The electric eels (written with lower case e's in honor of

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

) were an American

protopunk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wi ...

band active between 1972 and 1975, formed by

John D Morton John D Morton (born March 27, 1953) is an American musician born in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio, best known as the leader and founder of protopunk band electric eels in 1972. Early life Growing up in and around Cleveland, John Mor ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. 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 discordant, noisy amalgam of hard

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

. Stiv Bators, the singer of

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

was particularly influenced by the vocal styling and stage presence of Dave "E" McManus. While the eels didn't play many shows, they rehearsed often, eventually making many recordings which were released many years after their demise.

Background

Along with Morton (guitar), other original members were Dave "E" McManus (vocals, clarinet) and Brian McMahon (guitar; not to be confused with

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

member), all ex-pupils of Lakewood High School, Lakewood,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 1972. The three had been to see a

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

gig and been unimpressed enough by the support band (Youngstown's Left End) to decide that they could do better themselves. Unlike other rock groups of the era, Morton had also been influenced by

: "I remember listening to

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

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and

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

. 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 (August 22, 1952 – June 22, 1977) was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer. A native of Bay Village, Ohio, Laughner was described by Richie Unterberger as "probably the single biggest catalyst in the birth of Cleve ...

Rocket from the Tombs Rocket from the Tombs (or RFTT) is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003. Heralded as an important pro ...

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 is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

". 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 is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, 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 and was simultaneously a member of Mirrors. 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 Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

imagery of the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

, Morton later claiming that this was influenced by

William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

: "That is something we wanted, to have that provocation, we wanted to confront those issues". In addition, controversial lyrics taken from

American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise National ...

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

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 City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, such as

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

and

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

. 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

and

Mirrors A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

. This gig marked the public start of a new and unique Cleveland punk 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 Nick Knox (born Nicholas George Stephanoff; March 26, 1953 – June 14, 2018) was an American drummer for 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 world ...

, later to find fame with

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. 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 Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

whose music and style often crossed over into the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

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 (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

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 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.Jäger, Rolf"Styrenes—A Brief History", ''Rent a Dog''. Retrieved on Dec ...

, of which Morton was also an occasional member.

Discography

; Studio albums * ''Having a Philosophical Investigation with The Electric Eels'' (1989; archival) * ''God Says Fuck You'' (1991; archival) * ''The Beast 999 Presents The Electric Eels in Their Organic Majesty's Request'' (1991; archival) * ''The Eyeball of Hell'' (2001; archival) ; Singles * "Agitated"/"Cyclotron" (1978) * "Spin Age Blasters"/"Bunnies" (1981) * "Jaguar Ride" (2014) ; Compilation albums * ''Die Electric Eels'' (2014)

Sources

* *

References

External links

John Morton's Electric Eels website
(contains explicit language and images) * {{Authority control Musical groups from Cleveland Punk rock groups from Ohio Protopunk groups Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 1972 establishments in Ohio 1975 disestablishments in Ohio Musical groups from Ohio