Electric Eels (band)
Encyclopedia
The electric eels were a protopunk
band active between 1972 and 1975. They formed in Cleveland
, Ohio
.
The electric eels played only five public shows, but during their brief existence they earned a reputation locally for being angry, confrontational, and violent. They were notorious for starting fights with audiences which drew police attention; members were also abusive to each other off-stage. Their style was a dischordant, noisy amalgam of hard garage rock and free jazz
that was generally considered to be very obnoxious. Stiv Bators
, the singer of The Dead Boys
was particularly influenced by the vocal styling and stage presence of Dave "E" McManus.
member), all ex-pupils of Lakewood High School, Lakewood, Ohio
, in 1972. The three had been to see a Captain Beefheart
gig and been unimpressed enough by the support band (Youngstown's Left End) to decide that they could do better themselves. Unlike other glam rock
groups of the era, Morton had also been influenced by free jazz
: "I remember listening to Ornette Coleman
, John Cale
, Sun Ra
and Albert Ayler
. That's what the eels was supposed to be, but we didn't really understand it." This had also led to early meetings with Peter Laughner
of Rocket from the Tombs
at the local record store.
The electric eels featured unconventional instrumentation initially, with no drummer nor anyone who was technically competent on any musical instruments. Their rare performances did feature at various times, sheet metal hit with sledgehammers, anvils, a power lawnmower and fist fights. This led to the description of their act as "art
terrorism
". Much of 1973 and 1974 was spent, mostly unsuccessfully, trying to get gigs in bars that normally booked top-40 covers bands in Cleveland and then Columbus
, where the band moved for some months. Morton has claimed that this move was caused by death threats he had received in Cleveland for sleeping with "one too many married women". When gigs did happen, promoters were known to pull them half way through. On their debut show the band were arrested by police for being drunk and disorderly. Morton resisted arrest and gained a broken hand, which caused him to play their next gig, three weeks later with an improvised splint made from a slide rule and a wrench.
Morton, in particular, had an inclination for violence that often led to physical fights and temporary splits in the band, or he and Dave E would go to a working-class bar and provoke a fight by dancing together as if a homosexual couple.
In late 1973 McMahon left the band, replaced by Paul Marotta, who was a competent musician on both guitar and keyboards. Drummers came and left during the history of the band, but bass guitar was always absent.
The deliberate provocation and controversy of the band also saw them use the Nazi imagery of the swastika
, Morton later claiming that this was influenced by William Burroughs and Lenny Bruce
: "That is something we wanted, to have that provocation, we wanted to confront those issues." In addition, controversial lyrics taken from American Nazi Party
racist literature were used in the song 'Spinach Blasters' (AKA 'Spin Age Blasters'). Marotta: "It was shock tactics, it was confrontational art, it was meant to be satire". This presaged the use of similar shock tactics and images by other punks in New York
and London
, such as Johnny Thunders
, Sid Vicious
and Siouxsie Sioux
.
Eventually the electric eels got a gig at a Cleveland venue which would support original music, The Viking Saloon's "Special Extermination Night" 22 December 1974 with Rocket from the Tombs
and Mirrors. This gig marked the public start of a new and unique Cleveland glam rock
scene. However the repeat event in January 1975 would see the eels banned from the last bar that would have them, due to their use on stage of a gas-powered lawnmower. This led to the departure from the band of Marotta.
After Marotta left the band, Brian McMahon rejoined and they also recruited drummer Nick Knox
, later to find fame with The Cramps
. They made their peace with Marotta, who went on to record some of their rehearsals in early 1975. It is these sessions which make up most of the eels material released since their demise, including the 1978 Rough Trade
single 'Agitated' b/w 'Cyclotron', which was their only released recording for many years. The song 'Cyclotron' has a lyrical reference to Elton John
whose music and style often crossed over into the glitter rock scene.
However, the Knox line-up of the band was short-lived, performing only one gig - the band's fifth, overall - at Case Western Reserve University
in 1975 (sources differ as to whether this was in May or September of that year), before finally splitting there and then due to a Morton-inspired fist fight.
Later that year the original three eels members, Marotta, and two members of Mirrors formed a new band 'The Men from UNCLE', but this lasted only two rehearsals before splitting again. Marotta went on to form The Styrenes
, of which Morton was also an occasional member.
Protopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
band active between 1972 and 1975. They formed in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
The electric eels played only five public shows, but during their brief existence they earned a reputation locally for being angry, confrontational, and violent. They were notorious for starting fights with audiences which drew police attention; members were also abusive to each other off-stage. Their style was a dischordant, noisy amalgam of hard garage rock and free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
that was generally considered to be very obnoxious. Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators , was an American punk rockvocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.- Music and film career :...
, the singer of The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...
was particularly influenced by the vocal styling and stage presence of Dave "E" McManus.
Biography
The electric eels were formed by John Morton (guitar), Dave "E" McManus (vocals, clarinet), and Brian McMahon (guitar; not to be confused with SlintSlint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...
member), all ex-pupils of Lakewood High School, Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland and Parma .Lakewood, one of Cleveland's...
, in 1972. The three had been to see a Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
gig and been unimpressed enough by the support band (Youngstown's Left End) to decide that they could do better themselves. Unlike other glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
groups of the era, Morton had also been influenced by free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
: "I remember listening to Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
and Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
. That's what the eels was supposed to be, but we didn't really understand it." This had also led to early meetings with Peter Laughner
Peter Laughner
Peter Laughner was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer.A native of Bay Village, Ohio, Laughner remains a rather little known figure; nonetheless, Richie Unterberger described him as "probably the single biggest catalyst in the birth of Cleveland's alternative rock scene in the mid...
of Rocket from the Tombs
Rocket From The Tombs
Rocket From the Tombs is an American rock music band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio.Heralded as an important protopunk group, they were little known during their lifetime, though various members later achieved renown in Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys...
at the local record store.
The electric eels featured unconventional instrumentation initially, with no drummer nor anyone who was technically competent on any musical instruments. Their rare performances did feature at various times, sheet metal hit with sledgehammers, anvils, a power lawnmower and fist fights. This led to the description of their act as "art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
". Much of 1973 and 1974 was spent, mostly unsuccessfully, trying to get gigs in bars that normally booked top-40 covers bands in Cleveland and then Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, where the band moved for some months. Morton has claimed that this move was caused by death threats he had received in Cleveland for sleeping with "one too many married women". When gigs did happen, promoters were known to pull them half way through. On their debut show the band were arrested by police for being drunk and disorderly. Morton resisted arrest and gained a broken hand, which caused him to play their next gig, three weeks later with an improvised splint made from a slide rule and a wrench.
Morton, in particular, had an inclination for violence that often led to physical fights and temporary splits in the band, or he and Dave E would go to a working-class bar and provoke a fight by dancing together as if a homosexual couple.
In late 1973 McMahon left the band, replaced by Paul Marotta, who was a competent musician on both guitar and keyboards. Drummers came and left during the history of the band, but bass guitar was always absent.
The deliberate provocation and controversy of the band also saw them use the Nazi imagery of the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
, Morton later claiming that this was influenced by William Burroughs and Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
: "That is something we wanted, to have that provocation, we wanted to confront those issues." In addition, controversial lyrics taken from American Nazi Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
racist literature were used in the song 'Spinach Blasters' (AKA 'Spin Age Blasters'). Marotta: "It was shock tactics, it was confrontational art, it was meant to be satire". This presaged the use of similar shock tactics and images by other punks in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, such as Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...
, Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
and Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
.
Eventually the electric eels got a gig at a Cleveland venue which would support original music, The Viking Saloon's "Special Extermination Night" 22 December 1974 with Rocket from the Tombs
Rocket From The Tombs
Rocket From the Tombs is an American rock music band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio.Heralded as an important protopunk group, they were little known during their lifetime, though various members later achieved renown in Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys...
and Mirrors. This gig marked the public start of a new and unique Cleveland glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
scene. However the repeat event in January 1975 would see the eels banned from the last bar that would have them, due to their use on stage of a gas-powered lawnmower. This led to the departure from the band of Marotta.
After Marotta left the band, Brian McMahon rejoined and they also recruited drummer Nick Knox
Nick Knox
Nick Knox was the drummer with the psychobilly band The Cramps. He replaced Miriam Linna in 1977 and left in 1991. Knox was with The Cramps during the peak of their worldwide popularity when they toured Europe extensively in 1986 with the "A Date with Elvis" tour...
, later to find fame with The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
. They made their peace with Marotta, who went on to record some of their rehearsals in early 1975. It is these sessions which make up most of the eels material released since their demise, including the 1978 Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
single 'Agitated' b/w 'Cyclotron', which was their only released recording for many years. The song 'Cyclotron' has a lyrical reference to Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
whose music and style often crossed over into the glitter rock scene.
However, the Knox line-up of the band was short-lived, performing only one gig - the band's fifth, overall - at Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
in 1975 (sources differ as to whether this was in May or September of that year), before finally splitting there and then due to a Morton-inspired fist fight.
Later that year the original three eels members, Marotta, and two members of Mirrors formed a new band 'The Men from UNCLE', but this lasted only two rehearsals before splitting again. Marotta went on to form The Styrenes
The Styrenes
The Styrenes are an American proto-punk rock band, formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975, by former members of other local underground scene bands, electric eels and Mirrors.-Members:* Paul Marotta − vocals, guitar, piano*UK Rattay − guitar...
, of which Morton was also an occasional member.
External links
- Electric Eels minisite at Scat Records includes history, discography / recording details, MP3s and notes by former band members
- John Morton's Electric Eels website (contains explicit language and images)
- The Electric Eels Myspace page