Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem

For those of you who don't know, Jim Henson and the Muppets have a special place in my heart. I've been watching them in some form for most of my life since my parents first turned on Sesame Street for me. The colorful, animated characters have such an innocence in their character and their humor, and the effect they have on people reminds me a lot of the same way Charles Schulz was with his Peanuts. These simple characters reveal more about human nature and the meaning of life in the way they act and the jokes they tell than we are willing to admit sometimes, and it's very refreshing to me.

The Muppet Show was a television variety show hosted by some of Henson's most famous creations: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Statler & Waldorf, and the like. It was much like the late night variety shows of its day and ours with the host having a skit or routine of some sort and then having celebrity guests come on to promote something or perform something or just get some exposure. Like other variety shows, the Muppet Show also had its own house band for keeping the audience entertained, interacting with the host, and backing up other musical performers who appear. Unlike other variety shows, each player was a send-up of some famous band, player, or personality in the business. Their collective name was: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

The band was led by Dr Teeth, who was controlled by Henson and was a direct send-up of famous performer, Dr. John. It included Zoot, a mellow saxophone player; Janice, the hippie lead-guitarist and female hipster presence in the band; Sgt. Floyd Pepper, a pink-skinned bass player who was the show's king of cool (He was both a Pink Floyd and a Sgt. Pepper; hilarious!); and Animal, the id of every drummer with his out of control drum solos and rhythm patterns (He was played by Frank Oz, who also did Yoda in Star Wars; Wacky, no?).

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem represent the amazing creativity and ingenuity of Jim Henson's creature shop and their presence in pop culture was even enough to warrant a Robot Chicken skit where there was a mock VH1 Behind the Music show was made about them.