"The whole idea behind Spastic Children was to get drunk, play the wrong instruments and generally mess around."
Spastik Children was founded by Fred Cotton, James McDaniel and Rich “Jumbo” Sielert (of Pillage Sunday). Sielert, the drummer, was later replaced by Metallica’s James Hetfield. Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett and later Jason Newsted were also band members. “Big” Jim Martin, of Faith No More and a friend of Hetfield and Burton, appeared on some occasions. Spastik Children allowed the members of Metallica to have fun and explore a less serious side of their musical talents, as well as to drink heavily, wear odd clothing (wearing their hair in long braids while wearing tennis-style headbands, for example) and make fools of themselves in public. The band performed only in clubs and bars in Northern California. Their music was a raw punk style, generally performed with little or no rehearsal.SOME OF THE MEMBERS THROUGH THE YEARS ...
Fred “Mad” Cotton alias “Johnny Problem”- lead vocals
James Hetfield alias “Bobby Brady” - drums & vocals
Cliff Burton - bass & vocals
Jim Martin - guitar & vocals
James “Flunky” McDaniel alias “Slucky McDonald”- guitar
Kirk Hammett - bass Jason Newsted - bass, vocals
Paul Baloff - vocals
Gary Holt - guitar
Doug Piercy - guitar
YouTube Uploader: Here's 22 minutes of pure chaos from Wayne VanderKuil's collection. This show is a totally different level of chaos compared to the other Spastik Children shows in early 1986. This is the first without Cliff(Burt Dammit on Bass), it was a house party, and people are clearly having a good time. I heard that potato guns were involved as well. Thanks for getting this one documented, Wayne!