1 The Muppet Mindset: Zoot
Showing posts with label Zoot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zoot. Show all posts

Oct 9, 2011

44 Days Until "The Muppets"

Lucas Ervin -  As we get closer and closer to the release of The Muppets, it's time we bring out the greatest band to ever hit the Muppet Theater: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem! Dr. Teeth on keyboard, Floyd Pepper on bass, Janice on lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and Animal banging the drums. They rocked The Muppet Show for five straight years, destroying the stage, or providing musical accompaniment for celebrities like Elton John, Paul Simon, and many others. They were raucous, rambunctious, and they continue to rock. So, without further ado, here's the Electric Mayhem!

44.   Love Ya To Death - This song, sung by Dr. Teeth, was written by Joe Raposo, who wrote many songs on Sesame Street. That's part of what makes it so cool, because it's a major contrast to his other songs. The Electric Mayhem sang this song in the Sex & Violence pilor. Here we see the band rockin' it hard, despite explosions taking place all around them, with Animal yelling at the end, "I LIKE THAT!" This was just a small taste of the insanity that they would bring to the show's five-year run...

43.   Money - As most of you know, Dr. Teeth has "live" hands so that he could play the piano and keyboard like nobody's business. Jim Henson was a huge fan of jazz, and you could tell how much fun he had performing this particular character, since he was an homage to those swinging Louisiana jazz players he enjoyed so much growing up. With his pink hat, blue sunglasses that moved up and down like eyelids, and shiny gold tooth, the leader of the band also had a smile so infectious that, before you knew it, you were grinning along with him. In the clip we see Dr. Teeth performing his first solo where he sings "Money."

42.   New York State of Mind - Floyd Pepper sang more songs than any other member of the Electric Mayhem. Floyd has a unique "beatnik" walk and attitude that Jerry Nelson gave him. When he isn't blowing bass alongside his girlfriend Janice, you can find Floyd hanging out backstage, where he was seen threatening Kermit with quitting because of the theme song and getting duped into babysitting Piggy's dog, Foo-Foo. Floyd is a fantastic singer who performed a number of great songs on The Muppet Show including the clip, "New York State of Mind," which Floyd sang in the second season.

41.   Rockin Robin - Inspired by the singer Janis Joplin, Janice plays lead guitar and is the "main squeeze" of Floyd Pepper. Richard Hunt provided Janice with her signature voice and attitude after taking over the character when Erin Ozker left. Richard gave Janice her well-known catch phrases, such as "Fer sure" and "Rully." She also had a gig as Nurse Janice on the recurring sketch, "Veterinarian's Hospital." Janice is notable because she is one of the few female Muppets on The Muppet Show. Janice is a pretty unique gal who brought us several memorable moments, including the clip, her great rendition of the song "Rockin' Robin."

40.   Sax and Violence - I know a lot of people who form bands, and they typically have the same accompaniment; lead guitar, bass, and drums. But it's because of Zoot that I always thought bands would sound even better if they had a saxophone player in the mix. Although Zoot barely speaks, he communicates miles through his music. Considering how soft-spoken he is, it's ironic that Zoot is the only character in the band that is still being performed by his original performer, Dave Goelz. Perhaps Zoot's most notable role was playing that last, flat note at the end of ever episode of The Muppet Show. In the clip we see Zoot perform "Sax and Violence" with Mahna Mahna in season one.

39.   Animal vs. Buddy Rich - Since Animal doesn't mince words, I don't think I will either. Instead, I'm going to use a quote from Frank Oz that I think sums up the resident drummer pretty well: "Animal is a character that can be summed up in five words: women, sleep, food, drums and pain. You don't mess with Animal. He eats glass, man." With that being said, check out the clip of Animal staking it all in a drumming duel with Buddy Rich.

38.   Barnyard Boogie - In the fifth season of The Muppet Show we got to see the Electric Mayhem with a new member in their band, a trumpet player named Lips, who was created to be performed by Steve Whitmire as a way for all six of the main performers be in the group. This is--most likely--the only time you will ever see the Electric Mayhem playing a song that is even remotely country. With Dr. Teeth on the piano, Floyd on bass, Janice on guitar, Animal on drums, Zoot on the sax and Lips, it truly is the perfect song to show off the swinging talent that is known as the Electric Mayhem.

Only 44 Days Until The Muppets!!







The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Dec 3, 2010

Zoot Gets Animated

Greetings, Muppet fans! I'm really, really excited about our post today because I get to debut an incredible piece of fan-made video work. No, it's not another shoddy YouTube video by yours truly, it's an amazing 3D animated rendering of the classic skit from The Muppet Show, "Sax and Violence." Now, the original starred Zoot and Mahna Mahna, but this remake by Muppet fan and artist Andreas Qassim stars Zoot and a very funny 3D figure designed by Andreas himself. Check it out! I promise you won't be disappointed!


Triangle vs Saxophone from Andreas Qassim on Vimeo.

Wasn't that awesome? Andreas should be incredibly proud of this piece of work! It's wonderful!

I also promised Andreas I'd show off this wonderful comic he drew featuring Kermit, Fozzie, and super famous Norwegian comic book teddy bear Bamse wishing Donald Duck a happy 75th Birthday. I gotta say, the duck looks much better on TV.


Do I get the joke? Nope. Is the artwork awesome? Heck yes! GREAT job, Andreas! Thanks for the contribution!






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Jul 28, 2010

Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Zoot

Written by Ryan Dosier.

ZOOT

Performed by...
Dave Goelz

First appearance...
The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence pilot (1975)

Most recent appearance...
Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

Best known role...

Saxophone player in the Electric Mayhem band; "The Muppet Show Theme Song" final note player; sleepy, burnt-out hipster.

Well known quote...

"I ain't got no other pants!"

WHO IS ZOOT?
Zoot is the one and only saxophone player used by Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, and one of the core five members. Described by Floyd Pepper as, "Zoot, sax is [his] axe," in The Muppet Movie, Zoot and his saxophone are nearly inseparable. He is also often seen sleeping on the job and is suddenly awoken in time to perform. Sometimes he's asleep with his eyes open, hence why he "skipped a groove again" in The Muppet Movie.

The thing Zoot is most well known for is playing the final, bellowing saxophone note to the closing theme of The Muppet Show. In almost every episode of the show, Zoot is seen in the orchestra pit blowing the final note and often being shocked by the sound it makes. This role put Zoot in every episode of The Muppet Show, one of very few characters with that distinction.

In The Muppet Show, Zoot was a major player in season 1, appearing with guest stars such as Juliet Prowse and Phyllis Diller. He was also more outspoken in season 1 than in later seasons. This made him Dave Goelz's main character throughout season 1, before Gonzo really came into his character and became a big part of the show. In later seasons Zoot was rarely seen outside of gigs with the band.

Zoot has also appeared in every major Muppet movie (excluding Kermit's Swamp Years--but... major? Meh). In The Muppet Movie he was seen playing in a church with the rest of the Electric Mayhem, in The Great Muppet Caper, he famously had no other pants, man; in The Muppets Take Manhattan he was quite excited about aliens landing, only to find that nobody had; in The Muppet Christmas Carol he played Fozziwig's Party, in Muppet Treasure Island he questioned the politics of piracy, in Muppets From Space he played a bar mitzvah with the rest of the Electric Mayhem, and in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz he arrived late.

Recently, Zoot has been making a resurgence along with the rest of the Electric Mayhem. He has been seen in Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. promotions, Christmas at Rockefeller Center (2009), Studio DC: Almost Live!, Letters to Santa, and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Zoot continued to appear alongside the band in The Muppets and will be seen in Muppet Most Wanted this year.

ZOOT PERFORMANCES
Some noteworthy Zoot performances...
  • The Muppet Show closing theme
  • "Love Ya to Death" (Sex and Violence)
  • "Tenderly" (Episode 116)
  • "Sax and Violence" (Episode 102)
  • "I Heard it Through the Grape Vine" (Episode 516)
  • "Barnyard Boogie" (Episode 504)
  • "Rockin' Robin" (Episode 510)
  • "Can You Picture That" (The Muppet Movie)
  • "You Can't Take No For an Answer" (The Muppets Take Manhattan)
  • "Gone Fishin'" (Rocky Mountain Holiday)
  • "The Man With the Bag" (A Red and Green Christmas)
WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED ZOOT?
I wouldn't say that the Muppets need Zoot, particularly, but they do need The Electric Mayhem, and they most definitely need Zoot. Zoot provides the burnt-out, hippy musician vibe for the band that perfectly balances the exact opposite that is Animal. Without Zoot, the band is also missing the sax, which is a crucial part to most of their songs.

Zoot also acts as a close friend to both Floyd and Dr. Teeth, he used to have something of a relationship with Janice (when he was more outspoken), and is the one to remind Animal to take his tablets so each member of the band benefits from him equally and need him as well. Zoot is a crucial part of the Muppet formula, and it's incredible and wonderful that he has stayed around for 35 years.







The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
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