The Mentors
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The Mentors is a heavy metal band, who formed in 1976 in Seattle, then moved to Los Angeles in 1979. They billed themselves as the inventors of Rape Rock: early 1970s style heavy metal with extremely sexist lyrics. They had a very small, but dedicated cult following in Seattle, playing gigs at Seattle's first punk venue, the Bird, and at area biker bars. They performed a live act in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but the alcoholism and death of singer/drummer Eldon Hoke, better known as El Duce, caused them to slow down in the 1990s. On April 19, 1997, El Duce was hit by a train and was instantly killed on impact.
After a long hiatus, activity has started up again, and the band has put out new material with a renewed lineup.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
The Mentors were known outside of West Coast heavy metal and underground rock circles chiefly for their lyrics being cited by Tipper Gore during the Parents Music Resource Center hearings in Congress, and then being used by Frank Zappa on his "Mothers of Prevention" album. El Duce later appeared in Nick Broomfield's documentary about the death of Kurt Cobain, "Kurt and Courtney".
The Mentors are notorious for their songs that celebrate depraved sex acts and drug use. Their early fans were devoted to their more scatalogical and less detailed, but catchy tunes like "Four F Club" and "Golden Showers", in addition to their intense stage act. While their obscene lyrics ensured that their music would never be played on commercial radio, they eventually gained a larger cult following due to their raunchy, drunken, over-the-top live performances in Los Angeles nightclubs such as the Cathay de Grande, Gazzari's and the Whiskey a Go Go.
The Mentors' cult appeal translated to a large worldwide following, and the band started their own record company to release their music, Mentors Records. Their self-produced releases included Rock Bible and To The Max, as well as the El Duce solo projects, which include the Karaoke King series which featured Hoke singing karaoke and substituting dirty lyrics to classic songs such as "Little Surfer Girl" and "New York, New York". In the 1990s, they did a collaboration CD with Dutch heavy metal band Hammerhawk, called Mentorhawk. Also self-released were their videos, consisting mostly of dirty humor, interviews, and music videos.
The Mentors made a major comeback in 2005 with the album Over the Top produced by Bill Metoyer and Jack Endino (Nirvana's Bleach).
[edit] Group members
Original members:
- El Duce AKA Eldon Hoke — drums, lead vocals
- Sickie WifeBeater AKA Eric Carlson — guitar
- Dr. Heathen Scum AKA Steve Broy — bass
Additional members
- Moosedick AKA Clark Savage — drums (after El Duce)
- Ed Danky - bass (while Dr. Heathen Scum was in college)
- Jeff Dahl — bass (also while Heathen Scum was in college)
- "Zippy" — bass (after Dahl)
- Brian Gunter AKA Gumby - (backup vocals)
- Rick Lomas AKA Insect On Acid - backup vocals and drums on "Rock Bible" album
[edit] Discography
- Get Up and Die AKA The Trash Bag EP (1982 Mystic Records)
- Live at the Whiskey/Cathay de Grande (1983 Mystic Records)
- You Axed for It! (1985 Metal Blade Records)
- Up the Dose (1986 Metal Blade)
- Sex Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll (1989 Ever Rat Records)
- Up The Dose/You Axed For It! (1989 Metal Blade)
- Rock Bible (1990 Mentor Records)
- To the Max (1991 Mentor Records)
- Over The Top (2005 Mentor Records)
- "You Axed For It!" and "Up The Dose" were reissued with bonus tracks by the German record label, Maximum Metal in 1997.
- "The Get Up and Die EP" was reissued with a special 45 "Valu-Pack" in 1987 by Mystic
[edit] Videography
There have been numerous live, bootleg concert videos through out the years. These are their offical releases...
- Mentors Fuck Movie (1983)
- Get Up and Die (1983)
- 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 Legend. (1997)
