Oingo Boingo

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Oingo Boingo
Also known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo
Origin Los Angeles, California,
United States
Genre(s) New Wave, Ska[1][2]
Years active 1972–1995
Label(s) I.R.S. Records, A&M Records, MCA Records, Giant Records

Oingo Boingo was a American New Wave band. They are better known for their influence, soundtrack contributions and high energy Halloween concerts than their chart successes. The band was founded in 1972 as a performance art group called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo; from 1976 it 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. In 1980, it changed from a semi-theatrical music and comedy troupe into a new-wave octet, and shortened its name to "Oingo Boingo". In 1994, the band reshuffled its lineup, adopted a more modern rock sound and rechristened themselves Boingo. The band retired in 1995, having reverted to the name Oingo Boingo.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] The Mystic Knights years (1972-1980)

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 in 1976, winning the episode they appeared on with 24 points out of a possible 30 (and 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.

[edit] Oingo Boingo: the A&M years (1980-1984)

Various reasons for the band's transformation from musical theater 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)[3], and a desire to perform music that didn't need theatrics to support it. There was some confusion about what name this new venture would operate under. In the 1987 animated short subject "Face Like A Frog", by Sally Kruikshank, the band is credited simply as The Mystic Knights. The song was "Don't Go In The Basement". The name was eventually and permanently 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."

By this time, Richard was no longer a group member, and the band had coalesced into an octet: Danny Elfman on lead vocals; Steve Bartek on guitars; Richard Gibbs on keyboards; Kerry Hatch on bass; Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums; and Leon Schniederman, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and Dale Turner on horns.

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 easy categorization. Their use of exotic percussion, a three piece horn section, unconventional scales and harmony, and surrealistic imagery was an unusual combination. Following regional success of "Only a Lad," the group released its first full length album, also titled Only a Lad, in 1981. Oingo Boingo also appeared in the 1981 film Longshot, performing their unreleased song "I've Got To Be Entertained".

Cult success followed, especially in Southern California. The band, recording for A&M Records, released albums in 1982 (Nothing To Fear) and 1983 (Good For Your Soul) that continued to draw comparisons to Devo and later, Wall of Voodoo.

A dispute with A&M led to Danny Elfman cutting a 'solo' record in 1984 for MCA -- in fact, it was a group effort released under Elfman's name simply to circumvent a clause in Oingo Boingo's A&M contract. Subsequently, the band was allowed to record under their own name for MCA.

[edit] Oingo Boingo: the MCA years (1985-1990)

With the move to MCA, the band made two personnel switches: Mike Bacich took over on keyboards from departing member Richard Gibbs, and John Avila replaced Kerry Hatch on bass.

The group's first MCA album (1985's Dead Man's Party) contained Oingo Boingo's first real hit singles, which included "Weird Science" and "Just Another Day". However, it was exposure in motion pictures, not on radio or MTV, that really catapulted the band into the public eye.

To this day, Oingo Boingo is probably best known for appearing on a number of soundtracks in the early- to mid-1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which features "Goodbye, Goodbye". Their most well-known song, "Weird Science", was written for the John Hughes movie of the same name, and was later included on 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.

Later, 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. (for more soundtrack appearances, see below under "Soundtrack appearances")

Oingo Boingo's 1987 album BOI-NGO didn't make a huge impression on the charts. After this album, Bacich was replaced by new keyboardist Carl Graves.

The band's 1988 release Boingo Alive was actually recorded live on a soundstage, with no studio audience, and contained a selection of songs from earlier albums, plus two new compositions. The Boingo Alive track "Winning Side" became a #14 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations.

Beginning with 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Oingo Boingo vocalist and composer Danny Elfman had been scoring major motion pictures with increasing frequency. On 1990's Dark at the End of the Tunnel Elfman's growing orchestral soundtrack career was obviously playing a big part in his songwriting.

[edit] Boingo: the final years (1991-1995)

The group, now dropped from MCA, responded by officially shortening their name to Boingo, and reshuffling their lineup somewhat. Graves was dropped, and added were Warren Fitzgerald on guitar, Marc Mann on keyboards, and Doug Lacy on accordion.

Boingo's lone self-titled album was issued on Giant Records in 1994. Though the band was officially a ten-piece ensemble, only five members (Elfman, Bartek, Avila, Hernadez and Fitzgerald) were pictured in the album's liner notes, and indeed the guitar-oriented album used the keyboards and horns of the five remaining members sparingly. The Boingo album also continued in the less party-friendly vibe of Dark at the End of the Tunnel, although it did contain the Modern Rock hit "Hey!"

Reverting to the Oingo Boingo name, the band 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

[edit] Aftermath

Since the band's dissolution, 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, Men in Black, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, 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, Sledge Hammer!, and The Flash (TV series).

Vatos formed a concert show along with Sluggo, Bartek, and Avila in California. The concert show features performances on Oingo Boingo's most popular songs. This has led to speculation about a reunion.

In early 2007, Danny Elfman said there would not be a reunion. He has irreversible hearing loss and is worried that playing live would exacerbate it. He stated that some members may also suffer from the condition.

[edit] Members

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

[edit] The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

Open ended years-range for members that transitioned into Oingo Boingo.

Name Years Credits Additional Info
Richard Elfman 1972–1976 Founder, director, percussion Note that pretty much everyone played percussion
Danny Elfman 1974— Composer, music director, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, trombone, violin, percussion, fire blower
Marie-Pascale Elfman 1972–? Vocals Richard Elfman's 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— Guitar, vocals, percussion Played guitar and flute in the 60's band Strawberry Alarm Clock
Kerry Hatch 1979— Bass guitar, vocals  
Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez 1978— Drums, percussion  
Sam "Sluggo" Phipps  ?— Tenor & soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet  
Leon Schneiderman 1972— Baritone & alto saxophones, flute; instrument design and construction Schneiderman and Danny Elfman built many of the band's percussion instruments
Dale Turner  ?— Trumpet, trombone  
Billy Superball 1972–1975, 1976–1978 Trumpet, Upright & Fender Bass Aka William Folwell. Appears in the Bill Murray movie Loose Shoes
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 Cutler's website
Brad Kay 1974–1977 Keyboards  
Todd Manley  ?–? Percussion  
Lori Mann  ?–?  ?  
Musti Faun  ?–?  ?  
Gisele Lindley  ?–?  ?  

[edit] Oingo Boingo / Boingo

Open beginning years-range for members that transitioned from Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

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

[edit] Other projects

John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez were two members of the trio Food For Feet. They also formed the rhythm section of Tito & Tarantula, a Los Angeles band fronted by Tito Larriva of The Plugz and the Cruzados. Avila and Hernandez also joined Larriva and guitarist Stevie Hufstetter in a one-off project band called Psychotic Aztecs. The Aztecs released one album on the Grita label called Santa Sangre.

After the break up, bassist John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps (along with Doug Lacy 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, which took place at the Grove of Anaheim. 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. "Vatos" has announced his intentions of hosting yet another concert along these lines in the 2007 Halloween season, this time at the House of Blues branches in Sunset Strip and Anaheim.

In 2005, John Avila, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez and Steve Bartek joined the list of performers on the soundtrack of 2003 re-imagination of the classic sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica. Richard Gibbs joined at this time as well, but is credited as both a performer and composer. Their performances can be heard in seasons 2 and 3 and will likely be heard on subsequent seasons of the series as well.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Studio
Live
Compilation

[edit] EPs

[edit] Other

[edit] Tribute albums

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
U.S. U.S. Modern 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

[edit] Filmography

As the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

As Oingo Boingo

[edit] Soundtrack appearances

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The studio recording of "Goodbye, Goodbye" appears on the soundtrack to the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The song can only be found elsewhere on Boingo Alive and Best O' Boingo as a live recording.
  • "Bachelor Party" and "Something Isn't Right" appear on the soundtrack to the 1984 film Bachelor Party. These songs can not be found on any Oingo Boingo albums. The soundtrack also includes "Who Do You Want To Be", from the album Good for Your Soul.
  • In the 1984 John Hughes film Sixteen Candles, the character of Farmer Ted dances spastically to "Wild Sex (In The Working Class)", from the album Nothing To Fear.
  • "Hold Me Back" and "Only A Lad" are featured during the opening and closing credits, respectively, of the 1984 film Surf II.
  • "No One Lives Forever" can be heard during the bridge scene in the 1986 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
  • "Not My Slave" can be heard on the car radio during a scene in the 1986 film Something Wild.
  • "Happy" appears on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Summer School. This song can not be found on any Oingo Boingo albums.
  • "Better Luck Next Time" appears on the soundtrack to the 1982 film The Last American Virgin. This song can not be found on any Oingo Boingo albums.
  • "Who Do You Want To Be" appears on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Teen Wolf Too.
  • "Try To Believe" (performed by Oingo Boingo under the alias "Mosley and the B-Men") can be heard in the 1988 film Midnight Run, which was scored by Danny Elfman. This version of the song is different from the version on the album Dark at the End of the Tunnel.
  • "Same Man I Was Before" can be heard in the 1988 film My Best Friend Is a Vampire.
  • The studio version of "Winning Side" appears on the soundtrack to the 1989 film She's Out of Control.
  • "Flesh 'N Blood" appears on the soundtrack to the 1989 film Ghostbusters II. A short snippet is played as background music during the film.
  • "Skin" can be heard on the radio (though not performed by Oingo Boingo) during a scene in the 1990 Clive Barker film Nightbreed.
  • Susanna Hoffs covered "We Close Our Eyes" for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The song can be heard during the closing credits.
  • "No One Lives Forever" can be heard in the 1997 television film Casper: A Spirited Beginning.
  • "Home Again" appeared in the John Hughes film Home Alone 3 in 1997.
  • A slightly altered version of "Forbidden Zone" was the theme song to the animated television show Dilbert (1999).
  • "Stay" can be heard in the director's cut of the 2001 film Donnie Darko.
  • "Violent Love" can be heard in the 1990 film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.
  • "Capitalism" appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
  • "Dead Man's Party" can be heard during a costume party in the "Witch Hunt" (2006) episode of the television show NCIS.
  • The live recording of "Who Do You Want To Be" (from the album Boingo Alive) appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It is also featured in the 2005 Nintendo DS version of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.
  • "Dead Man's Party" is a selectable song in the 2006 Xbox video game Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 4.
  • "Only A Lad" was featured in the 2007 video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
  • "Weird Science" made an appearance in Beavis and butthead as a music video. however the duo disliked the song because Butthead believes that "this guy (Danny Elfman) thinks he's smart". Beavis disliked it because he said that " college music sucks". The duo decided to change the channel.
  • "Home Again" can be heard at the end credits of the 1986 film Wisdom Written and Directed by Emilio Estevez. The soundtrack to Wisdom is also the first all electronic film score that Danny Elfman created for the film.
  • "Not My Slave" plays during the 1987 film Like Father Like Son starring Kirk Cameron.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Audio Interview with Danny Elfman
  2. ^ Interview with Danny Elfman
  3. ^ An Interview where Danny Elfman mentions the New Wave and Ska influences in Oingo Boingo

[edit] External links

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Oingo Boingo
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
EPs
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