Lynn Strait
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| Lynn Strait | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal, Funk Metal, Punk |
| Years active | 1990s |
James Lynn Strait (August 7, 1968 – December 11, 1998) was the lead singer and lyricist for the metal/punk band, Snot, which broke up after his death in a car accident on December 11, 1998.
[edit] Life and work
Strait was born in Manhasset, New York, but moved to Santa Barbara as a teen and immediately embraced the SoCal punk scene. Prior to his work with Snot, Strait had never sung in a band. "I always wanted to because it seemed like a lot of fun. But I wasn't into what most bands were playing"[citation needed]. Starting from scratch was an advantage for Strait: "There's nobody to emulate. I won't say what I do is groundbreaking, but some of it is original; there are weird patterns in my vocals, because I got to make up my style as I went along"[citation needed].
Strait, who also served as the band's lyricist, started the nu metal genre early in the 90s along with fellow nu metalers Human Waste Project, Deftones and Korn. He also appeared as a guest on Tura Satana's song 'Down', a duet with friend Tairrie B on Manhole/Tura Satana's first album.
Landing a record contract was a dream come true for some of his mates, but Strait was underwhelmed by the development. His response: "Yeah, now I can order cheese on my Whopper"[citation needed]. While his bandmates were signing the contracts, Strait was completing a month long sentence in County Jail, where he had spent a year in the early 1990s.
[edit] Death and legacy
According to California Highway Patrol reports, Lynn Strait was traveling from Santa Barbara, CA to Los Angeles and became involved in a six-car crash. The crash occurred on a highway off-ramp. Only one other driver, David Redderson, was injured in the crash and he was quickly released from Saint Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara. Also killed in the accident was Strait's dog, Dobbs, who graced the cover of the band's 1997 Geffen debut album, Get Some and served as the group's mascot.
The band My Ruin fronted by Tairrie B paid tribute to him with a song called "Rockstar". The Band NOFX mentions Lynn in their song 'Doornails' in which they pay tribute to deceased punk band members.
The band Sevendust also paid tribute to Strait with the song "Angel's Son". The song appeared frequently on rock radio.
On August 7, 1999, on a move begun by loudside.com and discovered and hyped by soulfly.com and then mtv.com, fans were encouraged to buy copies of Snot's debut CD Get Some in an attempt to cause a jump in the charts on what would have been Lynn's 31st birthday.
As a tribute to the fallen rocker, a CD entitled Strait Up was released on November 7, 2000 on Virgin records. Compiled with the help of members of Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Sevendust, (hed) p.e., Coal Chamber, Sugar Ray, System of a Down, Soulfly, Incubus, Ozzy Ozbourne, and others, the CD contained tributes to Lynn Strait with backing from the remaining band. Also on the record was a remixed version of Lynn Strait's last recording with the band Snot, a song entitled "Absent," the original version of which was included on the Strangeland soundtrack.
