Eels Play to the Down and Out

The rich guy who has everything is eating a steak in a fine restaurant while a poor guy who has nothing looks through the window. The waiter brings a bottle of expensive wine. The rich guy says, “More.” As it begins to rain, the poor guy outside wonders, “Why me?” Fate, laughing amid the thunder, says, “Why not?” The poor guy concludes, “Hey, I needed to wash this shirt anyway.”

Beaten down but unbroken is a familiar theme to a writer named E, who will be playing with his group Eels on Friday night at the Ventura Theatre. Also on the bill are two other briefly named bands, Poe and Pure.

E (a.k.a. Mike Edwards) is a man who could sign a quick autograph. He is a transplanted Virginian who headed west and settled in L.A. seven years ago. After bumming around town--between compulsive songwriting binges in his basement--E got a record deal and made a pair of solo albums with song titles such as “Hello Cruel World,” “Shine It All On” and “Permanent Broken Heart.”

The third solo album didn’t happen. The E-man met drummer Butch Norton and bassist Tommy Walter at one of those open-mike affairs, and Eels slithered forth. Their new album, “Beautiful Freak,” has been out for a few months. The subject matter--the broken-hearted outsider who sees all, damns it all, yet somehow celebrates it all--remains the same.

There are also plenty of songs about city life--why we don’t want to live there and why they all want to live here. From “Flower,” a sample line: “Turn the ugly light off, God, I wanna feel the night. . . . Everyone is trying to bum me out. . . .”

The E-man, who makes a convincing case that “life ain’t easy when you’ve got a permanent broken heart,” talked things over during a recent phone interview.

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How did you become a letter?

It’s just a nickname I’ve had for a long time.

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How is “Beautiful Freak” different from your solo albums?

The stuff I was working on was to be on my third solo album, and then I hit it off so well with Tommy and Butch. So I immersed myself in the dynamics of the band. It’s a more exciting situation for me, and I’m always looking for ways to grow and challenge myself.

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What’s the outsider aspect of your songs?

It’s about the true fish out of water, not the fashionable alternative freaks. I’ve always had a certain awkwardness about me, and I was always the wrong thing at the wrong place at the wrong time. The songs are about how these people feel about themselves.

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You’re from Virginia. Why are there always more rebels than Yankees at those Civil War reenactments?

Yeah, that’s scary. That’s one of the reasons I don’t live in Virginia.

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So how does a person get signed? I understand you even gave a tape to Angie Dickinson.

I did that way before my first solo album came out. She never called. I didn’t know a soul in Los Angeles or California for that matter; I just wanted to get as far away from Virginia as I could. Any time I’d meet anyone who was remotely connected with the music industry, I’d give them a Nashville handshake and slip them a tape. Eventually, after about three years, it worked.

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So do you love L.A. now? Are you a Dodger fan?

I go to Dodger games sometimes because I live close by, but I don’t care who wins. I was going to move to Ventura, but they wouldn’t let me. I was going to rent a place on the hill near the courthouse, but they didn’t want to rent to a guy with yellow hair. I need fresh air.

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On your bio, you’re quoted as saying, “Sometimes songs can make people feel less alone.” Expound, please.

I think I’ve been obsessively writing songs for the last 10 or 15 years. Sometimes, years would go buy without me going out on a date because I had to write songs. It was like therapy. I’d go to the basement by myself and write.

I used to think I had nothing to contribute to society, but now I find this wonderful byproduct. If you have uniqueness, it’ll come through. When we play, sometimes I see people singing along. People write me letters and thank me for a particular song and what I meant to them. That makes me feel good.

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How would you describe Eels’ music?

Exactly as you put it, Eels’ music. I really don’t know how to describe it.

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Well then, how do you mend a permanent broken heart?

Unfortunately, you never mend it all the way. You could go to therapy so you can learn to live with it, that’s about it. When I told you writing songs is therapy for me, well, it is, but it doesn’t fix anything. It’s just a survival mechanism for me.

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Cafe Voltaire in downtown Ventura will have late-night entertainment beginning at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. This weekend it’s acoustic guitarists Paul Nieman and Ray Waggoner on consecutive nights. So what’s the dang deal?

“Where else you gonna go?” said owner Todd Winokur. “We’ll have food until 4 a.m. and beer and wine until 2 a.m. If you’re all wasted from the Bombay, Nicholby’s or the Metro, come on over and have a sandwich. There’s nowhere to get food in Ventura late at night unless it’s Carrow’s or Denny’s.”

The Ventura Police Department is clearly adept at busting drunk drivers, especially downtown on weekends. Cafe Voltaire is offering an alternative to this “come-on-vacation, leave-on-probation scenario,” according to Winokur.

“I’ve formed a group, the DDDD, or Downtown Don’t Drive Drunk. Walk on over. Sober up. Then drive home. It’s that simple.”

The cafe is in the Livery at 34 N. Palm St. Call them at 641-1743.

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Viva--she of the seven-octave voice and the No. 1 hit in Europe (“Nirvana”)--will perform Friday at Conejo Creek Field in Thousand Oaks. The gig is a fund-raiser for the Red Ribbon Committee, which will donate 100% of the proceeds to fight AIDS and drug abuse.

There will be unlimited carnival rides at the site, which is across from the Thousand Oaks teen and senior centers, for $8 beginning at 5 p.m. Viva will croon at 7:30 p.m. The field is at 1375 E. Janss Road. For more information, call 373-7007.

DETAILS

* WHAT: Eels, Poe and Pure.

* WHERE: Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St.

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday.

* HOW MUCH: $12.

* CALL: 648-1888.