Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as A Man Called E, Mr. E, or simply E. Other members rotate frequently, both in the studio and on stage. Eels' live shows include new material, interpretations of older songs, and usually some well-known cover versions.

Eels appear in many soundtracks, including all three Shrek movies. Eels have also contributed songs to Scrubs^[1], Holes, The O.C., American Beauty, Road Trip, Ed, Charlie Bartlett, Chuck, Hot Fuzz, Hellboy II, and Henry Poole Is Here.

Recording history

E solo records

Everett released a little-known record in 1985 called Bad Dude in Love. Seven years later in 1992, Polydor released the more popular A Man Called E under the name E. The single "Hello Cruel World" was a minor success. Touring to support the album, E opened for Tori Amos. A Man Called E was followed by Broken Toy Shop in 1993. This year also marked the beginning of E's collaboration with drummer Jonathan "Butch" Norton. After Broken Toy Shop, E was released from his record deal with Polydor.

Beautiful Freak

Beautiful Freak album cover.

In 1996 the band released their debut album Beautiful Freak, a melancholy, pop record with tormented lyrics. Musically, it demonstrated a wide range of influences, including grunge and hip hop. The singles "Novocaine for the Soul", "Susan's House" and "Your Lucky Day in Hell" achieved modest national and international success, and good success in Britain.

In 1996 and 1997, the Eels toured extensively to support the album, playing at many festivals and building their name as a live act in the United States and Europe. In September 1997, Walter quit the band (or was fired, according to some accounts).

"My Beloved Monster", a song from the album, was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Shrek. Two other songs from the album, "Not Ready Yet" and "Guest List", were featured in the fifth season of the television show Homicide: Life on the Street. The song "Lucky Day In Hell" also achieved moderate success, and was used in the horror movie Scream.

Electro-Shock Blues

Electro-Shock Blues album cover.

Contributions to the album were made by Jon Brion, Lisa Germano, Grant Lee Phillips, Dust Brother Michael Simpson, and T-Bone Burnett.

The single "Last Stop: This Town" saw minor success; "Cancer for the Cure", the second single from the album, was used on the American Beauty soundtrack.

Still a three-piece band on stage, Tommy Walter was replaced by Adam Siegel, formerly of Infectious Grooves. 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, Siegel left the band to focus on his own project. The Blondes.

Daisies of the Galaxy

In 2000 Eels released Daisies of the Galaxy. The album, which was recorded almost entirely in E's basement, is lighter and more upbeat than its predecessor. Everett noted, "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". He was 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 the same piano that Neil Young used on his classic album After the Gold Rush.

The first single, "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues", was co-written by Simpson and features the sound of his pager in the beginning. 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 is instead listed as a "bonus track", separated from the rest of the album by 20 seconds of silence. E declared, "You can think of it as buying the album and getting a bonus track, or buying the single and getting a bonus album." The song also appeared on the Road Trip soundtrack and several of the film's cast members are featured in the music video. Additionally, the song was used in the opening credits of the film A Guy Thing; because of the use of swear words in "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" with E singing over instances of the 'f-word' in a distorted voice. Dan Bartlett of the presidential campaign for then-Governor George W. Bush cited the album ? which was reportedly given as a gift at a Democratic political event ? as an example of obscenity-laden entertainment marketed to children.^[2][3] This conclusion was due to the contrast between the aforementioned song title and the cartoon drawings on the album cover, which were inspired by children's books found in the estate of E's mother.

To promote Daisies of the Galaxy another tour took place across the United States and Europe, as well as their first visit to Australia. This time Eels were transformed into an 6-piece orchestra, including Lisa Germano. E also played some solo shows, opening for Fiona Apple.

Souljacker

In 2001 Souljacker was released, an album with a heavier feel and more rock-orientated sound than Daisies of the Galaxy. John Parish, previously of PJ Harvey's band, co-wrote most of the songs and played guitar on the album and first part of the tour. After Parish became a father, he was replaced with Joe Gore for the American leg of the Bus Driving, Band Rocking 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 I".

The song "That's Not Really Funny," was used as the theme for the BBC comedy series Monkey Dust, while the single "Souljacker Part I" is included in the Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright film, Hot Fuzz. "Fresh Feeling" was used in the American sitcom Scrubs, and appears on the show's soundtrack Compact Disc. Additionally, the song was also used in the Chuck (TV series), also the song is also a featured soundtrack in the movie Scorched.

Shootenanny! and Butch's 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.

Later that year, fans were shocked 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, he claims that he "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." Butch would go on to work with Tracy Bonham, Rufus Wainwright, and Lucinda Williams. He has also been featured on many soundtracks, including: Dukes of Hazzard, Bad News Bears, and 300.

Butch was replaced on drums by Puddin'. In 2003 Eels did another big tour, the Tour of Duty. The live band 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 / Live with Strings

Eels' next album, 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 a 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" was sold on eBay for $544, which was given to charity.

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 Allen 'Big Al' Hunter on piano and upright bass; Jeffrey 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, Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall, recorded in New York City. The performance includes tracks from all of their albums, and was released on CD and DVD on February 21, 2006^[4].

Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I and Useless Trinkets

In early 2008 Eels released their first "greatest hits" compilation as well as a compilation of b-sides, rarities, soundtrack singles and unreleased tracks.

Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I spans the first decade of the Eels with singles from all their albums. Attached is a DVD featuring music videos and one live performance video.

Useless Trinkets contains 50 tracks and a DVD of their Lollapalooza 2006 performances.

To promote those releases the band is currently on world tour ("An evening with Eels"). This time only The Chet joined E on stage, both playing a broad cross-section from the Eels repertoire on a variety of instruments. The concerts also featured The Chet reading excerpts from E's autobiography. On this tour only, one can purchase a live CD/DVD package of Eels' live performance at the London Astoria in 2006 ("EELS Live and in Person!").

Bobby, Jr.

Everett's dog, Bobby Jr., was a homeless dog that roamed the streets of Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California until the Los Angeles Animal Control captured him and took him to a dog pound, from where Everett eventually "adopted" him. Because he has the body of a German Shepherd and the legs of a Basset Hound (one of which is deformed), he has trouble walking and getting around. Bobby Jr. lent his 'vocals' to the song "Last Time We Spoke" on the album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. He can also be seen on various Eels merchandise, the official Eels website, and the video for "Hey Man! (Now You're Really Living)", and he even has his own MySpace account. Bobby Jr.^[5] is named after Bobby, a toy robot dog Everett bought as a trial before buying a real dog.

Fan community

Eels have a huge fan community. Their several world tours took them to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and USA. The band is probably most successful in the UK and in Central and Northern Europe. In past interviews, E has said 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, they tour the United States with a higher frequency.

The Eels have lacked an official message board since 2003, and in that time a couple of highly active fan-administered message boards have taken up the slack. Jeannie's Diary (2005-2007) was followed by Estranged Friends, and the new message board continues to connect Eels fans from around the globe as they share the gossip, bootlegs, set lists, &c.

There have been a few collaborations between the band and the fans. In 2001, for example, Eels held a contest allowing fans to submit song titles by e-mail, reporting that one would be picked, written around the title, and published as a b-side. Instead, they recorded a song called Hidden Track (not actually released as a hidden track, but as a b-side), that used the submitted song titles pieced together as lyrics, as sung by Butch.

The relatively large community is active on its own. In 1999 a tribute album was made, organized by the Spunky2 mailinglist. E and Butch contributed under the name Alanis Mussolini performing "Spunky". Another tribute album was completed in mid-2006.^[6]

The first ever Eels karaoke contest was recently held on the Austrian fansite^[7]

Discography

External links

• EelsTheBand.com ? Official site
• Estranged Friends ? Message board
• EelsTheDiscography.co.uk ? Collectors and fan site.
• RockingEels.com ? Fan site.
• The Galaxy ? Database of all eels tracks
• Meet The Eels Review
• Feature with Mark Oliver Everett, a.k.a. Mr. E
• Lazy-i Interview: July 2003
• Concert photos by Laurent Orseau (Black Session)
• http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-many-worlds-of-hugh-everett The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett, Peter Byrne - Scientific American Magazine - December, 2007
• Concert review
• The Eels Exclusive Student Pocket Guide Interview

References

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