Reunited SNOT To Play First Show In Five Years Next Month

Reunited legendary Santa Barbara metal/punk rock hybrid SNOT — featuring vocalist Tommy "Vext" Cummings (ex-DIVINE HERESY) — will play its first show in five years on February 11 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Proceeds from the event will go to SFG12, which offers uniquely curtailed financial and spiritual assistance programs to artists in, or seeking, recovery.

Cummings fronted SNOT in 2008-2009 before he and guitarist Sonny Mayo exited the group amid "strained relationships."

SNOT played its first show in 10 years on August 20, 2008 at Velvet Jones on State St. in Santa Barbara.

SNOT disbanded in 1998 following the death of the group's lead singer, Lynn Strait. Lynn died in a car accident in December 1998, putting an end to a career that generated considerable promise but only one studio album, the 1997 Geffen Records release "Get Some". Also killed was the band's mascot Dobbs, Strait's dog who adorned the cover of SNOT's debut album. The band had been writing material for its sophomore CD and had completed 10 songs at the time of Strait's tragic passing. As a memorial to Strait, SNOT eventually decided to release those tracks, with lyrics and guest vocals provided by a host of stars from the alt-metal community. The resulting album, "Strait Up", was a fitting tribute from Strait's peers and friends, featuring members of LIMP BIZKIT, KORN, SLIPKNOT, SEVENDUST, (HED) P.E., COAL CHAMBER, SUGAR RAY, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SOULFLY, and more.

Four sober musicians — Clint Lowery (SEVENDUST),Tommy Vext, Wes Geer (KORN) and Jeff Fabb (FILTER) — met coincidentally backstage during the Music As A Weapon U.S. arena tour in February 2011. Finding solace in each other's struggles to overcome addiction, the musicians began holding daily backstage meetings to support one another's sobriety throughout the tour. Over time, their simple meeting blossomed into a strong brotherhood, or sober safety net, that they fondly named the St. Francis Group (SFG).

Eighteen months later, during the summer of 2012, a fellow sober musician, Sony recording artist and friend was wrongfully accused of manslaughter and imprisoned in a Czech Republic penitentiary. In an attempt to help his dear friend, Tommy rallied the SFG fellowship and additional members of the sober entertainment community to deliver positive messages of recovery during his terrifying two-month incarceration. Tommy started a powerful and widespread email chain to help his dear friend to read while in prison. Like the coincidental founding of the SFG, this email meeting was the beginning of something great.

SNOT live in Santa Barbara, California - August 2008: