Glenn Michael Lockett (July 1, 1951 – March 4, 2023), better known as Spot, was an American record producer best known for being the house producer and engineer for the influential independent punk record label SST Records.[1] He styled his name SPʘT, using all capital letters and adding a dot inside the O.[2]
Spot | |
|---|---|
 Spot on roller skates with Easy Reader in 1979 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Glenn Michael Lockett |
| Born | July 1, 1951 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 2023 (aged 71) Sheboygan, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Record producer |
| Years active | 1977–2022 |
| Labels | SST |
| Formerly of | Panic |
| Website | spotinator.com (archived copy) |
Early life
editGlenn Michael Lockett was born in the Los Angeles area to a white mother (maiden name Katz) and an African-American father on July 1, 1951.[3] With his older sister Cynthia, he was raised in upper-middle-class Hollywood.[3] Lockett's father Claybourne, known as Buddy to his soldier friends, had been a fighter pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron in WW II,[4] an all-Black formation that was part of the Tuskegee Airmen.[5] Lockett moved from Hollywood to Hermosa Beach in the mid-1970s, where he met Greg Ginn while working at a vegetarian restaurant called Garden of Eden.[5] Lockett also freelanced for Easy Reader, authoring record reviews under the name Spot.[5][6]
Befriending Ginn, Spot was briefly bassist for Panic, the band which would soon become Black Flag.[5]
Career
editSpot recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1986. He is credited on albums by such notable bands as Black Flag,[1] Minutemen,[1] Meat Puppets,[1] Hüsker Dü,[1] Saint Vitus,[1] Misfits, and Descendents.[1] After leaving SST in 1986, Spot moved to Austin, Texas.[1]
Spot was an accomplished photographer[1] and published a book of his work titled Sounds of Two Eyes Opening.[7] In 2018, a gallery showing of his photographs was mounted at Pacific Coast Gallery in Hermosa Beach.[6]
Production and engineering discography
edit- Black Flag - Jealous Again EP (August 1980)[2]
- Descendents - Fat EP (1981)
- Black Flag - Six Pack EP (June 1981)
- Minutemen - The Punch Line EP (November 1981)[2]
- Black Flag - Damaged (December 1981)[2]
- Saccharine Trust - Paganicons (December 1981)
- Big Boys - Fun, Fun, Fun (July 1982)
- Descendents - Milo Goes to College (September 1982)[2]
- Minutemen - Bean-Spill EP (1982)
- Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets (1982)
- Hüsker Dü - Everything Falls Apart (January 1983)[8]
- Minutemen - What Makes a Man Start Fires? (January 1983)[2]
- Big Boys - Lullabies Help The Brain Grow (July 1983)
- Hüsker Dü - Metal Circus (October 1983)[8]
- Minutemen - Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat EP (November 1983)[2]
- Misfits - Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (December 1983)[2]
- Saint Vitus - Saint Vitus (January 1984)[2]
- Black Flag - My War (March 1984)[2]
- Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II (April 1984)[9]
- Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (July 1984)[2]
- Black Flag - Family Man (September 1984)
- Black Flag - Slip It In (December 1984)
- Saccharine Trust - Surviving You, Always (1984)[9]
- Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising (January 1985)
- Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun (March 1985)[8]
- Saint Vitus - Hallow's Victim (August 1985)
- Saint Vitus - The Walking Dead EP (October 1985)
- The Crucifucks - The Crucifucks (1985)
Death
editSpot died on March 4, 2023, at Morningside Healthcare in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he was recovering from a stroke he had suffered three months earlier. He had been suffering from fibrosis since late 2021 and was awaiting a lung transplant prior to his stroke.[2][10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Backer, Sam (November 9, 2018). "Behind the Sound Of American Punk". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Corcoran, Nina (March 4, 2023). "SST Records Producer Glen "SPOT" Lockett Dies at 72". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Earles, Andrew (November 18, 2010). Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-pop Pioneers who Launched Modern Rock. Voyageur Press. pp. 88–. ISBN 9780760335048. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ Holway, John (2000). Red Tail, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force. Yucca Tree Press. p. 166. ISBN 9781881325437.
- ^ a b c d Chick, Stevie (2011). Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag. PM Press. pp. 33-36. ISBN 978-1-60486-418-2.
- ^ a b McDonald, Ryan (September 28, 2018). "Spot On: Exhibit of photos of South Bay from '70s and '80s highlights other side of legendary SST Records producer". Easy Reader. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Cosgrove, Ben (November 24, 2014). "Edge of the World: Photos of SoCal's Skate, Beach and Punk Scenes, 1969 – 1982". Time. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ a b c Brodsky, Rachel (March 4, 2023). "Glen "SPOT" Lockett, Hardcore Producer, Dead At 72". Stereogum. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Sebastian, Matt (March 4, 2023). "SPOT — SST Records' producer for Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü and more — has died". Slicing Up Eyeballs. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Alex (March 11, 2023). "Spot, Record Producer Who Captured the Fury of 1980s Punk, Dies at 71". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
External links
edit- SPOT's video and introduction to his Pacific Coast Gallery photography exhibition, "Ride the Wild Wheels"
- SPOT's photography collection from "Ride the Wild Wheels" at Pacific Coast Gallery (music, skate, rollerskate, surf and beach life photography)
- Spot's official website
- Spot's MySpace page
- Spot discography at Discogs
- Spot at IMDb