In the early days of Los Angeles punk rock there were many different types of art and views being expressed. The LA scene was less political than the San Francisco scene and also leaned more toward scatological humor than their peers up north. Bands like Black Randy and the Metrosquad and Fear offered up offensive humor with tight musical chops. But the Mentors, featuring singer/drummer El Duce, were something entirely different. Known for his heavy drinking and drug use, he often slept on the street, would get drunk and pass out at venues like the Cathay de Grande or Raji’s and generally live out the lyrics he wrote. You could actually go to a Mentors gig at night, hear El sing a song called Cardboard Condo and then the next morning find him in a Hollywood alley sleeping in a cardboard condo. Rikk Agnew of the Adolescents tells a story of how El got ditched in Orange County after a gig and was going to walk home to Hollywood. “We saw him early in the morning and brought him to our place and had him soak his feet in warm water. They were swollen from all the walking he had done. Then he got on the drum kit and we jammed before we gave him a ride home.”

There are a few Mentors DVD’s for sale and clips on YouTube and they all contain live footage, his television appearances and some of El goofing off but this one is quite different. Actor/singer Ryan Sexton had met Eldon Hoke aka El Duce, found him to be a fascinating Hollywood character, and started filming him in various situations. As El grew to know and trust Ryan the filming took a turn and El, maybe for the first time ever, really started opening up and talking about his family, his upbringing including abuse from his father and his addiction problems. It’s a different side of the man and may be a bit jarring to his longtime fans. But this film succeeds in peeling back the layers and revealing things about the man we might not have ever known and that makes it essential viewing for Mentors fans and people who enjoy strange documentaries.

Ryan had filmed hours of footage when something came up and he put the tapes in storage and there they sat for years. “I didn’t know that the tapes existed,’ says Mentors bass player and archival custodian Dr. Heathen Scum aka Steve Broy. “Ryan was a good friend of ours back in the day.” Current interviews with Broy are included in the film. Broy has already released a treasure trove of Mentors footage spread out over several releases. With all the footage the band has, I asked if there will ever be a comprehensive Mentors box set in the future. “I don’t know. It’ll be a big hassle to get all the rights from Du- beat-e-o, etc.” El and the band had appeared in amazing footage shot for the unavailable film featuring Ray Sharkey and Joan Jett. “But I have more footage I will be releasing.”

Part of what makes the film really work as a legit documentary is how it shows El confessing things about himself and his family that were never really uncovered before. Was Broy happy with the film presenting a look at El that humanizes him? “Yeah, that is good. But I don’t think his dad was that bad. Both of his parents are dead now.” One of the highlights are bits with El’s highly supportive sister. While she is honest about her brother as far as some of his shortcomings, it is obvious that she is very proud of his accomplishments in music and life. She shares her thoughts about how since he was a boy, he had put more work into not working than it would take to actually work. “I like how his sister says he was lazy,’ laughs Broy. “He worked at being a legend!”