The Mentors
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| The Mentors | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seattle, WA / Los Angeles, CA |
| Genre(s) | Shock rock, crossover thrash, heavy metal, punk rock, "rape rock" |
| Years active | 1976— 1997, 2000-present |
| Label(s) | Mentor Records, Mystic, Metal Blade, Ever Rat |
| Website | Church of El Duce |
| Members | |
| Sickie Wifebeater Dr. Heathen Scum Marc De Leon Moosedick Sickie J. |
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| Former members | |
| El Duce (deceased) | |
The Mentors are a shock rock band, whose music stylistically has swayed over the years from garage metal to hardcore punk rock to experimental thrash jam, that formed in 1976 at Seattle, then moved to Los Angeles in 1979. They billed themselves as the inventors of what they called "rape rock:" early 1970s style heavy metal-punk fusion with extremely sexist lyrics. They had a very small, but dedicated cult following in Seattle, playing gigs at Seattle's first punk venues, such as The Bird and The Funhole.[citation needed] The death of their drummer and lead singer, Eldon Hoke (aka El Duce), caused a significant decline in their already limited popularity, but, with the advent in recent years of the proliferation of independently produced music over the internet, the band has found a new fan base with many more members than the original three: Eldon Hoke, Eric Carlson ("Sickie Wifebeater"), and Steve Broy ("Dr. Heathen Scum"). To date, Broy and Carlson are the only living founding members, and continue to play alongside additional members Clark Johnson ("Moosedick"), Marc DeLeon ("Mad Dog," "Marc Duce") "El Rapo," and "Sickie Jr."
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[edit] History
Little information is available regarding the band's early history, as the only member to ever give an interview is bassist Steve Broy, aka Dr. (occasionally Pope) Heathen Scum. It is known[1] that the original members, Carlson, Broy, and Hoke attended Roosevelt High School together in Seattle, Washington, and began experimenting together with crude protopunk and primitive metalcore rock.
Broy, Carlson, and Hoke decided to form a band together, and the newly christened Mentors began to tour the Northwest, playing shows with their trademark executioner hoods and bawdy lyrics. Soon, the group gained the attention of Mystic Records, through whom they released their first EP, The Trash Bag, in 1982. The group's first live album, Live at the Whiskey/Cathey de Grande, came out the following year. They also released their debut studio LP, You Axed For It!, in 1985. During this time, drummer and lead singer El Duce became the unofficial "spokesperson" for the band, making a controversial appearance on The Jerry Springer Show, alongside fellow metal band GWAR, who voiced criticism of Hoke's band, beliefs, and public image. [2] Through his lyrics and public appearances, Hoke expressed his contempt for such popular metal bands as Motley Crue and Black Sabbath for being "sissies and homosexuals," meaning that he felt they were afraid of being too offensive. In another controversial interview, this time on Hot Seat with Wally George, Hoke infamously claimed that "we [referring to The Mentors and their fans] want rape rock!" This term would eventually come into use by similar shock rock bands such as The MILFHunters [3] and The Murder Junkies.
In 1989, The Mentors released their third album, Sex Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll, which featured several low-fidelity re-recordings of previous songs, with live crowd banter interspersed between to create the impression that the album was recorded live. This album caught the attention of the hard rock band Revolting Cocks, who invited The Mentors on tour with them.[4] It was during this time that El Duce first made his controversial statement that Courtney Love had offered him $10,000 to kill her husband Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994. Love never formally addressed this claim. It was three years later that Hoke was killed by a train while walking on the tracks intoxicated.
Prior to the time of Hoke's death, drummer Clark "Moosedick" Johnson began filling in for Hoke at live shows, as his alcoholism had made it difficult for him to play drums and sing simultaneously. After vocalist El Rapo (no real name known) took over for Hoke, Moosedick stayed with the band, and continues to play drums alongside additional drummer Marc "Mad Dog" DeLeon, who was formerly the drummer of a Mentors tribute band (the "Northwest Breeders") that guitarist Eric Carlson saw perform at a club. As of July 2009, the band is finishing work on their "comeback" album, Duceifixion.
[edit] Group members
Original members
- El Duce (Eldon Hoke) — drums, lead vocals
- Sickie Wifebeater (Eric Carlson) — lead guitar
- Dr. Heathen Scum (Steve Broy) — bass guitar
Current members
- Sickie Wifebeater - lead guitar
- Pope Heathen Scum - bass guitar
- Mad Dog (Marc Deleon)- vocals, drums
- Moosedick - drums
- Sickie Jr. - rhythm guitar
[edit] Discography
- Get Up and Die (1981 Mystic Records)
- Live at the Whiskey/Cathey de Grande (1981 Mystic Records)
- You Axed For It! (1985 Metal Blade/Death Records)
- Up the Dose (1986 Metal Blade/Death Records)
- Sex Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1989 Ever Rat Records)
- Rock Bible (1990 Mentor Records)
- To The Max (1991 Mentor Records)
- Over The Top (2005 Mentor Records)
[edit] Videography
- Get Up and Die (1983)
- Mentors Fuck Movie (1987)
- A Piece Of Sinema (1990)
- The Wretched World of The Mentors (1990)
- Mentors Tour De Max '91 (1991)
- El Duce, The Man. The Myth. The Video. (1993)
- Mentors - El Duce Vita DVD (2007)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Mentors Offical Website
- The Church Of El Duce
- The Mentors' Myspace
- Reverend Cuntbag's Mentors Site
- El Duce's Myspace
- The Mentors @ The Metal Archives
- Wanker Records
- The Mantors Bakersfield
- Rape Rock .net
- The Mantors' Myspace
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