Electric Six
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Electric Six | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | ||
| Also known as | The Wildbunch | |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock,[1] various subgenres | |
| Years active | 1996–present | |
| Label(s) | Metropolis Records | |
| Website | electric6.com | |
| Members | ||
| Dick Valentine - vocals The Colonel - guitar Johnny Na$hinal - guitar John R. Dequindre - bass guitar Tait Nucleus? - keyboards Percussion World - drums |
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| Former members | ||
| Rock and Roll Indian Surge Joebot Disco M. Frank Lloyd Bonaventure Dr. Blacklips Hoffman Mojo Frezzato Johnny Vegas Jeff Simmons Macro Duplicato Dr. Diet Mountain Dew |
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Electric Six is a six-piece Detroit-based band that plays an "energetic"[2] and "unique"[3] brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal."[1] The band met underground recognition in 2001 with the single "Danger! High Voltage," and subsequently recorded three full-length albums: Fire, Señor Smoke, and the recently released Switzerland.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Formation and the Wildbunch years
The band formed in 1996 and was initially known as The Wildbunch, eventually dropping that name due to pressure from the Bristol trip hop collection of the same name.[4] Throughout the latter half of the '90s, they played regularly at the Old Miami and the Gold Dollar in Detroit,[5] the center of a scene that produced breakout acts like the White Stripes.[6]
The band's first formation was comprised of Dick Valentine (Tyler Spencer, vocals), Rock and Roll Indian (Anthony Selph, guitar), Surge Joebot (Joe Frezza, guitar), Disco (Steve Nawara, bass, former member of Detroit Cobras), and M (Cory Martin, drums). Dick Valentine is and has always been the primary songwriter (both music and lyrics) of Electric Six.[7] During the band's temporary split at the end of the 1990s, Tyler Spencer formed his own band called The Dirty Shame[8] and released one CD entitled Smog Cutter Love Story which featured, among other tracks, a first version of Fire track "Vengeance and Fashion." The band reformed by 2001 to record and release the first release of "Danger! High Voltage" and record the track "Dealin' in Death and Stealin' in the Name of the Lord" with Troy Gregory for his Sybil album.[9]
[edit] Mainstream success (2001-2003)
The 2001 release of "Danger! High Voltage" was an underground hit, particularly in the United Kingdom.[1] The single also garnered the band public attention after a rumor got out that a pre-fame Jack White from The White Stripes sang backup vocals on single track "Danger! (High Voltage)" when it was recorded.[10] However, according to an interview:
| “ | “What about the Jack White rumours? Who sings with Dick Valentine in the song?” Surge responds, “ No, no it’s a fan. We put a competition out, um and he won, he’s a mechanic, it wasn’t Jack White”. Disco adds, “Yeah he was probably the only person that entered!”[11] | ” |
The band's 2003 breakout album Fire earned the group significant critical success, landing the "Danger! High Voltage" single at number 2 on the UK singles chart. Their second single, "Gay Bar", released in 2003, became a hit as well in the UK, reaching #5 in the charts.
The album made it into several best-of-2003 lists,[12][13][14] as well as reaching the top 10 in the UK album chart, and another single "Dance Commander," which gave Electric Six its third Top 40 single in the UK.
[edit] Lineup changes and tour
After finishing the recording of Fire, three members left in June, leaving Dick Valentine, M, and Tait Nucleus? (Christopher Tait). The Colonel (Zach Shipps, guitar, ex member of Brendan Benson, The Atomic Numbers and Mood Elevator), John R. Dequindre (Chris Peters, bass/guitar) and Frank Lloyd Bonaventure (Mark Dundon, bass) (both-ex members of Ann Arbor's Getaway Cruiser and Six Clips) subsequently joined the group, though they had been associated with the group for some time.[15] In time, Johnny Na$hinal (John Nash) joined the group on guitar, Dequindre switched to bass, and Bonaventure left the group.
In the spring of 2004, Electric Six played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[16]
[edit] Señor Smoke (2005)
The band's second album, Señor Smoke, was released in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2005. Since the band had been dropped from their previous American record label,[17] a North American release of the album was delayed until February 7, 2006, when it came out on Metropolis Records.
The first single from the album put the band at the center of controversy, especially with Queen fans following a cover of the Queen hit song "Radio Ga Ga."[18] The controversial music video shows lead singer Dick Valentine as the ghost of Queen's flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury and a backing band of poodles. Queen drummer Roger Taylor, who wrote the song, said that he was "unimpressed" with the video;[19] however, Queen guitarist Brian May reportedly liked it.[20]
According to Dick Valentine[21] -
| “ | Though some have claimed this video portrays me dancing on Freddie Mercury's grave, actually it's more like we are resurrecting Mr. Mercury for the duration of the song and his grave is the logical starting point. Anyhow, everyone knows we disliked the fact that we had to put this song on our record, so this ridiculous video took a little bit of the sting out of it for us and made it somewhat bearable. It was also very rewarding to work with dogs. | ” |
[edit] Switzerland (2006)
In November of 2004, drummer M. called it quits, leaving Dick Valentine as the sole original member of the former Wildbunch. Their new drummer, Percussion World (Mike Alonso), has been affiliated with the band and its members for some time, and has been named as a permanent member of the band.
Electric Six finished recording their third major album, entitled Switzerland, in November, 2005[8] and released it in North America on September 12, 2006. The band intends to record a video for every song on the album, "a lot of them...low budget."[8] At present, six videos have been released,[22][23][24][25][26][27] with two additional videos completed but not released.[28]
[edit] Upcoming album Something For Everybody
As of the beginning of 2007, Electric Six has recorded 17 tracks for an upcoming album with the working title Something For Everybody.[28] No release date has been set.
[edit] Sound, style, and influences
Electric Six incorporates a variety of styles to form a unique sound, resulting in being termed a "genre-blurring" band.[29] The group's sound has been described as a synthesis of "disco, synth pop, glam, and arena rock,"[30] including the falsetto vocals of disco, laden with "rampant solos, be they guitar riffs, synth wails, or strutting drums" that enforce the band's "energetic sound."[2] However, the band members themselves have rejected such genre classifications as "disco-metal" and "disco-punk."[31]
Critics have termed their lyrics as "disaffected, angry, ironic and lustful,"[32] expressing "macho flippancy" and "tongue-in-cheek pomposity."[33] Dick Valentine has estimated that "80 percent of our songs, maybe even higher than 80 percent" are "about absolutely nothing."[28] Songs by Electric Six are often concerned with subjects like war, nuclear war, human sexual behavior, masculinity, dancing, hypersexuality, and fire (The band's official biography states that their debut album Fire was so named because they "noticed an abundance of the word fire on this record and...decided to go with it."[5]). Lead singer Dick Valentine had commented on these lyrical tendencies in song content with regards to the band's latest album:
| “ | [...] for the first time, none of the songs have the word "dance" or variation of "dance" in the title. But fear not. We have songs with "drugs" and "girls" and "tonight" and "night" and "louder" and "party" in the title, so we haven't given up on our philosophy just yet.[34] | ” |
Valentine cites the Talking Heads, Devo,[35] and Captain Beefheart[36] as his musical influences, as well as Black Sabbath and KISS for the rest of the group.
[edit] Discography
- Fire (2003)
- Señor Smoke (2005/2006)
- Switzerland (2006)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Phares, Heather. Electric Six: Band overview. All Music Guide. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b Hunter, Sandy (2003-07-03). Electric Six. Epitonic.com. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Powell, Guy (2004-06-10). Electric Six review: Download Festival 2004. eFestivals. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Phillips, Amy. "Sax as a Weapon: You Didn't Know that Rock 'n' roll Burned", The Village Voice, 2003-04-02. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b Meet the Electric Six. ElectricSix.com. Retrieved on July 14, 2006.
- ^ Wheeler, Jeremy. "The White Stripes: Candy Coloured Blues - Unauthorized", The New York Times, 2003. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Doster, Eve. "Fanning the Fire: Boozing with the boys of Electric Six", Metrotimes, 2002-12-25. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ a b c Kharakh, Ben. "Dick Valentine, Musician, Electric Six", Gothamist, 2006-09-06. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Troy Gregory: Sybil. Fall of Rome Records. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Mitchum, Rob. Review: Danger! High Voltage EP. Pitchfork Record. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Rearden, Rachel. antiMUSIC article Electric Six - Detroit Rockers Invade the UK. antiMUSIC. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
- ^ Best of 2003. Metacritic. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ "Best in Music 2003", FREEwilliamsburg: The Williamsburg Brooklyn Culture Guide, December 2003. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Favorite Music of 2003. Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Wagel, Ray. "Clocked In: Don't You Want to Know How They Keep Starting Fires?", Ann Arbor Paper, September. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Coachella 2004. Virtual-Festivals.com. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Fury, Jeanne. NY Rock Confidential. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ "Electric Six Upset Queen Fans With Radio Ga Ga Video", ContactMusic.com, 2004-11-24. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ "Queen 'unimpressed' by Electric Six video", Kerrang!, 2004-12-03. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ "Electric Six Go Radio Ga Ga", XFM Online. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Electric Six Official Website - Music + Videos. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
- ^ I Buy the Drugs. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Chocolate Pope. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Mr. Woman. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Pulling the Plug on the Party. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ There's Something Very Wrong With Us So Let's Go Out Tonight. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ Rubber Rocket. YouTube. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c Firecloud, Johnny (2007-02-20). Electric Six. craveonline.com. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
- ^ "Electric Six Revitalized and Ready to Hit the Road", ChartAttack.com, 2006-06-06. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Phares, Heather. Review of Señor Smoke. All Music Guide. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Schild, Matt. "Detroit's Burning", Aversion.com, 2003-06-11. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Lipton, Eric F. "Rocking through the pain", The Daily Page, 2006-03-23. Retrieved on July 14, 2006.
- ^ Phares, Heather. Review of Fire. All Music Guide. Retrieved on December 31, 2006.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions 2006. ElectricSix.com (2006-01-19). Retrieved on July 14, 2006.
- ^ Miccio, Anthony. "Smoke Rings: Getting silly, rocking out, and dissing the president with Detroit's Electric Six", Seattle Weekly. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
- ^ Kharakh, Ben. "Electric Excellence: A chat with Electric Six front man Dick Valentine", Upstage, September 2005. Retrieved on January 2, 2007.
