Eldon Hoke | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Eldon Wayne Hoke |
Also known as | El Duce |
Born |
Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
March 23, 1958
Died | April 19, 1997 Riverside, California, U.S. |
(aged 39)
Genres | Heavy metal, punk rock, shock rock |
Instruments | Vocals, drums |
Years active | 1974–1997 |
Labels | Ever Rat Records, Mentor Records, Metal Blade, Mystic |
Associated acts | The Mentors, Gardy Loo!, Coven, The Screamers, Chinas Comidas |
Eldon Wayne Hoke (March 23, 1958 – April 19, 1997) was an American musician. Nicknamed El Duce, he was best known as the drummer and lead singer of the self-described "rape rock" band The Mentors. He was part of other acts, including Chinas Comidas and The Screamers before that.
Hoke and the Mentors worked to gain attention through farcical demonstrations of political incorrectness. Their guitarist renamed himself "Sickie Wifebeater", and the group often appeared in public wearing black executioner hoods. One reviewer suggested that "their lyrics, which consisted mostly of songs about hitting women, stealing from women, and having anal sex with women, made their anonymity necessary."
During the 1985 U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's hearings into the proliferation of "obscene" lyrics in popular music, the Rev. Jeff Ling recited the lyrics to the Mentors song, "Golden Shower" to musician Frank Zappa, who opposed the hearings. The lyrics, which included the line, "Bend up and smell my anal vapor/Your face is my toilet paper" prompted Zappa and others to denounce the hearings as a farce. In subsequent years Mentors lyrics have been suggested for Grammy and Pulitzer Prize nomination but those efforts have never gotten very far.
In addition to his musical career, Hoke also worked as an extra in television, movie, and music video productions. Hoke had a supporting role, credited as "El Duce" in the science fiction musical Population: 1.
Hoke regularly appeared on the talk show Hot Seat, where he and his band called their music "rape rock". He stated that he could tell if women wanted to be raped "by the look in their eyes", and in general played a wrestling-style villain for the audience. Hoke's many appearances often culminated in being "forcibly" removed from host Wally George's soundstage by security personnel.