Eric Carlson (born May 22, 1958, in Seattle, Washington) is a founding member and lead guitarist of American heavy metal band The Mentors. Under the stage name Sickie Wifebeater, Carlson started The Mentors in Seattle in 1976 with bass guitarist Steve Broy (Dr. Heathen Scum) and singer/drummer Eldon Hoke (El Duce) who attended Roosevelt High School together.

Style

Wifebeater's playing style when soloing (with hand above and over the fretboard) is one of the things that gave the Mentors' guitars a unique sound. His signature sound is fluid with alternating bottom-heavy crunch with fast-noted metal runs. When performing, Wifebeater wears a black executioner’s hood, according to a Guitar World.

Equipment

Guitars

Wifebeater plays or has played the following guitars

Amplifiers

Sickie Wifebeater uses a 1978 or 1979 Marshall MKII 100 Watt Lead with checkerboard speaker cabinets. Originally, he used the fullstack as pictured on the Get Up and Die album cover but in later years he mainly ran it as a halfstack.

Discography

With The Mentors

With other groups

Videography

Sources