Electric Six biography
Electric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "Garage, disco, punk rock, New wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded eight full-length albums: Fire, Seí±or Smoke, Switzerland, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master, Flashy, KILL, Zodiac and Heartbeats and Brainwaves. They have also released a rarities album, Sexy Trash.
History
Formation and the Wildbunch years
The band formed in 1996 and was initially known as The Wildbunch, eventually dropping that name due to pressure from the Bristol trip hop collective of the same name. Throughout the later half of the '90s, they played regularly at the Old Miami and the Gold Dollar in Detroit, the center of a scene that produced breakout acts like the White Stripes.
The band was originally composed of Dick Valentine (Tyler Spencer, vocals), Rock and Roll Indian (Anthony Selph, guitar), Surge Joebot (Joe Frezza, guitar), Disco (Steve Nawara, bass, former member of The Detroit Cobras), and M (Cory Martin, drums). Dick Valentine is and has always been the primary songwriter (both music and lyrics) of Electric Six. During the band's temporary split at the end of the 1990s, Tyler Spencer formed his own band called The Dirty Shame and released one CD entitled Smog Cutter Love Story which featured, among other tracks, a first version of Fire track "Vengeance and Fashion." The band reformed by 2001 to record and release the first release of "Danger! High Voltage" and record the track "Dealin' in Death and Stealin' in the Name of the Lord" with Troy Gregory for his Sybil album.
Mainstream success (2001-2003)
The 2003 release of "Danger! High Voltage" (produced and mixed by Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury) proved a massive hit, particularly in the United Kingdom. Although this was presented as fact in multiple sources, then-guitarist Surge said in an interview:
In another interview, former drummer M. said: "My attorney has advised us to neither confirm nor deny the presence of Jack White."
Still, the rumor persisted that Jack White was featured on the song "Danger! High Voltage." Initially both he and the Electric Six denied this, and the vocal work was credited officially to the unknown John S O'Leary. Later it was learned that "John S O'Leary" is merely the pseudonym used by White when checking into hotels.
The band's 2003 breakout album Fire (also produced and mixed by Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury) earned the group significant critical success, landing the "Danger! High Voltage" single at number 2 on the UK singles chart. Their second single, "Gay Bar", released in 2003, reached No. 5 in the UK charts.
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