Flotsam and Jetsam Artistfacts

Flotsam & Jetsam Artistfacts

1981-
Eric A. 'A.K.' KnutsonVocals1983-
Ed CarlsonGuitar1983-2013
Kelly David-SmithDrums1981-1997, 2011-2014
Jason NewstedBass1982-1986
Michael GilbertGuitar1985-1997, 2010-
Jason WardBass1991-2012
Michael SpencerBass1986–1987, 2013–2020
Steve ConleyGuitar2013-
Jason BittnerDrums2014-2017
Ken MaryDrums2017-
Bill BodilyBass2020-
Before agreeing on the name "Flotsam and Jetsam," some names utilized by early line-ups of the band included Paradox, Dredlox, and Dogz.
The early '80s was a time where seemingly every Heavy Metal band had their own spooky "mascot" (Iron Maiden's Eddie, Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead, Mötley Crüe's Allister Fiend, S.O.D.'s Sgt. D, etc.). Flotsam and Jetsam's contribution was "Flotzilla," which adjourns their debut album, Doomsday for the Deceiver.
Early on, Jason Newsted was largely responsible for Flotsam's songwriting, as he co-wrote the music for all of Doomsday, and solely wrote the lyrics to seven of the album's ten tracks (while co-writing the other three).
It was the head of Metal Blade Records, Brian Slagel, who suggested to Metallica that they should try out Jason Newsted for the group's vacated bass position, after the death of Cliff Burton.
Eric A. 'A.K.' Knutson's son, Creighton Fraker, was a contestant on American Idol in the show's 2012 season. Fraker was adopted as a baby, and discovered at the age of 25 that his biological father was Knutson.
Although out of Flotsam and Jetsam for well over two decades, Jason Newsted returned to the band for a jam session in 2012. Michael Gilbert told Songfacts: "It was phenomenal. We played with a few other bass players and the fullness that he brought to the band, I mean, it's just his own style of playing and the chemistry between the members, it never left. 20 years later, it took us maybe into the first verse of the first song that we played, and everybody was like, 'Oh, yeah, that is still there'."
While writing and demoing the title track of Flotsam's 2013 release, Ugly Noise, Michael Gilbert recounted to Songfacts that he experienced an unwelcome interruption. "My power goes out. I mean, everything in my house. I'm like, 'What the heck?' So I go outside and nobody else's lights are off, but these kids are just taking off down the street. These kids broke into my power box and pulled all my breakers! So I chased them down, gave them a good scare, and came back and finished writing that song."

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