The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (1972–1979) The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo began as a
street theater troupe in Los Angeles, founded by
Richard Elfman. The name was inspired by a fictional
secret society on the ''
Amos 'n' Andy TV series called The Mystic Knights of the Sea''. The earliest version of the band employed as many as 15 performers at any given time, playing over 30 instruments, including some instruments built by band members. Richard's brother Danny Elfman joined the band in 1974 and later became its leader. The group gradually moved away from its street theater origins and transformed into a dedicated musical theater act. The group performed an eclectic repertoire, ranging from
Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of
Balinese
gamelan and Russian
ballet music and, later, original songs by Danny Elfman. Guitarist Steve Bartek joined in 1976 as musical co-director. That year, the troupe appeared on the TV talent contest program
The Gong Show, which they won.
I.R.S. and A&M years (1979–1984) Montreal In 1979, Danny Elfman reformed the group as a dedicated rock band, under the new name
Oingo Boingo, at which point most existing members left. Steve Bartek and a brass trio of Dale Turner, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and Leon Schneiderman continued with the new band. Various reasons were given for the restart as a rock band, notably Danny's emerging musical interests, and reducing the need for transportation and set-up of multiple stage sets and props. Elfman stated the shift was inspired by
ska revival bands such as
the Specials,
Madness, and
the Selecter, new wave bands like
XTC,
Devo, and
Fun Boy Three, as well as the "energy and speed" of
punk. The name
Oingo Boingo was settled on in 1979, at which point their early song "I'm Afraid" appeared on the
Rhino Records Los Angeles rock and new wave "up and coming" compilation,
L.A. In. That same year, the band self-funded a promo EP record, known as the "Demo EP", for distribution to radio stations and recording industry A&R representatives to help land a contract. The record caught the attention of I.R.S. Records, who released a revised version of the EP as
Oingo Boingo in 1980. The band was now an octet with Danny Elfman on lead vocals and rhythm guitar;
Steve Bartek on lead guitar;
Richard Gibbs on keyboards; Kerry Hatch on bass; Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums; and Leon Schneiderman,
Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and
Dale Turner on horns. Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only a Lad" from the
eponymous EP. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on
KROQ-FM, and complemented the station's then-unusual new wave format. Following regional success of "Only a Lad", the group signed to
A&M Records. They released their first full-length album in 1981, also titled
Only a Lad and featuring a new recording of the song. The band released further albums
Nothing to Fear in 1982, and
Good for Your Soul in 1983. Although the band's sound was termed as new wave, Oingo Boingo's use of exotic percussion, a three-piece horn section, unconventional scales and harmony, and surreal imagery was a genre-skewing combination.
MCA years (1984–1992) After three straight albums that failed to break nationally, the band's label A&M was unhappy with Oingo Boingo's lack of commercial success. At this point, the group's new manager
Mike Gormley, who had just left the position of VP of Publicity and Asst. to the Chairman of A&M, negotiated a release from the label and signed Danny Elfman to a solo deal with
MCA Records. Elfman, however, was still committed to the band (which was officially inactive or on hiatus, depending on who was asking). He therefore used his solo album as an opportunity to keep the band together, co-producing the album with Steve Bartek, and employing the remaining members of Oingo Boingo as session musicians. The album was released as
So-Lo in late 1984. Around this time, bassist Kerry Hatch and keyboardist Richard Gibbs (both of whom played on
So-Lo) departed to form the short-lived band
Zuma II. Elfman later claimed the two departing members had "lost the spirit", but stated, "I could never blame anybody for losing the spirit. It's very hard being an 8-piece ensemble doing what, at the time, was non-commercial music". Shortly after releasing
So-Lo, Oingo Boingo returned to performing with new bassist John Avila and keyboardist Mike Bacich, and the MCA deal was revised to be a deal for the band rather than Elfman as a solo act. The first release with the new Oingo Boingo line-up was ''
Dead Man's Party'' in 1985. The album marked a notable change towards more pop oriented songwriting and production style, and became the band's most commercially successful record. It featured their highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, "
Weird Science", which was written for the
John Hughes film of the same name. The band appeared on a number of movie soundtracks in the early to mid-1980s, including an appearance in the movie
Back to School in 1986, performing their hit single "Dead Man's Party". The soundtrack to the movie
Bachelor Party included a theme song written by Elfman, and a song unreleased on any Oingo Boingo album: "Something Isn't Right". During this era, Danny Elfman also began scoring major films, beginning with 1985's ''
Pee-wee's Big Adventure''. Elfman would go on to write the scores to almost all of
Tim Burton's films. Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek has
orchestrated most of Elfman's film and television scores. The album
BOI-NGO was released in 1987. Following its recording, Bacich was replaced by new keyboardist
Carl Graves. The band's 1988 release,
Boingo Alive, comprised "live" re-recordings of previous album songs on a studio soundstage, plus a new song, "Winning Side". This new track was also released as a single, and became a No. 14 hit on US Modern Rock radio stations. In 1990, the band released their seventh studio album,
Dark at the End of the Tunnel, featuring more mellow songs than any previous release, and including the singles "Out of Control" and "Flesh 'N Blood".
Final years (1993–1995) Oingo Boingo continued to regularly perform live, most notably with annual Halloween concerts at Irvine Meadows and the Universal Amphitheatre. Following a short hiatus in 1992, during which time Elfman was busy scoring films, the band returned in 1993 with an increasingly different, hard-rock musical direction, and debuted new material such as "Insanity", "Helpless" and the unreleased song "Did It There". Shows during these years often included the so-called "Sad Clown Orchestra" providing additional accordion and circus percussion. That same year, Oingo Boingo began recording an eighth studio album for new label
Giant Records. The sessions stalled when Elfman became heavily involved writing the music for animated musical
The Nightmare Before Christmas with Tim Burton. Of this period, Elfman would later reflect that, after over 15 years, he had begun losing his passion for the band. In 1994, the band consolidated their new musical style, and shortened its name to Boingo. Guitarist
Warren Fitzgerald joined while keyboardist Carl Graves and the horn trio were removed. This marked the only year that the band toured without the horn section. The previously shelved album was completed with the new 5-piece line-up, including orchestral instrumentation, and several songs improvised in the studio for the first time in the band's history. This was released as
Boingo in 1994, and would be the band's final studio album. In 1995, it was announced that Boingo would be disbanding after 17 years. The band embarked on a farewell tour in 1995, restoring the original horn trio, and reverting its name to Oingo Boingo, ending with a final Halloween performance at the
Universal Amphitheatre. The concert was filmed and released on both VHS and CD in 1996 as
Farewell.
Post-breakup Following the band's dissolution, Danny Elfman continued composing for film and has been nominated for four
Academy Awards for his work. He has scored the majority of Tim Burton's films since ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure
in 1985, including Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Big Fish (2003). Other scores include Good Will Hunting (1997), Men in Black (1997) and Spider-Man (2002). Elfman has also written themes for more than a dozen TV series, including The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, Tales from the Crypt, and Desperate Housewives''. Elfman almost exclusively employs former Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as his orchestrator. For a period, John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez continued to perform as Food for Feet and in the band
Tito & Tarantula in Los Angeles. Doug Lacy (Boingo live keyboardist and percussionist) recruited bassist John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps (among other musicians) for a band called Doug & The Mystics. They recorded one album,
New Hat, which included a cover of the Oingo Boingo song "Try to Believe". Former keyboardist Richard Gibbs also began a career as a composer for film. Danny Elfman has regularly stated that there will not be an Oingo Boingo reunion, initially citing his worry that playing live would exacerbate his hearing loss. In 2021 Elfman added that he disliked former bands reuniting now that they are older, likening them to "zombies". On Halloween 2015, a live concert performance of
The Nightmare Before Christmas culminated in Elfman and former Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek performing "Dead Man's Party" for the first time in twenty years, accompanied by the orchestra. The song was again performed on several subsequent
Nightmare Before Christmas concert dates. In April 2016, Oingo Boingo were honored with a resolution at
Los Angeles City Hall. Popular L.A. radio and television personality
Richard Blade gave a speech about the band's legacy. Several members attended the meeting from across the band's changing line-ups, including Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, founding keyboardist Richard Gibbs, John Avila, Carl Graves, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps. On June 11, 2021, Elfman released his first solo studio album in 37 years,
Big Mess. It includes the participation of former members of Oingo Boingo, such as Bartek, Fitzgerald, and Mann and a new arrangement and recording of Oingo Boingo's "Insects" from the 1982 album
Nothing to Fear.
Tribute band Since Halloween 2005, former drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez has regularly put together an Oingo Boingo tribute band, performing mainly throughout Southern California and Arizona, including
the Grove of Anaheim. Initially billed as the "Johnny 'Vatos' Tribute to Halloween, Featuring Former Members of Oingo Boingo", Hernandez later titled the band "Johnny Vatos Oingo Boingo Dance Party" and then "Oingo Boingo Former Members". Since 2015, Elfman has endorsed the group as the authorized Oingo Boingo tribute band, and given Hernandez exclusive rights to use the names 'Boingo' and 'Oingo Boingo'. The tribute band is joined intermittently by former Oingo Boingo members such as Steve Bartek,
Carl Graves, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, while vocals are usually provided by singer Brendan McCreary. During the 2006 Halloween season, there were two "Johnny 'Vatos' Tribute to Halloween" shows: one in Los Angeles, and one in
Orange County, California, with Vatos, Bartek, Avila, Phipps, and Legacy. ==Members==