Snot (band)

Snot is an American nu metal band from Santa Barbara, California. Formed in 1995, the band released their only studio album Get Some with founding vocalist Lynn Strait in 1997 and disbanded after his death in 1998. In 2008, the lineup of lead guitarist Mikey Doling, bassist John Fahnestock, drummer Jamie Miller and rhythm guitarist Sonny Mayo reunited. In 2009, a new band, Tons, was formed, with Brandon Espinosa as vocalist. Snot reformed again in 2014, followed by another hiatus in 2015. The band reunited again in 2024, with Andy Knapp as their vocalist.

History

Formation, Get Some and death of Lynn Strait (1995–1998)

The band was formed by singer Lynn Strait, the former bassist of a local punk band, Lethal Dose, and lead guitarist Mikey Doling, formerly of Kronix.<ref name="Anderson">Template:Cite web</ref> After building a strong following with performances in Los Angeles, Snot signed with Geffen Records, and began work on their debut album with producer T-Ray. The album, titled Get Some, was released on May 13, 1997.

The band performed on the 1998 Ozzfest tour. On July 9, 1998, Strait was arrested in Mansfield, Massachusetts, after emerging nude from the oversized toilet prop used by Limp Bizkit in their performances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The band began work on their second album. On December 11, 1998, Strait died in a car accident when a truck struck his car, killing him and his dog, Dobbs.<ref name="Anderson"/><ref name="Iannini">Template:Cite book</ref> The band disbanded following Strait's death, with Doling stating, "We can't go on without Lynn. It's just bullshit when bands do that."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Post-accident (1999–2007)

Because Strait had not recorded vocals for the album, it was decided that the album's vocal tracks would be completed by friends of Strait as a tribute. Strait Up, released on November 7, 2000, featured appearances by the lead vocalists of System of a Down, Korn, Hed PE, Soulfly, Incubus, Sevendust, Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber, Slipknot and Sugar Ray, among others. However Doling told the Life is Peachy podcast in 2021, that the instrumental tracks written for the sophomore Snot album did not form the basis for Strait Up and he wrote new music for Strait Up, with each vocalists individual style in mind.<ref name="Iannini"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A live album, Alive!, was released on July 30, 2002. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On April 5, 2007, the band reunited for a performance in Anaheim, California, with vocals performed by Invitro singer Jeff Weber.<ref name="blabbermouth">Template:Cite web</ref>

First reunion, Tons and breakup (2008–2011)

In 2008, the band reformed, with former Divine Heresy singer Tommy Vext on vocals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vext and Sonny Mayo left the band, and a new band, "Tons", was formed in 2009 with a new vocalist, Brandon Espinoza, formerly of Spineshank and minus knives. They recorded three new songs titled "Ability & Control", "1000 Ways of Pain" and "Fan the Flames"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> before members of the group moved on to new projects.

Second reunion (2014–present)

On February 11, 2014, Snot reunited again at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This second reunion lineup once again features Vext, Mayo, Doling, Fahnestock and Miller. They went on to play three more shows in the Southern California area before once again going quiet, although they poked at the possibility of another future U.S. tour. In August it was announced that Snot would be hitting the road once again, starting November 28 and going through December 22 all throughout the U.S. An international tour is coming in January/February. However, in October, vocalist Tommy Vext announced he had left the band to form his new band, Westfield Massacre, and that Snot already had a replacement vocalist (Carl Bensley) in place. For the European dates, Mike Smith would fill in for Sonny Mayo, who was going to be unable to tour due to business commitments.<ref name="teamrock.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

On September 29, 2024, after ten years of relative inactivity, Doling teased the return of Snot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The return was officially announced in November, with Mayo returning and a then unknown singer.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The singer was announced to not be either Vext or Bensley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Andy Knapp was formally introduced as the new singer, with his first show with the band on January 17, 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On April 25, 2025, Mayo left the band again ahead of their upcoming US tour to spend time with his family. Doc Coyle of God Forbid and formerly of Bad Wolves will step in for the upcoming shows. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On May 15, the band announced that former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin would fill in for Miller during their performance at that year's Welcome to Rockville, due to the latter touring with Bad Religion in Spain at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2025, it was announced that Snot had entered the studio to begin recording new music under producer Chris Collier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Musical style

Snot has been described as nu metal,<ref name="Iannini" /><ref name="mciver">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="BNW-snot">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="RATM and Snot">Template:Cite news</ref> hardcore punk,<ref name="Slipknot">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Loudwire">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> funk metal,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Loudwire" /> and alternative metal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Members

Current lineup

• Mikey Doling – lead guitar (1995–1998, 2008–2011, 2014–2015, 2024–present)
• John "Tumor" Fahnestock – bass (1995–1998, 2008–2011, 2014–2015, 2024–present)
• Jamie Miller – drums (1996–1998, 2008–2011, 2014–2015, 2024–present)
• Andy Knapp – vocals (2024–present)

Touring members

• Doc Coyle – rhythm guitar (2025–present)
• Shannon Larkin – drums (touring substitute 1998, 2025)

Former members

• Lynn Strait – vocals (1995–1998; died 1998)
• Ruben Gonzalez – bass (1995)
• BrentTemplate:Efn – drums (1995)<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
• Sonny Mayo – rhythm guitar (1995–1998, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, 2024–2025)
• James "Fed" Carrol – drums (1995–1996)
• Mike Smith – rhythm guitar (1998, 2015)<ref name="teamrock.com"/>
• Tommy Vext – vocals (2008–2009, 2014)
• Carl Bensley – vocals (2014–2015)

Timeline <timeline> ImageSize =width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea =left:100 bottom:90 top:10 right:15 Alignbars =justify DateFormat =mm/dd/yyyy Period =from:01/01/1995 till:05/01/2025 TimeAxis =orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend =orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1995 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995

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id:lguitar value:teal        legend:Lead_guitar
id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:bass    value:blue        legend:Bass
id:drums   value:orange      legend:Drums
id:studio  value:black       legend:Studio_album
id:live    value:gray(0.5)   legend:Other_release
id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

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bar:Lynn    text:"Lynn Strait"
bar:Vext    text:"Tommy Vext"
bar:Carl    text:"Carl Bensley"
bar:Andy    text:"Andy Knapp"
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bar:Sonny   text:"Sonny Mayo"
bar:Smith   text:"Mike Smith"
bar:Doc     text:"Doc Coyle"
bar:Ruben   text:"Ruben Gonzalez"
bar:John    text:"John Fahnestock"
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bar:Jamie   text:"Jamie Miller"

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bar:Lynn     from:01/01/1995 till:12/11/1998 color:vocals
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bar:Vext     from:02/11/2014 till:10/11/2014 color:vocals
bar:Carl     from:10/11/2014 till:12/15/2015        color:vocals 
bar:Andy     from:12/01/2024 till:end        color:vocals 
bar:Doling   from:01/01/1995 till:12/12/1998 color:lguitar
bar:Doling   from:01/01/1995 till:08/02/1995 color:rguitar width:3
bar:Doling   from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2011 color:lguitar
bar:Doling   from:07/01/2009 till:01/01/2011 color:rguitar width:3
bar:Doling   from:02/11/2014 till:12/15/2015        color:lguitar
bar:Doling   from:11/14/2024 till:end        color:lguitar
bar:Sonny    from:08/02/1995 till:05/12/1998 color:rguitar
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bar:Smith    from:01/20/2015 till:12/20/2015 color:rguitar
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bar:Sonny    from:02/11/2014 till:01/20/2015 color:rguitar
bar:Sonny    from:11/14/2024 till:04/24/2025 color:rguitar
bar:Doc       from:04/25/2025 till:end color:rguitar
bar:Ruben    from:01/01/1995 till:03/24/1995 color:bass
bar:John     from:03/24/1995 till:12/12/1998 color:bass
bar:John     from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2011 color:bass
bar:John     from:02/11/2014 till:12/15/2015        color:bass
bar:John     from:11/14/2024 till:end        color:bass
bar:Brent    from:01/01/1995 till:08/02/1995 color:drums
bar:James    from:08/02/1995 till:01/02/1996 color:drums
bar:Jamie    from:01/02/1996 till:12/12/1998 color:drums
bar:Jamie    from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2011 color:drums
bar:Jamie    from:02/11/2014 till:12/15/2015        color:drums
bar:Jamie    from:11/14/2024 till:end        color:drums

</timeline>

Discography

Studio albums

• Get Some (1997)
• Strait Up (2000)

Live albums

• Alive! (2002)

Demos

• Snot (1995)

External links

• Template:AllMusic