Oingo Boingo

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Image:Oingoboingo.jpgOingo Boingo was the band of composer Danny Elfman from the mid-1970s to October 31, 1995. An early version of the band (who produced a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back") was known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only A Lad" from its first EP release. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on KROQ-FM 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. Replete with staccato brass arrangements and surrealistic imagery, the music appeared to be influenced as much by Frank Zappa as it was by Cab Calloway. 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, in fact, written for the John Hughes movie of the same name. 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 (for which Danny Elfman composed the score), in addition to appearing 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".

They also made a cameo appearance as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in the 1980 movie Forbidden Zone, written and directed by Richard Elfman, the brother of Danny Elfman. In this incarnation, the idea of which was initially formed in late 1972, the band was essentially a musical theatre troupe. Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup; a typical show would contain music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s (some of which were covers, some of which were original material based on music of another era.) This version of the band had as many as 15 members at any one time, playing over 30 instruments between them. Unfortunately, very little recorded material from this period exists. Despite their growing success and fan base, group leader Danny Elfman grew tired of the group and decided to reduce both the band and its name in 1978, dropping the "Mystic Knights" moniker. Around 1994 it was yet again shortened, this time to "Boingo".

Oingo Boingo amicably parted ways after their annual Halloween concert in 1995, because it was "time." 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, Desperate Housewives, and Tales from the Crypt.

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.

The Oingo Boingo song "Who Do You Want to Be" is featured in the 2005 video game "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland."

On Halloween 2005, Johnny 'Vatos' Hernandez put together a tribute to the band. Former 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.

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Discography

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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
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External links

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