Many of you know that I like some of the more obscure music from the 70s and 80s, so allow me to take you down the Rabbit Hole so to speak with my research that started with looking up small bits of information about the band Oingo Boingo.
Oingo Boingo is a very popular music group in the 80s, with songs like Dead Man’s Party which they played in Rodney Dangerfields’s Back to School, and Weird Science which was written for the John Waters movie of the same name. The lead singer of Oingo Boingo was Danny Elfman, who some might think of now as the writer of the musical pieces for Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and most notably the Simpsons theme song.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oingo_Boingo
Oingo Boingo formed in 1979 when Danny Elfman wanted a change and explore Rock music. In fact the early records had a higher influence of the Punk and Ska generes, especially due to their use of brass instruments. Before Oingo Boingo he led the surrealist musical theatre troupe called the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. This group was started by his older brother Richard Elfman in 1972, which was later run by Danny in 1974. This group was about 15 members that played about 30 different instruments, especially ones made by the members themselves, and was considered a commedia dell’arte ensemble that played music from the 20s to the 40s, as well as ensembles written by Danny Elfman. The band even appeared on the Gong Show as contestants and won in 1976.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystic_Knights_of_the_Oingo_Boingo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Elfman
The band’s name The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, due to their interest in playing 20s to 40s music, was inspired by a fictional Secret Society on the Amos & Andy show called the Mystic Knights of the Sea.
While today, the Amos & Andy show would be considered highly racist and has received numerous lawsuits, most notibly from the NAACP, this was a very popular Radio Show in the late 20s to 40s, and made into a televised show in the 50s. The creators Freeman Gosden(Amos) and Charles Correll(Andy) were both Freemasons and Shriners, and had incorporated a parody of Freemasonry in their show, with a Secret Society called the Mystic Knights of the Sea. The Lodge stations were:
Great Supreme Kingfish = Grand Master
Kingfish = Worshipful Master
Whale = Senior Warden
Mackerel = Junior Warden
Shad = Secretary/Treasurer
Jellyfish = Deacon
Swordfish = Tyler
In episode 65 of their show in June 1928, they talk about how a candidate is led into the Lodge blindfolded and conducted around to receive instructions from the officers
https://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/fraternalism/knights_of_the_mystic_sea.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_%27n%27_Andy
So, it can be interesting to see where research will take you, even if you thought you knew about a topic familiar to you. Sometimes, it is worth going down into the Rabbit Hole to see what you may find and learn.