Guitar World

STEVE BARTEK

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.

And in retrospect, it makes sense, given the eclectic nature of Bartek’s resume. Considering he’d gone from a teenager playing flute in

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Guitar World

Guitar World3 min read
Buzz Bin EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Dynamic Audio Grinder
WHAT THE HELL is a Zoar? One quick Google search reveals it was a Biblical city — and that the name roughly translates to “little” or “insignificant.” Now, I don’t believe the folks at EarthQuaker Devices are biblical scholars; nor do I believe they
Guitar World2 min read
The Albert/ Jimi/stevie Shuffle
IN THE LAST few columns, we explored an effective approach to strengthening our sense of groove and time, for both rhythm and lead playing. The first part of the exercise entails devising a repeating riff, or vamp, that establishes the groove. The se
Guitar World3 min read
Ghost In The Machine
LAST MONTH, I broke down the first half of my 24-bar outro solo in “Ghost of You,” from the 2006 Andy Timmons Band album Resolution. It’s a fairly complex solo that requires attention to detail: there are some challenging passages built from long str

Related Books & Audiobooks