Thanks, SPOT, for helping me along the way

(Photo by Bill Daniel)

By Andy

On a recent Saturday, a host of SST Records folks and band members attended and spoke at a memorial for SPOT at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach. Here's something I wrote about my brief time with SPOT:

There's no way you could get the ever-present SPOT out of your mind.

Of the copious times I skateboarded to the SST Records office on Phelan Avenue in Redondo Beach in 1982-83, the wild-eyed, jovial and bespectacled man was usually engaged in an engrossing conversation or booming through the door with voice raised and ready to tell a thrilling story.

SPOT was behind the recording console for so many killer sessions with astounding bands, so he was never at a loss for words. Just settle in, prick up your ears and you were whisked away to a zillion studios and amid a multitude of songs in which he placed his sturdy hands upon. He was the magic man of the punk rock scene.

When I gained confidence and piped up after listening to how SPOT could entertain the room, he loved my stories about playing trumpet in the grade-school band. I picked up guitar later and sang in a punk band, so I was surely influenced by SPOT's captivating stories of interacting with bands in the studios. 

Sometimes all you need is a little push to fire up your engine. Thanks, SPOT, for helping me along the way.

RIP