo.
Drug overdose and coma
On October 12, 2004, Putnam was hospitalized after ingesting a cocktail of crack cocaine, alcohol, heroin, and two months' worth of Ambien sleeping pills. It has been reported that he spent the previous day contemplating suicide, though exact circumstances surrounding the drug overdose are vague.Anal Cunt's 1997 album I Like It When You Die contained the track "You're in a Coma". Putnam's reaction to the resulting irony of being in a coma was published in the Boston Phoenix: "Actually, it turned out it was just as gay as the song I wrote nine years ago – being in a coma was just as fuckin' stupid as I wrote it was." Anal Cunt kept performing the song during live shows after the coma, with Putnam sharing anecdotes with the audience before the song.
Feud with Chris Barnes
There was friction between Putnam and Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes. According to Putnam's defunct website, Putnam heckled Barnes during a Six Feet Under set, leading to an altercation between the two, ending with Six Feet Under's roadies ganging up on Putnam while Barnes fled to his tour bus and hid there. Putnam released the song "Chris Barnes Is a Pussy" as retaliation to the incident. According to Putnam in an interview with Capital Chaos TV several years later, Six Feet Under went out of their way to avoid playing in the same city as Anal Cunt several years after the incident. Putnam stated "I guess he is still afraid of me". Despite the feud, Putnam stated that "Murdered in the Basement" was his favorite song by Six Feet Under.Death
On June 11, 2011, Putnam died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 43.Putnam's grave is located within Newton Cemetery in Newton, Massachusetts.
Side projects and former bands
Angry Hate
The idea of the band came up when Putnam and Larry Lifeless were drunk one night watching Jerry Springer and Larry said "That guy looks like he should be in an old punk band called Angry Hate or something". The first recording was in January 1999 of Larry hammering a fence against some lady's garage which was put on at the end of the song, "M.P." on the first release. That summer, they recorded four songs, all of which were old Sickness songs. "Blinking Blue Lights" was actually recorded by Kilslug, but never released. The other songs originally by the Sickness were never released. They made another E.P. called Bad Mood that had a certain amount of copies pressed but were never officially released. Putnam and Lee Suniga sold them on eBay. Angry Hate performed two live shows in March and April 2002.Satan's Warriors
Satan's Warriors started in February of 1986 after Putnam and his friends made up a fake death metal fanzine with fake band names as a joke. Putnam eventually admitted to doing it in April of that year. There was an opening for a band to play live over the radio, so Putnam got a lineup together and made a four-song demo with him on drums and vocals, and his cousin Drew on guitar. Their final show was in July 1988. They were supposed to get back together in 2003 and re-record some songs written between 1986 and 1988. The lineup was supposed to be with Putnam on guitar and vocals, Paulie Kraynak on second guitar, and John Gillis on drums.Impaled Northern Moonforest
In early 1997, Putnam and Josh Martin came up with the idea of starting a joke black metal band and decided to record a demo. They didn't use actual drums because someone was sleeping in the room next to them, so Martin played his acoustic guitar while Putnam did vocals and percussion by slapping his leg and a mattress. They did a few shows and sold copies of their first demo. The titles on the demo are different from the ones on the 7" vinyl release due to Putnam and Josh losing their copies of the demo and forgetting the titles.Shit Scum
Shit Scum formed in 1988 after Putnam saw an ad looking for musicians. Putnam chose to call after seeing Cryptic Slaughter as the only influence as not many people in Boston were into that band. Putnam eventually invited Fred Ordonez to see Satan's Warriors. Anal Cunt was also playing what was supposed to be their last show but Ordonez and his friends never showed up. Putnam did another show with Anal Cunt so Ordonez could see them, while Shit Scum also did their first show on the same day. Putnam was eventually invited to a studio to play bass on their first demo called "Self Mutilation". They later did a show in 1990; Putnam and Ordonez went to a studio that college rock bands mainly performed at. The engineer didn't like them and tried convincing them to quit. The record was eventually finished and they ended up owing the studio money so the studio kept the master reel. Anal Cunt did a tour in Germany and did some Shit Scum covers. Matthias Weigand liked the cover of the song "Shit Scum" and wanted to put out a 7". Putnam called the studio and asked about the reel. The guy on the phone said "it's right here, pick it up whenever you want", not knowing they owed money to the studio. Putnam mixed all the songs and sent them to Ecocentric Records. Ordonez never had a cover for the record so Weigand made one up. The record was eventually called "Manson Is Jesus". Ordonez wanted the record to be called "I Wish this Record Could Punch You in the Face", and have a fist on the cover. Shit Scum had already broken up by the time the album was released.Full Blown A.I.D.S.
Full Blown A.I.D.S. started in 1997 while Putnam was jamming with his friend and cousin. In 1998, he wrote some songs and recorded a demo of "No One Cares" with Nate Linehan on drums. In 2002 he moved to Texas for a while but eventually moved back to Boston. In 2003 the band went into the studio and recorded some songs and mixed them in a day. They eventually put out two EPs and a compilation CD in 2008, with both EPs and the song "Throwing Cars at People on Coke with Thor".Death's Head Quartet
The Death's Head Quartet was a Jazz/Noise improvisational band that featured Putnam on bass and vocals, Chris Joyce on guitar, Robert Williams on drums, and Jim Hobbs on saxophone. Their first release was called "Live on the Joint" which was a radio broadcast from November 1, 2001. Their second release was recorded on April 9, 2001 and wasn't released until 2003.Cuntsaw
Cuntsaw started in 1989 with Putnam on vocals and guitar and Tim Morse on drums. They usually practiced after Anal Cunt shows. They did one demo called "Concerned" and did one show at Brandeis University with Fred Ordonez on second guitar. They eventually broke up. The Anal Cunt Song "Foreplay With A Tree Shredder" was originally a Cuntsaw song that had a different title.You're Fired
You're Fired started in 2002. Within two months they had a nine-song demo recorded which eventually became the Warning E.P and was released in 2002. After Putnam passed away, they made an EP called "The End" with Paulie Kraynak on guitar. Most of the riffs were written by Putnam and the album was also recorded with Putnam's Gibson SG and Marshall amplifier that were also used on the Warning E.P. "The End" was released in 2012 on vinyl and it also can be purchased on BandCamp along with the Warning E.P.Pantera
In 1996, Putnam did guest vocals on Pantera's The Great Southern Trendkill for their songs "The Great Southern Trendkill", "War Nerve", "13 Steps to Nowhere", and "Suicide Note Pt. II".Adolf Satan
Adolf Satan started in 2002 after Upsidedown Cross broke up. Putnam played drums for the band for a brief period of time. He eventually quit and Nate Linehan joined. They recorded a demo in 2003 and eventually made a self-titled studio album. They recorded another demo in 2006 before breaking up two years later.- Upsidedown Cross
- Executioner
- Post Mortem
- Siege
P.O.D.D.A. (Pile of Drunks & Drug Addicts)