Oingo Boingo

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Oingo Boingo
File:Oingoboingo.jpg
Oingo Boingo, circa 1983. (Back row, from left) Steve Bartek, Kerry Hatch, Leon Schneiderman, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, (Middle row, from left) Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, Dale Turner, (Bottom) Richard "Ribbs" Gibbs, (Forefront) Danny Elfman.
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, USA
Years active1972–1978 as Mystic Knights
1978–1995

Oingo Boingo was a critically acclaimed American New Wave rock band better known for their influence, soundtrack contributions, and high energy Halloween concerts rather than 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's format was changed twice, once in 1980, and again in 1994; the band retired in 1995.

The Mystic Knights years

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, formed in late 1972 by Richard Elfman, was a musical theatre troupe in the tradition of Spike Jones and Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, performing an eclectic repertoire ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese Gamelan and Russian ballet 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, in addition to original material. This version of the band employed as many as fifteen musicians at any given time, playing over thirty instruments, including some instruments built by band members. Few recordings from this period exist, although they did produce a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back." As Richard's interest shifted to filmmaking, he passed leadership of the band to younger brother Danny Elfman, who had recently returned from spending time in Africa playing violin and studying percussion music. They gained a following in Los Angeles, and appeared as contestants on The Gong Show, winning the show with 24 points out of 30 without getting gonged [1].

When the group began to move away from its cabaret style towards a more pop/rock format, Richard Elfman decided to capture the essence of their live shows on film. The result was the 1980 movie Forbidden Zone. Filmed in black and white with a cast mostly made up of band members and friends, the movie's music and visuals elaborated on the spirit of the Mystic Knights' concerts. In one scene Danny, as Satan, sings a version of Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" with modified lyrics integrated into the plot of the film. In another Richard sings the 1920s novelty song "The Yiddishe Charleston." The movie attained cult status, captured the essence of the Mystic Knights, and provided a springboard for the film and music careers of Richard and Danny.

The Oingo Boingo Years

Various reasons for the band's transformation from musical theatre troupe to rock band were given, including cutting costs and increasing mobility, exploring new musical directions (such as Danny's interest in Ska and New Wave), and a desire to perform music that didn't need theatrics to support it. The name was shortened to Oingo Boingo for the Rhino Records "Los Angeles Rock And New Wave Band" Compilation, L.A. In, featuring their song "I'm Afraid."

Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only a Lad" from their eponymous EP. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on KROQ and complemented the station's then-unusual New Wave format. Although the song was classified as New Wave and was compared to Devo, Oingo Boingo defied categorization. Their use of exotic percussion, a three piece horn section, unconventionial scales and harmony, and surrealistic imagery was an unconventional combination. Following regional success of "Only a Lad," the group released its first full length album, also titled Only a Lad, in 1981.

The band is 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, and was later included on their 1985 album Dead Man's Party. The song was one of the band's least favorites. It was rushed out of the studio for the film before they were finished with it, and it was almost never performed live. The band made an appearance playing their hit "Dead Man's Party" on stage in the movie Back to School. Three more songs from Dead Man's Party were used in soundtracks: the song "No One Lives Forever" was featured in Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, "Stay" was used as the theme music for the popular Brazilian soap opera Top Model, and "Just Another Day" opened the 1985 film adaptation of S.E. Hinton's That Was Then, This Is Now. Oingo Boingo also appeared in the 1981 film Longshot, performing their unreleased song "I've Got To Be Entertained". (for more soundtrack appearances, see below under "Soundtracks and references in popular culture")

The end

In 1993 the band was once again pared down. This incarnation saw the dismissal of the horn section and the addition of guitarist Warren Fitzgerald for the recording of their final album (Boingo), although the horn players and various percussionists continued to perform with the band in concert.

Oingo Boingo amicably parted ways after their annual Halloween concert in 1995. 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

Since then, frontman Danny Elfman has continued to find success in his career writing film scores, particularly in collaboration with director Tim Burton; he almost exclusively employs Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as orchestrator. His film scores have included Pee Wee's Big Adventure, 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, Desperate Housewives, Tales from the Crypt, and Sledge Hammer!.

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 1974-1980 Composer, music director, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, trombone, percussion, fire blower  
Marie-Pascale Elfman 1972-? Vocals Richard Elfmans' wife. She 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 1976-1980 Guitar, vocals, percussion Played guitar and flute in the 60's band Strawberry Alarm Clock  
Kerry Hatch 1979-1980 Bass guitar, vocals  
Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez ?-1980 Drums, percussion  
Sam "Sluggo" Phipps ?-1980 Tenor & soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet  
Leon Schneiderman ?-1980 Baritone & alto saxophones, flute; instrument design and construction Schneiderman and Danny Elfman built many of the band's percussion instruments  
Dale Turner ?-1980 Trumpet, trombone  
Billy Superball 1972-1975,1976-1978 Trumpet, Upright & Fender Bass Aka William Folwell. Appears in the Bill Murray movie Loose Shoes [2]
Josh Gordon 1973-1975 Trumpet, sousaphone, banjar, guitar  
Jon Gold 1973-1976 Guitar, multi-instrumentalist  
Jan Munroe ?-? Sword swallower, slack-rope walker, fire breather  
William Winant 1972-1975 Percussion Toured with Oingo Boingo; has performed and recorded with Mr. Bungle, John Zorn, Secret Chiefs 3, and Sonic Youth
Ernie Fosselius ?-? ? Wrote "Hipsters On Parade"
Stan Ayeroff 1972-1975 Jazz guitar  
Miriam Cutler 1976-1979 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, horn arrangements, percussion, accordion
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 Legacy 1994-1995 Accordion, percussion
Marc Mann 1994-1995 Keyboards, samples
Bruce Fowler 1983-1995 Trombone

Other projects

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

After the break up, bassist John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernanadez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps (along with Doug Legacy and other musicians) formed a band called Doug & The Mystics. They recorded one album, New Hat, which included a cover of the Oingo Boingo song "Try to Believe", original songs, and covers of songs by Frank Zappa and other artists.

During the Halloween 2005 season, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez put together a tribute to the band (and to Halloween itself), joined by former Oingo Boingo members Steve Bartek, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps. Standing in for Elfman was Bt4, a young man whom many fans call "the Danny byproduct" [citation needed]. During the Halloween 2006 season, there were two Johnny Vatos Tribute to Halloween shows, one in Los Angeles and one in Orange County, with Vatos, Bartek, Avila, Phipps, and Legacy, and Bt4 once again on vocals.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1985 "Weird Science" #45 - - - Dead Man's Party
1986 "Just Another Day" #85 - - - Dead Man's Party
1988 "Winning Side" - #14 - - Boingo Alive
1990 "When the Lights Go Out" - #15 - - Dark at the End of the Tunnel
1994 "Hey!" - #23 - - Boingo

Tribute Albums

Filmography

As the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

As Oingo Boingo

Soundtracks and references in popular culture

  • Oingo Boingo 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 soundtrack also included "Who Do You Want To Be" from their 1983 album Good For Your Soul; the song is played during one of the most frenzied moments in the movie. "Who Do You Want to Be" was also featured in the 2005 video game "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland."
  • Oingo Boingo contributed the song "Goodbye, Goodbye" to the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High and its soundtrack. It is also heard on Boingo Alive and Best O' Boingo as live recordings. The studio version is only available on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack.
  • The song "Flesh 'N Blood", from Dark At the End Of the Tunnel, appears on the Ghostbusters II soundtrack.
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "You Make Me", from the album Even Worse, parodied Oingo Boingo's style. Although not intended to be a parody of any specific song, "You Make Me" is very similar to Oingo Boingo's "Grey Matter" and others.
  • The cartoon series American Dad has made two Oingo Boingo references:
    • Deputy Bullock (voiced by Patrick Stewart) sings "Little Girls", from Only a Lad.
    • Stan dances and sings a parody of "Weird Science" and "Dead Man's Party" while passing through the X-ray machine at the CIA Headquarters.
  • Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles covered the song "We Close Our Eyes" (from 1987's BOI-NGO) for the soundtrack of the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The band Allister performed "We Close Our Eyes" in the 2004 movie Sleepover.
  • Characters named Oingo and Boingo appear in the third series of the Japanese comic JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, later adapted into a Dreamcast and PlayStation video game by Capcom.
  • In the John Hughes film Sixteen Candles, Farmer Ted dances spastically to the Nothing To Fear song "Wild Sex (In the Working Class)."
  • A relatively harmless cult named "The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo" appeared in the webcomic Jackie's Fridge; members based their lives on the philosophical principles found in Boingo songs. Each member was of similar appearance, and named 'Danny'. The major tenet of their belief was "No Spill Blood".
  • The song "Stay" is played in the director's cut of the film Donnie Darko.
  • Non-Player Characters "Daniel Ulfman", "Stephen Bhartec", "Karrel Grayves" and "Samuel Fipps" can be found near the Forsaken starting area in the computer game World of Warcraft. They are part of a Forsaken quest called "Dead Man's Party".
  • The song "Who Do You Want To Be" by Oingo Boingo appears in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland video game (2005).

Audio sample

External links

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