The Mutts
Encyclopedia
Formed in Los Angeles
in 1983 by Spencer Eldridge, Larry Fortunato, Kevin Grover, Jacques Olivier and Eddy Sill, The Mutts became an influential garage rock
group during LA's post-punk period and played on bills with many popular acts of the era, including The Go-Go's
, The Bangles
, Adam Ant
, The Dickies
, The Minutemen, X, Fishbone
and many others. Fishbone debuted as an opening act for the band at Madame Wong's in LA's Chinatown. The group released two EPs on local independent labels, "Fire Hydrant" on Music Rage Records in 1984 and "The Mutts" on Shanghai Records in 1985, but the combo wouldn't come into its own until Grover and Sill took over as frontmen after singer Eldridge and guitarist Olivier left the group in 1986.
Musically reminiscent of artists like The Faces and The Replacements, the jangle 'n' crash Mutts were billed as "Drunk and In Concert" and headlined Saturday night shows on the Sunset Strip
for nearly a decade with the addition of a new guitar player, Billy Murrell (aka Stinko the Clown), and numerous drummers, including Paul Legaspi and Robbie Rist
. Michael Bernheim and Victor Junger, two hall of famers from Burbank's hell-raising hotrod gang, teamed with the group in the 1980s to assist with public relations and road management tasks. Bernheim (aka the Party Fascist), functioned as a sixth member of the combo by providing tireless business support and zany antics, which eclipsed the dysfunction of the band's members combined. Perhaps more notable than the band itself, the group's practice haven on the corner of Sunset Boulevard
and Wilton Place, lovingly called Stinko's Ranch, was used to host after-hours parties with free beer after the group's shows, and the parties became a popular stomping ground for celebrities before and after stints in rehab. If the Mutts played to a house of 200, it was an easy bet that 400 would converge on Stinko's Ranch for loud music, nudity and beer that never ran out.
Many members of the local press corps were seen, heard & drank at the Mutts' parties, though to this day many forget to remember. From time to time, many bands tried to impersonate the tactics of The Mutts, but the music business in general was ultimately no match for the band's famous pants-dropping attorney, publishing sidekick and the bands duo of melodic, power-popish song writing talent. In what is best described as a terrifying ballet of sheer stupor, the Mutts whirled in bum suits without caution to the edges of staging in stop-and-go sets, which were often interrupted by food fights, on-stage pizza deliveries and the kind of pandemonium that occurs when fast friends disagree behind liquor stores. If all went well, the crowd was treated to a slamming Sex Pistols cover while fans performed impromptu bathroom remodeling jobs and wolfed mouthfuls of mints in hopes of making it to Stinko's Ranch alive and un-handcuffed.
The band received widespread notoriety when their only major release, "Stinko's Ranch" Loud/WEA, debuted in late 1992. The album received an A in Entertainment Weekly
, and the single, Emilyn, became a top-5 hit on P-1 (million+) radio markets in North America. The group appeared on the cover of BAM Magazine, and the late Eric Douglas
played the bartender in the video for "I Live With a Cat." The owner of the WEA-distributed record label, Rick Laudati (Loud), mysteriously vanished into thin air the day after the album was released, and this threw the album into a hopeless legal debacle, which wouldn't be resolved until 1994. The band continued to play in Los Angeles until their famed rehearsal hall and party house was leveled to accommodate a Home Depot in 1996. Singer and bassist Sill fronts a new Los Angeles-based group, The Popravinas; singer Eldridge enjoys a career as a painter and performs with his NYC-based group, The Contraptions. Grover writes and records music as Kevin Michael.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1983 by Spencer Eldridge, Larry Fortunato, Kevin Grover, Jacques Olivier and Eddy Sill, The Mutts became an influential garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
group during LA's post-punk period and played on bills with many popular acts of the era, including The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, The Bangles
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
, Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
, The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
, The Minutemen, X, Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
and many others. Fishbone debuted as an opening act for the band at Madame Wong's in LA's Chinatown. The group released two EPs on local independent labels, "Fire Hydrant" on Music Rage Records in 1984 and "The Mutts" on Shanghai Records in 1985, but the combo wouldn't come into its own until Grover and Sill took over as frontmen after singer Eldridge and guitarist Olivier left the group in 1986.
Musically reminiscent of artists like The Faces and The Replacements, the jangle 'n' crash Mutts were billed as "Drunk and In Concert" and headlined Saturday night shows on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
for nearly a decade with the addition of a new guitar player, Billy Murrell (aka Stinko the Clown), and numerous drummers, including Paul Legaspi and Robbie Rist
Robbie Rist
Robert Anthony Rist is an American actor and musician.-Acting and voiceover work:As a child, Rist played Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch. With the regular children all getting older, his inclusion was intended to reintroduce cute younger children to the series...
. Michael Bernheim and Victor Junger, two hall of famers from Burbank's hell-raising hotrod gang, teamed with the group in the 1980s to assist with public relations and road management tasks. Bernheim (aka the Party Fascist), functioned as a sixth member of the combo by providing tireless business support and zany antics, which eclipsed the dysfunction of the band's members combined. Perhaps more notable than the band itself, the group's practice haven on the corner of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
and Wilton Place, lovingly called Stinko's Ranch, was used to host after-hours parties with free beer after the group's shows, and the parties became a popular stomping ground for celebrities before and after stints in rehab. If the Mutts played to a house of 200, it was an easy bet that 400 would converge on Stinko's Ranch for loud music, nudity and beer that never ran out.
Many members of the local press corps were seen, heard & drank at the Mutts' parties, though to this day many forget to remember. From time to time, many bands tried to impersonate the tactics of The Mutts, but the music business in general was ultimately no match for the band's famous pants-dropping attorney, publishing sidekick and the bands duo of melodic, power-popish song writing talent. In what is best described as a terrifying ballet of sheer stupor, the Mutts whirled in bum suits without caution to the edges of staging in stop-and-go sets, which were often interrupted by food fights, on-stage pizza deliveries and the kind of pandemonium that occurs when fast friends disagree behind liquor stores. If all went well, the crowd was treated to a slamming Sex Pistols cover while fans performed impromptu bathroom remodeling jobs and wolfed mouthfuls of mints in hopes of making it to Stinko's Ranch alive and un-handcuffed.
The band received widespread notoriety when their only major release, "Stinko's Ranch" Loud/WEA, debuted in late 1992. The album received an A in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, and the single, Emilyn, became a top-5 hit on P-1 (million+) radio markets in North America. The group appeared on the cover of BAM Magazine, and the late Eric Douglas
Eric Douglas
Eric Anthony Douglas was an American actor who appeared in several movies and television shows and was also a stand-up comedian.-Early life and career:...
played the bartender in the video for "I Live With a Cat." The owner of the WEA-distributed record label, Rick Laudati (Loud), mysteriously vanished into thin air the day after the album was released, and this threw the album into a hopeless legal debacle, which wouldn't be resolved until 1994. The band continued to play in Los Angeles until their famed rehearsal hall and party house was leveled to accommodate a Home Depot in 1996. Singer and bassist Sill fronts a new Los Angeles-based group, The Popravinas; singer Eldridge enjoys a career as a painter and performs with his NYC-based group, The Contraptions. Grover writes and records music as Kevin Michael.