GUITAR HEROES COME in all shapes and sizes, but the imagery often associated with the “greatest” ax-slingers always seems to coincide with bombast, pomp and circumstance. But there’s another side of the proverbial pillow. Don’t believe us? Just ask former Oingo Boingo six-stringer Steve Bartek.
Throughout the Eighties, Bartek played sideman to Boingo’s founder, vocalist and primary songwriter, Danny Elfman. And if the duo’s exploits had stopped there, to be sure, their legend as champions of all things quirky and alternative would be set in stone. But in truth, cuts such as “Weird Science,” “Fool’s Paradise” and “Dead Man’s Party” were just the tip of their musical iceberg.
“The chemistry between Danny and me was immediate,” Bartek tells Guitar World. “It was the kind of thing where we connected on many levels. We had similar musical interests and loved injecting ethnic elements into our work. And Danny had ventured to Africa and brought back all these African instruments, some of which we used on our albums. So we had a shared mindset for sure.”
Elfman was a deft songwriter and inventive multi-instrumentalist. But without Bartek, who “filled the gaps” in Elfman’s seemingly endless creativity, what happened post-Boingo might never have come to pass. And what happened was a succession of hyper-successful film and television scores such as Back to School, Beetlejuice, The Simpsons, Edward Scissorhands and so much more.
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Guitar World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Guitar World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TC Electronic TC 2290P Dynamic Digital Delay
THE MID EIGHTIES was a golden age for digital delay, thanks to the proliferation of pro- and studio-quality rack effects units from Eventide, Korg, Lexicon, Roland and Yamaha.
Danelectro Doubleneck
WHEN I THINK back to the Seventies, the famously coined “Me” decade, it seems the only surefire way you could leave audiences awestruck was to strap on a doubleneck guitar.
CARLOS ALOMAR
The former David Bowie guitarist talks Young Americans, Station to Station and the Berlin Trilogy, plus recording (and co-writing) \"Fame\" with John Lennon
GEORGE TERRY
It turns out Eric Clapton's Seventies guitarist (and co-writer of \"Lay Down Sally\") also played on ABBA's \"Voulez-Vous.\" Below, he looks back on a decade-plus of E.C., Bee Gees, Diana Ross and more
FRANK MARINO
The Mahogany Rush frontman charts the band's Seventies lows and highs, plus SG's, pickups and how he was definitely not visited by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix
DEWAYNE "BLACKBYRD" MCKNIGHT
The jazz/funk/fusion veteran on his smooth segue from Herbie Hancock sideman to full-on Funkdaledic member -plus his '70s gear and what he learned from Shuggie Otis
PAT TRAVERS
The Canadian-born virtuoso discusses the rise and fall of the Pat Travers Band, witnessing the U.K. punk revolution and the riotous roots of \"Snortin' Whiskey\"
JOE PERRY
The iconic guitarist looks back on Aerosmith in the Seventies, the decade that literally made and temporarily broke apart those Bad Boys from Boston
DAZED and CONFUSED
Providing more hits and misses than a vintage K-Tel Top 40 compilation, the guitar industry during the '70s was anything but boring
BEST 70s SOLOS, RIFFS and FORGOTTEN HEROES
A horde of guitar stars including Warren Haynes, Doug Aldrich, Sophie Lloyd, Frank Marino, Vernon Reid and Mike Campbell (not to mention Blackbyrd McKnight, Jared James Nichols, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse and Charlie Starr) choose the best stuff from the '70s