Mentors – Get Up and Die 12″ EP (1982 Mystic Records)
I’d be surprised if any fan of punk rock has not heard of the infamous Mentors. They were the kings of what they called “rape rock” which translated means goofy songs with misogynist lyrics and cheap shock value. Anyone who took the band seriously was a complete and utter fool. The Mentors loved to shock, and they found a gimmick that gained them quite a reputation, and got their name out there.
The band was formed in the very early 80s by El Duce (Eldon Wayne Hoek) whose trade was working at a porno shop. He played drums and used giant dildos as drumsticks and had drunken howl vocals and would sing about peeping on woman, screwing woman, drugs, and all things debauchery. He was joined by Sickie Wifebeater and Dr Heathen Scum on guitar and bass. The three men wore executioner hoods on stage and El Duce would never fail to get a rise out of the crowd.
Musically they were one of the first bands of the era to cross punk and metal. Well, not metal so much as rock. It was later that they’d go more metal, and of course that meant they also stopped being as good as they were in the early days. This was their first record, and the first pressing of it came packaged in a clear bag with just a single double sided printed 12″x12″ insert. They referred to this as the “trash bag”. The same packaging was also used in the De De Troit 12″. It was later issued as seen above, in a real sleeve and contained a bonus live 7″.
In the later 1980s the band signed to Metal Blade Records and put out a couple albums then they’d later resort to (probably by having no other choice) putting out their own records (usually only on cassette). They once did a tour with Revolting Cocks, which was my one and only time I got to see the band play live. I was the only one in the audience who clapped for the band and liked them. All those Wax Trax kids just wanted to see Revco play and couldn’t be bothered by anything else.
El Duce even made it on a couple of those daytime talk shows like Geraldo where he’d stay in character the entire time, never breaking Kayfabe for even a second to let anyone in on the joke, and it got quite a rise out of the toothless audience, let me tell you! Sure El Duce was a drunken pervert, but from the stories I have heard from Doug Moody, he was a genuinely nice guy in real life once you got through the shield of his gimmick.
Sadly, El Duce died in 1997 when he allegedly stumbled onto some train tracks and was killed by a train. Rumors were abound of him being killed by someone hired by Courtney Love as further conspiracy in the death of her husband Kurt Cobain. Apparently El Duce was going around shortly before his death telling anyone who would listen that Courtney tried to hire him to kill Kurt. Nothing was ever proven though and the stories remain speculation and rumor.
Sadder yet, the remaining members of the band still tour as The Mentors, even though the guy who created the band and the gimmick is dead. Here I thought nothing would be more pathetic than Jerry Only’s version of “The Misfits” but those two remaining band members went and proved me wrong. I’d provide a URL for a website they put together, but that might be viewed as condoning what they are doing, and I don’t want some naive sucker to wander over there and buy something from them, thus legitimizing their exploiting and soiling of The Mentors name (if soiling it is even possible).
I actually think the new “Dead Kennedys” is way more pathetic than either of those examples. They actually sued Jello for the honor of being able to put on their pathetic side show!
you said “Nothing was ever proven though and the stories remain speculation and rumor” regarding the story that el duce says courtney tried to hire him to kill kurt. ***** EL DUCE IS INTERVIEWED IN THE MOVIE “KURT AND COURTNEY” TALKING ABOUT THIS! AFTER THE INTERVIEW HE HAS SCHEDULED A MEETING WITH POLICE TO TALK FURTHER ABOUT IT, AND THEN HE’S FOUND DEAD.*** in the interview he’s very nice and polite and not in character. and they even show clips of a mentors video.
I saw that movie about the death of Kurt where they interviewed El Duce about it. I don’t know if he was just trying to get attention or it is true. I do find it odd that a professional drinker like Eldon would be so fucked up that he’d wander onto train tracks and get killed by a train, it just seemed too far fetched for me and it does make you wonder what really happened.
GDD, while the Dead Kennedys reunion was pretty pathetic, I read the legal results of their lawsuit over the royalties and it did indeed appear that the band was getting ripped off by the label. That in itself was also pretty sad that it even happened. I can’t fault them for suing based on reading that, but touring with a different singer, that was just wrong. When they had Brandon Cruz singing, I wrote something on here saying how lame it was and his mom wrote me bitching about it!
Myself and a few of my bros got into the MENTORS when we were 14 years old. El Duce and the guys left a mark on us forever! Take it all seriously? No…but we took the FUN seriously though! Through the years…every time we get the chance to LIVE a Mentors tune…it’s a funny feeling of accomplishment. Next time you “kick it on down” with a sleazy chick in an alley…remember El Duce and the Mentors. They would be proud! I’m 35 now…and I still love the MENTORS!! RIP good ol’ El!
Heard a story from one of the members of Montreal band “The Asexuals”. They were doing a tour through the US and on one show they were supposed to have The Mentors open. Asexuals got to the bar in the afternoon and no-one there except three low life bikers sitting at the bar. Asexuals set up, did sound check and left, came back later and the bar still empty except for the bikers and the bartender. (The show “wasn’t well promoted”). No sign of the Mentors. 11pm rolls around, the bikers walk up the Asexuals and introduce themselves as the Mentors and ask to borrow equipment and setup!
Good set apparently.
I found this site randomly looking for Alice Bag Band. I thought it was pretty funny, but I guess obligatory that you had a thing on the Mentors. I discovered them a while ago and was completely amazed at their idiocy , etc. but yeah I understand it. I just thought this was amusing:
What kind of Man listens to the Mentors?
The kind of macho man that typically listens to the Mentors is a Real Man who screws as many bitches as he can. He is prone to getting intoxicated, racing vehicles at high rates of speed and listening to the Mentors complements this exciting lifestyle. Demographic studies show that most Mentor fans frequent prostitutes and drug dealers on a regular basis and watch a lot of porno.
Too bad you don’t like our new shit w/o El Duce. We were doing covers of Mahavishnu Orcestra with dirty lyrics, then wrote our own music to the lyrics. Think: Frank Zappa with a hood!
Put on a hood and you can sing backup vocals and be in the band(got MILF?)
Mentors rock! There’s a CD of live Mentors with El Duce. It’s a combination of two different live shows they did at small clubs in L.A. in the mid ’80’s. El Duce’s comments between songs are absolutely halariouis! His introduction to “Free Fix” nearly had me rolling on the floor. Best live CD EVER!
i 2 shokked n’ grossed 2 the max to think
Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Baby. Words to live by…
I’d like to kidnap Germaine Greer and force her to listen to the Mentors.
Listening to them makes me want to do those kinds of things.
correction… the mentors formed in the early seventies not the early eighties…i think sickie and steve broy could verify this for you…that’s awesome what sickie said about mahavishnu…my brother’s gonna flip when i tell him…by the way sickie ,get the northwest breeders down from seattle to play at least one show for us at the showcase in corona,ca. (or anywhere in so.cal)
The Mentors will appear in a comedy show! As part of The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres “Offensive Fest ’06” Sickie, Moose Dick and Dr. Heathen Scum will be interviewed on stage (and they may play a set). Don’t miss it!
ASSSSCAT w/ The Mentors
Sunday, July 2nd @ 7:30pm $8
UCB Theatre
5919 Franklin Ave.
Hollywood, CA
90028
323-908-8702
Dumb Fuck spelled ” Hoke” wrong.
Band formed,& music + lyrics created by Duce, Scum + Sickie. And thanks to The Assorted Cruster Chorus Members, 4F 4 Life Pimps, Dealers, and Ladies involved in our lives and music.
Yeash!
4F!
Sickie
I may have spelled it wrong but at least I’m not the one raping the man’s legacy posing as the band he started and the band that he was all in an effort to try and make a buck.
El Duce WAS the Mentors, without him, yr just a sad cover band.
Non musical chump, I wrote the music, we all wrote the words, El sang, I did back up and he ain’t singing with us no more.
You are not into it when he was singing, so get out and support your favorite band and leave the RAPE ROCK TO US , you jello biafra faggot lovin punk boy!
Um, I WAS into you guys when the Duce was still alive and I even went to see the band play the one time I ever knew of them coming to Chicago (opening for Revolting Cocks). While I didn’t think the metal records were nearly as good as the Mystic stuff, I was still a fan of the REAL Mentors, that with El Duce singing and playing the drums. He made that band what it was, he WAS the gimmick. You should have changed yr name when you decided to see if you could cash in off yr past “fame” of being in the Mentors but I guess the shows would be a lot emptier had you done that since the name is a selling point, even though from what I’ve seen and read, El Duce owned it.
The new Mentors album rocks !!!!!
YEASH!
SICKIE WIFEBEATER IS A GUITAR GOD!!!!
I would rather have Sickie and Heathen Scum still continuing The Mentors without El Duce than just stop playing and just forget the music and fans altogether. Ya know?
I mean no one can replace El Duce but El Rapo does a pretty damn good job. And Sickie, you gotta teach me some of your solos…
I missed you guys when you jammed at my friend’s house in Chattanooga(late 80’s maybe).
But I caught up with the Mentors on the way back home from a job at a nuke plant in SC,the club was in Atlanta called “The Masquerade”,it was 1990-91(around the time I went to one of GG Allin’s shows),I sat at the bar before the show and slamed many beers with El and we both finished the beers off with a hit of acid my friend(Chris,RIP) gave us both,Chris was a cruster from way back,the show was great,from that point on I became a cruster,I’ve not heard any of their new stuff,good or bad in somes eyes and ears I’m glad that they are still out there Rocking with hoods!I’d like to see a best of CD put out,If theres already one out there and if Sickie reads this send me a link man.”you jello biafra faggot lovin punk boy!”
ROTFLMAO! you tell um Sickie!
Right on Sickie, We’ll see you in Seattle with The Accused on Saturday, Oct. 28th, 2006