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Oingo Boingo

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Oingo Boingo was a critically acclaimed American New Wave rock band known better for their influence than for their chart successes. The band was led by songwriter/vocalist Danny Elfman who later achieved substantial renown as a composer for film and television. The group survived from 1972 to 1995, although it changed formats radically several times.

Contents

The Mystic Knights Years

Formed in late 1972 by Richard Elfman as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the band was essentially a musical theatre troupe with a very eclectic repertoire ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese Gamelan music. The name was inspired by a fictional secret society on the Amos 'n' Andy TV series called "The Mystic Knights of the Sea". Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup; a typical show would contain music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s (including covers and original material) This version of the band employed as many as 15 musicians at any given time, and over 30 instruments. Unfortunately, very little recorded material from this period exists. At some point during the '70s, the reins of the band were passed from Richard to younger brother Danny Elfman, who had recently returned from spending time abroad studying percussive music.

The swan song for the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo came in 1980 when they provided the music for the film Forbidden Zone, written and directed by Richard Elfman. Danny, as Satan, sang a version of Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" with lyrics integrated into the plot of the film, and other members the band played various supporting roles. (Richard has a cameo lip-synching the 1920s novelty song "The Yiddishe Charlston.")

The group produced a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back", and appeared as contestants on The Gong Show, in which they won 24 points out of 30 without getting gonged.

The Oingo Boingo Years

In the late '70s, Danny decided to transform the group from a musical theatre troupe into a rock band, and shortened the band's name to Oingo Boingo. Various reasons for this transformation given include cutting costs and increasing mobility, exploring new musical directions (such as Danny's interest in Ska), and a desire to perform music that didn't need theatrics to support it.

Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only A Lad" from their first EP. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on KROQ and complemented the station's then-unusual New Wave format. Although the song was deemed New Wave due to its theme, the sound of Oingo Boingo generally defied categorization, with the use of staccato brass arrangements and surrealistic imagery. Following regional success of "Only A Lad," the group released its first album of the same name the following year.

The band is probably best known for appearing on a number of soundtracks in the early to mid 1980s. Their most well-known song, "Weird Science" was written for the John Hughes movie of the same name. The song was one of the band's least favorites as it was rushed out of the studio for the film before they were finished with it. The band made an appearance playing their hit "Dead Man's Party" on stage in the memorable party scene in the movie Back to School. Oingo Boingo also appeared in the 1981 film Longshot, performing their unreleased song "I've Got To Be Entertained". They also contributed two songs (neither of which can be found on any Oingo Boingo release) to the soundtrack for 1984's Bachelor Party; "Bachelor Party" and "Something Isn't Right". The song "Flesh 'N Blood" appears on the Ghostbusters II soundtrack. The song "No One Lives Forever" is featured in Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2.

Once again the band was shortened down, along with the name (to Boingo), around 1994. This incarnation saw the disappearance of the horn section and the addition of Warren Fitzgerald.

The End

Oingo Boingo amicably parted ways after their annual Halloween concert in 1995 (including the horn section). The final concert is available on both audio and video recordings.

"Quite simply... the time was right. After 17 years together, it finally occurred to me that we had survived about 16 years longer than I had expected... pretty good by any standards I think. It's been good, crazy times, and I'm always amazed how loyal our fans have been, but I think it's better to let things go before they turn sour. Also, scientifically speaking, modern research has recently proven that after a band has been together longer than a decade, the risk of the dinosaur factor kicking in increases exponentially each year thereafter. In short, it's been fun. Adios Amigos." -- Danny Elfman
Frontman Danny Elfman has had a very successful film scoring career since, particularly in collaborations with the director Tim Burton, and frequently using Boingo guitarist and composer Steve Bartek as orchestrator. Their film scores have included Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Proof of Life, Men in Black, and dozens more. Elfman also wrote the themes for more than a dozen TV series, including The Simpsons, [[Batman: The Animated Series]], Dilbert, Desperate Housewives, and Tales from the Crypt.

Members

The membership in both the theatre troupe and the rock band changed over time.

Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

Name      Years      Credits Additional Info
Richard Elfman 1972-1976 Founder, director, percussion Note that pretty much everyone played percussion
Danny Elfman 1974-1994 Composer, music director, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, trombone, percussion  
Marie-Pascale Elfman 1972-? Vocals Richard Elfmans' wife, appeared with the band less and less after her husband left  
Gene Cunningham 1972-? ? Aka Ugh-Fudge Bwana
Matthew Bright ?-? Bass Aka Toshiro Boloney
Steve Bartek 1976-1994 Guitar, vocals formerly played guitar for the 60s band Strawberry Alarm Clock  
Kerry Hatch 1979-1983 Bass guitar, vocals  
Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez ?-1994 Drums, percussion  
Sam "Sluggo" Phipps ?-1994 Tenor & soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet  
Leon Schneiderman ?-1994 Baritone & alto saxophones, flute  
Dale Turner ?-1994 Trumpet, trombone  
Billy Superball 1972-1975,1976-1978 Trumpet, Upright & Fender Bass Aka William Folwell. Appears in the Bill Murray movie Loose Shoes [link]
Josh Gordon 1973-1975 Trumpet, tuba, guitar  
Jan Munroe ?-? Sword swallower, slack-rope walker, fire breather  
William Winant 1972-1975 Percussion Toured with Oingo Boingo in 1991 or 1992, played with Mr. Bungle
Ernie Fosselius ?-? ? Wrote "Hipsters On Parade"
Stan Ayeroff 1972-1975 Jazz guitar  
Miriam Cutler 1976-79 Clarinet, vocals   www.miriamcutler.com
Brad Kay 1974-1977 Keyboards  
Todd Manley ?-? Percussion  
Lori Mann ?-? ?  
Musti Faun ?-? ?  
Gisele Lindley ?-? ?  

Oingo Boingo / Boingo

Name      Years      Credits
Danny Elfman 1979-1995 Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, composition
Steve Bartek 1979-1995 Lead guitar, backing vocals, arrangements
Richard Gibbs 1979-1983 Keyboards, synthesizer, trombone, bass backing vocals
Kerry Hatch 1979-1983 Bass guitar, bass synthesizer, key backing vocals
Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez 1979-1995 Drums, percussion
Sam "Sluggo" Phipps 1979-1995 Tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet
Leon Schneiderman 1979-1995 Baritone & alto saxophones
Dale Turner 1979-1995 Trumpet, trombone
David Eagle 1980-1981 Drums
John Avila 1984-1995 Bass guitar, bass synthesizer, backing vocals
Paul Fox 1984 Synthesizers
Mike Bacich 1985-1987 Keyboards
Carl Graves 1988-1994 Keyboards, synthesizers
Warren Fitzgerald 1994-1995 Guitar
Doug Lacy 1994-1995 Accordion, percussion
Marc Mann 1994-1995 Keyboards, samples

Other Projects

John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernanadez were two members of the trio named Food For Feet.

Several other longtime members of Oingo Boingo--bassist John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernanadez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps--created (along with other musicians) a band called Doug & The Mystics after the breakup. They recorded one album, New Hat, in 1995 which included a cover of the Oingo Boingo song Try to Believe as well as covers of Frank Zappa and other artists and original songs.

On Halloween 2005, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez put together a tribute to the band (and Halloween itself.) Former Oingo Boingo members Steve Bartek, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps also showed up. Standing in for Elfman was Bt4, a young man whom many fans call the "Danny byproduct." Another tribute concert has been booked for Halloween 2006. It is not yet known which band members will attend, but Vatos and Bt4 have confirmed their attendance.

References in popular culture

Discography

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1988 "Winning Side" - #14 - - Boingo Alive
1990 "When the Lights Go Out" - #15 - - Dark at the End of the Tunnel

Filmography

As the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

As Oingo Boingo

External links

 

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