Steve Bartek

Last updated
Steve Bartek
Born (1952-01-30) January 30, 1952 (age 72)
Origin Garfield Heights, Ohio, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Orchestrator
  • composer
  • conductor
  • guitarist
Instrument(s)Guitar, flute
Years active1967-present

Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer Danny Elfman.

Contents

Career

Early career

Bartek's career started while at William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, writing songs and playing flute with the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. In 1974 he graduated from UCLA with a degree in Composition.

After college he worked at the Baked Potato with Leon Gaer under the leadership of Don Randi until joining the theatrical ensemble The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in 1975, where he met his collaborator Danny Elfman.

Between 1979 and 1995, Bartek was the lead guitarist in new wave band Oingo Boingo with Elfman. Bartek also orchestrated the horn arrangements for the band and co-produced many of their albums.

Film and television

Bartek has composed music for television series including The Tick , Tales from the Crypt , Nightmare Ned and Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories , and movies including An Extremely Goofy Movie , Romy and Michele's High School Reunion , Romy and Michele: In the Beginning , Snow Day , Novocaine , the 1998 remake of Psycho and The Art of Travel . In 1992 he was nominated for a Saturn Award for his soundtrack to Guilty as Charged . In 2005, together with Danny Elfman and Stewart Copeland, he was awarded an BMI Film & TV Award for his work on Desperate Housewives .

As an orchestrator, Bartek has worked on over 50 productions with Danny Elfman as of 2007, including most Tim Burton productions, Mission: Impossible , Good Will Hunting , Spider-Man and Milk , and has done orchestration work with composers Jon Brion and Stephen Trask.[ citation needed ]

Bartek provided the soundtrack for Donovan Cook's indie film Rideshare: The Movie , alongside former Oingo Boingo member Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez.

In 2015 Steve performed the theme to Harvey Beaks . [1]

Other work

Steve Bartek did horn arrangements for Avenged Sevenfold's song "A Little Piece of Heaven" as well as for John Hiatt's "Little Head". He produced Raya Yarbrough's eponymous album and arranged strings for the song "Early Autumn".[ citation needed ] He also did a string arrangement for Ricky Martin's "Vuelve".

Bartek played the acoustic guitar on the Bangles cover of "A Hazy Shade of Winter" on the Rick Rubin arranged soundtrack for the 1987 film "Less Than Zero".

Bartek plays guitar for the TV series Battlestar Galactica , Trauma and Walking Dead .[ citation needed ]

Bartek also contributed music to both the ride queue and exit of Disneyland's short-lived Rocket Rods attraction in 1998, including a synthesizer arrangement of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" and "World of Creativity (Magic Highways of Tomorrow)", the latter being a radical re-arrangement of "Detroit", a song originally written and composed by the Sherman Brothers for the 1967 Disney film, The Happiest Millionaire .[ citation needed ]

Bartek is an admirer of composer Raymond Scott,[ citation needed ] and in 2012, he worked with Ego Plum in arranging a live tribute show held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall 's REDCAT entitled "Machine Man: The Musical Mayhem of Raymond Scott". [2] [3]

Bartek played guitar on Gerald Casale's 2021 single, "I'm Gonna Pay U Back". [4]

Select filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Elfman</span> American composer (born 1953)

Daniel Robert Elfman is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his first studio film in 1985, Elfman has garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oingo Boingo</span> American new wave band

Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the years previous. Their highest-charting song, "Weird Science", reached No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo was an American surrealist street theatre troupe, formed by performer and director Richard Elfman in 1972. The group was led by Richard until 1976, when his brother Danny Elfman took over. The group evolved into an experimental musical theatre group, performing songs from the 1930s-40s and original material.

<i>Only a Lad</i> 1981 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Only a Lad is the debut studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1981, following their self-titled EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Fitzgerald</span> Musical artist

Warren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner. He is best known for being the guitarist of The Vandals and Oingo Boingo. He is also co-founder of Kung Fu Records, along with his Vandals band-mate Joe Escalante.

<i>Oingo Boingo</i> (EP) 1980 EP by Oingo Boingo

Oingo Boingo is the debut EP by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1980.

<i>Boi-ngo</i> 1987 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Boi-Ngo is the sixth studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1987.

<i>Nothing to Fear</i> (Oingo Boingo album) 1982 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Nothing to Fear is the second studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1982 on A&M Records.

<i>So-Lo</i> 1984 studio album by Danny Elfman

So-Lo is the debut studio album by American musician Danny Elfman, released in 1984 by MCA Records. Recorded primarily by Elfman, but also featuring the members of his band, Oingo Boingo, it was recorded when Elfman was offered a solo contract with MCA after the band had been dropped from I.R.S. Records. The album marked the band's last release to feature bassist Kerry Hatch and keyboardist Richard Gibbs.

<i>Good for Your Soul</i> 1983 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Good for Your Soul is the third studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1983. It was produced by Robert Margouleff and was the band's last album to be released on A&M Records.

<i>Dark at the End of the Tunnel</i> 1990 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Dark at the End of the Tunnel is the seventh studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1990.

<i>Boingo</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Boingo is the eighth and final studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo. It was the band's only album recorded for their new label, Giant Records, as well as the only album to be released by the band's 1994–95 line-up.

<i>Forbidden Zone</i> (soundtrack) 1983 soundtrack album by The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

Forbidden Zone (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Forbidden Zone, the 1982 cult film directed by Richard Elfman, with music by his brother Danny Elfman and performed by The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

<i>Batman</i> (score) 1989 film score by Danny Elfman

Batman: Original Motion Picture Score is the score album for the 1989 film Batman by Danny Elfman. According to the Batman DVD Special Edition, Elfman said that producer Jon Peters was not sure about him as a composer until Tim Burton made him play the main titles. Elfman admitted he was stunned when Peters announced that the score would be released on its own album. The score was widely acclaimed by the press and in many contemporary reviews is cited as the highlight of the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Man's Party (song)</span> 1986 single by Oingo Boingo

"Dead Man's Party" is a song by American band Oingo Boingo, released as the third single from their album of the same name.

Select commercially released recordings of Danny Elfman's music for film, television, stage and the concert hall. For a full list of Elfman's compositions, see List of compositions by Danny Elfman. For Elfman's recordings as lead singer/songwriter for Oingo Boingo, see the Oingo Boingo discography page.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ego Plum</span> American composer

Ego Plum is an American film composer, musician, and performer. He is best known for his work on The Cuphead Show!,The Patrick Star Show,Kamp Koral,SpongeBob SquarePants,Jellystone!,Making Fiends and Harvey Beaks.

Sam "Sluggo" Phipps is an American saxophone player, best known for being a member of the new wave band Oingo Boingo.

<i>Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film & Television Music Volume One</i> 1990 compilation album by Danny Elfman

Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film & Television Music Volume One is a compilation album of select film scores and television themes written by American composer Danny Elfman from the early 1980s to 1990.

References

  1. "Ego Plum". 459.
  2. Johnson, Reed (November 8, 2012). "Raymond Scott, fave of Bart Simpson, in REDCAT music tribute". Los Angeles Times .
  3. "Raymond Scott Tribute". REDCAT. November 9, 2012.
  4. "THE NEW SINGLE: 7-inch metallic gold vinyl". DEVO's Gerald V. Casale Official Site + Store. Retrieved 2021-07-11.