Electric Six

Electric Six is a Detroit rock group formed in 1996, first using the name The Wildbunch before changing it. The band is associated with a mix of alternative rock, indie rock, pop, pop rock and rock, and its music also draws on funk and disco elements. The project is based around singer and songwriter Dick Valentine, whose real name is Tyler Spencer, and he also works as the group’s main writer of both lyrics and music. Before the name change, the Wildbunch name is used for the band’s earlier incarnation.

Line-up

The group is described as a six-piece line-up featuring Dick Valentine on vocals, Tait Nucleus? on synthesizers, Johnny Na$hinal on guitar, Da Ve on guitar, Percussion World on drums and Smörgåsbord on bass. Earlier formations include Valentine with Rock and Roll Indian on guitar, Surge Joebot on guitar, Disco on bass and M on drums. Over time, the group’s membership also includes The Colonel, John R. Dequindre, Frank Lloyd Bonaventure and others listed among its members.

Early years and breakthrough

In the late 1990s the band plays regularly in Detroit venues including the Magic Bag in Ferndale, the Magic Stick and the Gold Dollar. During a temporary split at the end of that decade, Tyler Spencer forms The Dirty Shame and releases Smog Cutter Love Story, which includes an early version of the Electric Six song “Vengeance and Fashion”. The band reforms by 2001 and records material that leads into its early releases.

Electric Six breaks through in the UK with “Danger! High Voltage” in 2002, a dance-rock single that reaches number 2 on the UK singles chart. “Gay Bar” follows in 2003 and reaches number 5 in the UK. The band becomes particularly associated with British chart success from these singles.

Albums and later releases

After the debut album, three members leave and the group continues with a revised line-up. The second album, Señor Smoke, is released in the UK in 2005 and later in the US through Metropolis Records after problems with Warner Brothers. Its first single, a cover of Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga”, brings controversy, with a video that presents Dick Valentine as Freddie Mercury and uses poodles as the backing band. Electric Six says it is contractually obliged to include the song on the album.

The band’s later albums include Switzerland in 2006, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master in 2007, Flashy in 2008, KILL in 2009, Zodiac in 2010 and Heartbeats and Brainwaves in 2011. A fan contribution contest produces the video for “I Buy the Drugs”. A double live album is planned for release in 2012 in the supplied account.

Style and collaborations

The band’s sound combines rock and punk energy with funky rhythms, falsetto vocals and a comic edge. It resists labels such as disco-metal and disco punk. Electric Six also records “Dealin’ With Death N’ Stealin’ In The Name Of The Lord” with Troy Gregory for his Sybil album.