Souljacker: A freakshow of vicious parents?
Virginia native E (Mark Oliver Everett) created the band EELS as an outlet
for his life experiences. E spent his youth maintaining an anti-social regiment
holed up in the basement, escaping the outside world, honing his songwriting
craft, and pouring his soul into a primitive 4-track cassette recorder.
Before becoming the consummate college radio darling, he was first inspired
by listening to his sister wear out her copy of Neil Young's After The Goldrush.
By the age of 20, E had exhausted all the cultural possibilities of his
hometown and fled to the opportunity of LA with no other friends or contacts
there. His journey paid off in 1991 signing to Polydor and recording his
first album A Man Called E, yielding the top ten alternative rock hit "Hello
Cruel World." E recorded the music for Beautiful Freak and composed his
next hit "Novocaine for the Soul" for the new world-multi media conglomerate
Dreamworks in 1996. The video clip for the hit song featuring E's spare
voice, quirky-indy production and philosophical insight garnered much praise
from MTV. The EELS toured extensively supporting Tori Amos, Fiona Apple,
and a stint on the 1997 Lollapalooza Tour. E's resume also boasts film soundtracks
including the track "Bad News" in The End of Violence by acclaimed director
Wim Wenders, and the song "Cancer for the Cure," in director Sam Mendes'
haunting epic American Beauty. Wenders is such a fan that he also directed
the video for the EELS forthcoming song "Soujacker Part 1." After the passing
of his sister and parents in 1998, E channeled his emotions into the critically
acclaimed recording, Electro-Shock Blues. The album includes collaborations
with his neighbors and friends including Mike Simpson (Dust Brothers), Mickey
P., Grant Lee Phillips (Grant Lee Buffalo), Jon Brion (Aimee Mann) and T-Bone
Burnett. The album explores an enormous range of emotions and musical textures
from the eerie, sonorous melodies of "Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor,"
to the crashing and clacking, industrial sounds of "Cancer for the Cure."
In 2000, the EELS released Oh What A Beautiful Morning, a live recording
documenting the EELS Orchestra on tour. The 6-piece orchestra featured a
diverse instrumentation of saxophone, trombone, trumpet, banjo, guitar,
violin, upright bass, piano, melodica, clarinet, and timpani with each member
playing an average of 3-4 instruments each night. E's forthcoming piece
of musical wisdom on Dreamworks Souljacker will be released March 2002.
This unique musical and human exploration has led up to a much-anticipated
performance at TIPITINA'S Uptown, 501 Napoleon, on St. Patrick's Day, March
17, 2002 at 10:30 PM. |
