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 Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

record label

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

. He styled his name SPʘT, using all capital letters and adding a dot inside the O.

Early life

Glenn Michael Lockett was born in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area to a Jewish mother (maiden name Katz) and an African-American father on July 1, 1951. With his older sister Cynthia, he was raised in upper-middle-class Hollywood. Lockett's father Claybourne, known as Buddy to his soldier friends, had been a fighter pilot with the

100th Fighter Squadron The 100th Fighter Squadron (100 FS) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing located at Dannelly Field, Alabama. The 100th is equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. The 100th FS was one of the Tuskegee Airm ...

WW II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

, an all-Black formation that was part of the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

. Lockett moved from Hollywood to

Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Ba ...

in the mid-1970s, where he met

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn ( , born June 8, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to ...

while working at a vegetarian restaurant called Garden of Eden. Lockett also freelanced for ''

Easy Reader The ''Easy Reader'' is a weekly newspaper founded in 1970 and published every Thursday, being delivered to homes in Hermosa Beach, California, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, California, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach, California, Redondo B ...

'', authoring record reviews under the name Spot. Befriending Ginn, Spot was briefly bassist for Panic, the band which would soon become Black Flag.

Career

Spot 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,

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

Saint Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical ...

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

, and

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

. After leaving SST in 1986, Spot moved to Austin, Texas. Spot was an accomplished photographer and published a book of his work titled ''Sounds of Two Eyes Opening''. In 2018, a gallery showing of his photographs was mounted at Pacific Coast Gallery in Hermosa Beach.

Production and engineering discography

* Black Flag - ''

Jealous Again ''Jealous Again'' is the second EP by American hardcore punk band Black Flag, and the third-ever release on SST Records. History Although eventually released as a 12" 45 RPM extended-play, ''Jealous Again'' was initially intended to be Black Fl ...

'' EP (August 1980) *

- ''

Fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

'' EP (1981) * Black Flag - '' Six Pack'' EP (June 1981) *

- ''

The Punch Line ''The Punch Line'' is the debut studio album and third overall release by American punk rock band Minutemen, and the fourth-ever release from SST Records. After their previous release, ''Paranoid Time'', sold out its 300-copy pressing, Greg Ginn ...

'' EP (November 1981) * Black Flag - '' Damaged'' (December 1981) *

Saccharine Trust Saccharine Trust is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. However, Baiza descri ...

- '' Paganicons'' (December 1981) * Big Boys - ''Fun, Fun, Fun'' (July 1982) * Descendents - ''

Milo Goes to College ''Milo Goes to College'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Descendents, released on September 4, 1982 through New Alliance Records. Its title refers to singer Milo Aukerman's decision to leave the band to attend college, a ...

'' (September 1982) * Minutemen - ''

Bean-Spill ''Bean-Spill'' is the third extended-play single and (fourth release overall) by American hardcore punk band Minutemen, released in 1982 by Thermidor Records. Background The Minutemen's second LP, '' What Makes a Man Start Fires?'', was recorde ...

'' EP (1982) *

- ''

'' (1982) *

- ''

Everything Falls Apart ''Everything Falls Apart'' is the debut studio album by the American hardcore band Hüsker Dü. It was released in January 1983 through Reflex Records. Critical reception In a 1983 ''Trouser Press'' review, Jon Young said, "Yeah! Hyperspeed ...

'' (January 1983) * Minutemen - '' What Makes a Man Start Fires?'' (January 1983) * Big Boys - ''Lullabies Help The Brain Grow'' (July 1983) * Hüsker Dü - ''

Metal Circus ''Metal Circus'' is an EP by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in 1983 by SST Records. As one of their early records, it was largely rooted in the band's initial hardcore punk style. However, signs of a new, poppier influence emerge ...

'' (October 1983) * Minutemen - ''

Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat ''Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat'' is the fourth EP (and sixth overall release) by American hardcore punk band Minutemen, released by SST Records in November 1983. The EP is noted for featuring tracks with greater depth and more conven ...

'' EP (November 1983) *

- '' Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood'' (December 1983) *

- ''

'' (1984) * Black Flag - '' My War'' (March 1984) * Meat Puppets - '' Meat Puppets II'' (April 1984) * Hüsker Dü - ''

Zen Arcade ''Zen Arcade'' is the second studio album by American punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released in July 1984 on SST Records. Originally released as a double album on two vinyl LPs, ''Zen Arcade'' tells the story of a young boy who runs away from an u ...

'' (July 1984) * Black Flag - '' Family Man'' (September 1984) * Black Flag - ''

Slip It In ''Slip It In'' is the fourth studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag, released in 1984 by SST Records. ''Slip It In'' is an extension of the sound Black Flag utilized on its second album '' My War'': heavy, cathartic, intens ...

'' (December 1984) * Saccharine Trust - '' Surviving You, Always'' (1984) * Hüsker Dü - ''

New Day Rising ''New Day Rising'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Hüsker Dü. It was released in 1985 through SST Records. Musical style As with its predecessor, ''New Day Rising'' continued to deviate from the fast-paced hardcore p ...

'' (January 1985) * Meat Puppets - '' Up on the Sun'' (March 1985) * Saint Vitus - '' Hallow's Victim'' (August 1985) * Saint Vitus - '' The Walking Dead'' EP (October 1985) *

The Crucifucks The Crucifucks were an American punk band formed in 1981 in Lansing, Michigan. They were noted for their political agitation, provocative lyrics, and unusually shrill vocals by band leader Doc Corbin Dart. Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra s ...

- ''

'' (1985)

Death

Spot died on March 4, 2023, at Morningside Healthcare in

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...

, where he was recovering from a stroke he had suffered three months earlier. He had been suffering from

fibrosis Fibrosis, also known as fibrotic scarring, is the development of fibrous connective tissue in response to an injury. Fibrosis can be a normal connective tissue deposition or excessive tissue deposition caused by a disease. Repeated injuries, ch ...

since late 2021 and was awaiting a lung transplant prior to his stroke.

References

External links

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
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spot 1951 births 2023 deaths Record producers from California Black Flag (band) members American audio engineers American punk rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Hardcore punk musicians African-American record producers