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Eels
 

This article is about the band. For the fish, see eel. For the spectroscopic technique used in materials science, see electron energy loss spectroscopy.

Eels (also sometimes eels or EELS, depending on the album) are an American rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as Mr. E or simply E. He is the frontman of the band, calling Eels a vessel for his music. Other members rotate frequently, both in the studio and on stage. Live shows include new material, interpretations of older songs, and usually some well-known covers.

History

E solo records

Everett released a little-known record in 1985 called Bad Dude in Love. Not much is known about the LP; all information found is located here *. In 1992, he released the much more popular A Man Called E on Polydor under the name E. The single "Hello Cruel World" was a minor success. Touring to support this album, he opened for Tori Amos. A Man Called E was followed by Broken Toy Shop in 1993; that year also marked the beginning of Everett's collaboration with drummer Jonathan "Butch" Norton. After Broken Toy Shop, E was released from his record deal with Polydor.

Beautiful Freak

When Butch and E met Tommy Walter, they founded the Eels. E chose the name so that the band's records would be next to his solo records in an alphabetical ordering. It was only later that they realised Eagles would fall in between. The Eels signed a record deal with Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks, one of the first groups with the company. In 1996 the band released their debut album Beautiful Freak, a melancholy pop record, where the lyrics of a tormented Everett shine. With the singles "Novocaine for the Soul" and "Susan's House" the band had modest international success. The album demonstrated a wide range of influences, including grunge and hip-hop. They toured extensively to support the album in 1996 and 1997, playing many festivals and building their name as a live act in the United States and Europe. In September 1997, Tommy quit the band (or was fired, depending on different accounts).

Electro-Shock Blues

After Beautiful Freak, E had a difficult time in his personal life. Some of his friends were dying, his sister had committed suicide, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. He was fast becoming the only living member of his family. These events inspired him to write Electro-Shock Blues, released in 1998. The lyrics deal with subjects like suicide, death, and cancer. Despite the fact that it is a very dark album, and not nearly as big a commercial success as its predecessor, Electro-Shock Blues is still many fans' favourite. Contributions to the album were made by Jon Brion, Dust Brother Michael Simpson, and T-Bone Burnett. "Last Stop: This Town" was a minor success as a single; the second single "Cancer for the Cure" was used on the soundtrack for the film American Beauty. Still a three-piece band on stage, Tommy Walter was replaced by Adam Siegel, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies. A large part of the American leg of the tour was cancelled after the death of E's mother. They returned to Europe later in the year, to open for Pulp. After the tour Adam left the band to focus on his own project, My Head.

Daisies of the Galaxy

In 2000, the Daisies of the Galaxy album was released, a much happier work. As E puts it, If Electro-Shock Blues was the phone call in the middle of the night that the world doesn't want to answer, then Daisies of the Galaxy is the hotel wake-up call that says your lovely breakfast is ready. The album was almost entirely recorded in E's basement. E is joined in the studio by Michael Simpson (Dust Brothers), Grant Lee Phillips (Grant Lee Buffalo), and Peter Buck (R.E.M.). On the tracks "It's a Motherfucker" and "Selective Memory", E plays on the same piano that Neil Young used on his classic album After the Goldrush. The first single "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" was co-written by Simpson and features the sound of his pager in the intro. The song was not intended to be on the album, but the record company insisted on its inclusion. Therefore it is not featured on the track listing but listed as a 'bonus track', separated from the rest of the album by 20 seconds of silence. The song also appeared on the Road Trip soundtrack; some prominent members of the cast from that film feature in the music video. Because of the use of swear words on "It's a Motherfucker" and "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" ("Goddamn right, it's a beautiful day") a censored version was released. "It's a Motherfucker" was renamed to "It's a Monstertrucker"; instances of the 'f-word' were removed by E singing over them in a distorted voice. To promote "Daisies of the Galaxy" another tour was planned across the United States and Europe. This time Eels were transformed into an 6-piece orchestra, including Lisa Germano. E also played a few solo shows, opening for Fiona Apple.

Souljacker

In 2001 Souljacker was released, an album with a darker feel than Daisies of the Galaxy. John Parish, previously in PJ Harvey's band, co-wrote most of the songs and also played guitar on the album and first part of the tour. Koool G Murder played bass and keyboards and joined Eels on tour, jokingly introduced by E as "the other guy." Wim Wenders directed the video for the first single, Souljacker Part 1. After Parish became a father, he was replaced with Joe Gore for the American leg of the Bus Driving, Band Rocking Tour.

The track That's Not Really Funny from this album was used as the theme for the BBC comedy series Monkey Dust.

Shootenanny! and Butch's controversial departure

2003 marked the release of the album Shootenanny!. E now refers to the album as a break from recording the following Blinking Lights album. It was recorded live in the studio in only ten days. "Saturday Morning" was released as a single.

Fans were shocked later that year when Butch left the group. The official reason given by the band was that he had amicably left to play drums for Tracy Chapman. However, in an interview given to Rhythm Magazine, Butch stated that he was leaving the band over monetary concerns. "...We were coming through Europe on the second tour for Souljacker, and I had to apply for bankruptcy." After asking their management for a retainer in exchange for giving up his part of their legal partnership, "I got a call from E's accountant who said, 'E doesn't want to change the structure', so, no retainer...I'm still very hurt. That's how it goes with relationships. I would hope that the door would be open for me to return and work with E one day because that's what I enjoy." He has also recently done work with Tracy Bonham and Rufus Wainwright.

Butch was replaced on drums by Puddin. In 2003 Eels did another big tour, The Tour of Duty. The live band then consisted of E, Shon 'Golden Boy' Sullivan (guitar), Koool G Murder (bass) and Puddin (drums). Sullivan soon left to work on his own project, Goldenboy, and was replaced with Chet Atkins III. Later that year, E composed the score for the film Levity.

Blinking Lights and Other Revelations

The new album, called Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, was released on April 26, 2005; it was the band's first release for new label Vagrant Records. It is an epic 33-track double album. Contributions were made by Tom Waits, Peter Buck and John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful). A hand-written lyric-sheet to "In the Yard, Behind the Church", a song from the new album, was sold on eBay for charity. The winning bidder paid $544 for it. The first tour in support of this album, billed as Eels With Strings, featured primarily acoustic guitar-, organ- and piano-based performances by E backed by Alan 'Big Al' Hunter on piano and upright bass; Chet Lyster (also known as Chet Atkins III or 'The Chet') on guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, musical saw and drums; and the string quartet of violinists Paloma Udovic and Julie Carpenter, violist Heather Lockie and cellist Ana Lenchantin. The tour resulted in a live album, Live at Town Hall, recorded in New York City, released on CD and DVD on February 21, 2006.

Bobby, Jr.

Everett's dog, Bobby Jr., has been on the rise lately, too. A mix between a German Shepherd and a Basset Hound, Bobby Jr. was a homeless dog, who had the legs of a German shepherd and the body of a basset hound. He has trouble walking and getting around, so he needs a lot of support. He roamed the streets of Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California until the Los Angeles Animal Control caught him, and he was taken to a dog pound, where Everett eventually "adopted" him. Recently, Bobby Jr. lent his vocals to the Eels song Last Time We Spoke on the album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005). Bobby Jr. can also be seen on assorted Eels merchandise, the official Eels website, the videoclip of "Hey Man! (Now You're Really Living)" and he even has his own MySpace.

Fanscene

Eels have a huge fan community. Their several world tours took them to Europe, Australia, Japan and USA. The band is probably most successful in the UK and in Middle- and Northern Europe. In the past, E has said in interviews that Dreamworks encouraged the group to tour mainly in Europe, as their American tours were not typically as profitable. However, since the group signed to Vagrant Records, it seems that they tour the United States with a higher frequency.

There have been a few collaborations between the band and the fans. In 2001, for example a song called Hidden Track (ironically, not released as a hidden track, but as a b-side) was recorded, a song with lyrics pieced together and sung by E entirely from fans' text messages.

The relatively large community is active on its own. In 1999 a tribute album was made, organized by the Fansite The Galaxy (now part of the Behind the Church community site). A new tribute album is currently in production at the same site.

The first ever Eels karaoke contest is currently being held on the Austrian fansite Rocking Eels.

Discography

External links

References

American musical groups | Post-grunge groups | Eels | Eels | Eels | Eels | Eels | Eels

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Eels".

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