After being dropped from a label with his Hip Hop act Other Than Honorable, Rod Mack decided it was time to recreate another group, but take it in a direction that was more in line with his influences. He called up childhood friends Todd Nelson and Tim Flaherty (now of Hot Action Cop, Antikythera and Grave Flower) and they started to practice.

The Rap/Rock fusion was new, and still relatively unknown. Drawing from a Punk/Thrash and Hip Hop background, Rod started branding his style of music as Thugcore. A mixture of Hardcore, Punk and Hip Hop. The first record Premonitions of Apocalypse surfaced in 1998, and E-FLAT continued touring regionally and playing as many shows as they could play. A loyal fan base began to emerge, and E-FLAT was lovingly given the nickname of The Foul Mouthed Hooligans, by local promoter/columnist/Radio DJ/artist Eddy “Metal” Burke. The moniker stuck, and The Foul Mouthed Hooligans became infamous for their antics, live energy, and of course, Rod’s foul mouth.

2000 saw the Hooligans self record, produce and promote a double CD titled Because of You, which did very well locally, and solidified their spot in Louisville Music History. This was also one of the first CD’s released locally to contain CD/ROM extras such as videos and JPEG images. This CD was the heaviest yet, with Tim Flaherty moving from Bass to co-guitar responsibilities. This launched E-FLAT into the top of the local rock scene in Louisville. Their title track Because of You stayed at the top of the local radio charts, and also did very well on Garageband.com, and was distributed on one of that site’s compilation CDs. Record labels were taking notice, and E-FLAT discussed distribution with several, but the offers were not enough for the most of the members to give up their full time jobs, since Rod, Todd and Stacy now had children and families to support. Soon, Tim Flaherty would take another offer to play guitar for Hot Action Cop.

With the recent departure of Tim, and the building pressures of family and children, Stacy decided he needed a hiatus. Todd left soon after and formed Flatlyne. Rod tried to continue, but could not find a lineup that had the same chemistry. In 2001 E-FLAT officially went on hiatus.

In 2004, Todd’s project Flatlyne, for lack of a better term, flat-lined. After several conflicts with the vocalist, they officially called it quits. Todd and Rod were talking with a friend named Justin Tennison, and played him some E-FLAT. He decided that was the band he wanted to play bass for, and E-FLAT officially came back to life. Andrew Garret picked up the 2nd guitar duties, and DJ RIno came back as DJ. It took off, and E-FLAT began playing and recording again. Dj Rino decided to do other things in 2005, just before the recording of Audio Assault, the next Cd from E-FLAT, released in 2006.

The Audio Assault era featured the temporary addition of a 2nd vocalist, Shane. This concept was great, but just was not heading in the direction the band wanted to go. Shane soon departed, and E-FLAT decided to change their sound just a little. Gone were the turntables and samples, and now a sludgier, grungier sound was coming.

Justin departed ways shortly after, due to personal reasons, and Andy as well. E-FLAT brought in an acquaintance of Rod’s named Colin, who brought a friend named Ryan to jam on guitar. This lineup worked well and carried on for about a year, until personal reasons caused Colin’s departure. Soon after, Ryan would follow. Rod called some fellow musicians named Kenny and Eric, from the Dump Gang/Crash Planet. They were very experienced, and excellent players, but had their own ideas and goals. This lineup continued into late 2007, and fizzled. Kenny and Eric decided to work on their own music, and E-FLAT once again found themselves searching for a bassist and 2nd guitar.

Kyle Gray was a mutual friend of the band, and a somewhat inexperienced bassist, but had determination and talent. He began jamming, and picked up quickly in 2008. His style, charisma and dedication were not in vain, and Kyle remains and active and strong force in the creative process. 2009 saw a furious amount of writing, and a new CD is already began, with a completion date and name to be announced in early 2010. Todd is handling all the guitar duties, but a 2nd guitarist may be back in 2010. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.