Eels

Biography

The post-punk formation Eels was an idea developed and realized by Mark Oliver Everett, a Virginia-native musician who relocated to California. By the time of his moving, this young man had acquired a rich experience of performing as a singer, guitarist and keyboardist, and had released two good solo albums. At one of the LA clubs, he met the drummer Jonathan Norton (later Butch Norton). These two founded Eels and recruited the bassist Tommy Walter. Formed this way, Eels gave their first concert in 1995. The trio interested Michael Simpson, a manager of the major DreamWorks Records label, who did not hesitate to offer them a contract. The beginning outfit played the music based on the legacy of the then youth darlings like The Pixies or Nirvana. The Eels’ first single, released in 1996 as Novocaine For The Soul, became a big hit having a heavy airplay at college and alternative radio stations. Its follower, Susan's House, even managed to get spotted in the distant UK entering the local Top Ten. Despite the classic rock-act lineup and selection of instruments, Eels experimented a lot following the instructions provided by Simpson who had worked much with dance music and sampling. This made the beginning band’s songs contain the traces of the most various instruments which was the trademark of the group’s 1996 debut long player titled as Beautiful Freak.

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