The Mentors is one of the most controversial bands ever to emerge from the American punk scene. Started in Seattle in 1977 by bass player Steve Broy (Dr. Heathen Scum), guitarist Eric Carlson (Sickie Wifebeater) and Eldon Hoke (El Duce), they soon relocated to Los Angeles where they found a home in the growing hardcore punk scene.
Infamous for foul language and offensive lyrics, El Duce's legendary appearance on the Jerry Springer show in 1997 cemented the band's reputation as notorious shock rockers. El Duce's death not long after failed to derail The Mentors; the band continues to tour and release records.
Current Lineup of The Mentors
Who are the band members of The Mentors?
Broy: It’s me on bass and vocals and stuff; I’m an original member. And Sickie Wifebeater, also known as Eric Carlson, also original guy, and then Marc "Mad Dog" DeLeon on drums. He’s a recent addition to the band; he joined us about 2 years ago. It’s a three-piece. Marc drums and does the lead vocals also; it’s very similar to when we first started out. That was the lineup for 20 years before we added a fourth member.
What are your day jobs?
Broy: I do engineering work, that pays my bills, and Marc runs a tattoo emporium in Bakersfield where he’s got four tattoo artists working at his shop. And then Sickie, he’s a professional drinker, to put it diplomatically. He’s not doing anything right now, perhaps retired might be a better word. We’re not all young guys: I’m 52, Sickie’s the same age, Marc’s ten years younger than us. We’re old enough were we can start thinking about retirement.
The Mentors: Historical Shock Rockers
Did The Mentors start out to shock people?
Broy: When we came out, we were one of the first bands to really routinely use profanity. There’d been a lot of other bands that were controversial, like Alice Cooper. When I was growing up Alice Cooper was considered to be a big deal because he’d hang himself onstage and then a bunch of little kids would try to hang themselves and have sexual hangings. But if you really listen to what he was singing, apart from "Dead Babies," which was kind of sickening, he really wasn’t saying anything that bad. We just came flat out with tons of profanity right off the bat, both in the songs and in between songs stage patter. And that really wasn’t contrived or anything, we were just doing that instinctively. We were making music primarily for ourselves. It isn’t like we were sitting around, you know, “How do we become commercially acceptable?" or something like that, because, clearly, if we had wanted to do that, it wouldn’t have been the case.
Do you think it's harder to shock people now than when The Mentors started out?
Broy: Absolutely. Much, much harder. We started out before the Internet. I can remember when looking at a Playboy was shocking. I remember having to sneak around as a little kid and my friend said, “Oh, my dad’s got a playboy under his bed,” and we’d wait till he’d leave and look at it. Now, with the Internet — I’m glad I’m not a parent because if I was, I don’t know how I’d deal with it. Do you let your kids look at this stuff or do you tell them not to have it? When I was growing up, some parents wouldn’t let their kids have TV. I always thought that was kind of weird. Well, as bad as that was, now the Internet, I mean, it’s ridiculous. You just type stuff in and all kinds of nasty stuff comes up. So yeah, much easier to shock back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. I don’t know what you do to shock — if you really wanted to shock somebody, I don’t know what you can do.
Influence on Punk and Metal Music
Do you think The Mentors had any influence on music?
Broy: I think we have been somewhat influential in the bigger picture, maybe subliminally if not consciously in a lot of these bands, to influence them in a more profane way. But we always had kind of a sense of humour about it, so I suppose it’s in the ear of the beholder to decide what’s legitimally interesting or funny. I wouldn't say we were trying to be a comedy thing, it was always more about the music that we’d really concentrate on making the music as good as it could be and then the lyrics just kind of came on top of it.
The Mentors Today
What do The Mentors focus on today?
Broy: We’re happy to just concentrate on the music and try to be a good live band. We stood the test of time because we’re a little bit more than a gimmick. People that are into the kind of music that we play recognize the amount of work and skill that goes into it.
After 30 years as a band, The Mentors show no signs of stopping. For updates and tour dates, consult the band's MySpace page.
Source:
Broy, Steve. Personal interview. 12 August 2010.
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