Can We Talk About Lips???

[BEAR]

I would like to know a little more about this Lips guy. He wasn't in the EM and then all of a sudden he pops up in TGMC. And then he is gone from the group every other time I see him. Is he a member of the band or not? What else does he do. Was he just an excuse to have Steve Whitmire perform a character in the band? Any feedback?

 

[Harvey Towers]

I would like to know a little more about this Lips guy.

Right, fire away!

He wasn't in the EM and then all of a sudden he pops up in TGMC.

That's true - well almost. He actually arrives in Season 5 of TMS.

And then he is gone from the group every other time I see him.

Also true - almost. He does appear in the Muppets at Walt Disney World. Seen as the band aren't around much its inevitable that Lips is seen even left as he doesn't have the same personality as the rest of the guys and isn't nearly as well known.

Is he a member of the band or not?

He is a member of the Electric Mayhem Band as far as I am concerned - purists may disagree.

What else does he do.

Nothing as far as I know - he does sing a line of "Boogie in the Barnyard" though.

Was he just an excuse to have Steve Whitmire perform a character in the band?

Yes, more than probably - all the other main muppeteers had one - after all. I'm not sure why they didn't have Lips talk though - they already had Zoot as the strong silent type...

Any feedback?

See above

 

[Vic Romano]

Lips is awesome, I'll say this: when I first saw him on TMS, I got excited because I play trumpet too. Lips made sense because there was the lady trumpet player in TMS orchestra pit, but she also played trombone (and when Lips landed in the orchestra pit, she stayed on the bone), and as far as a rock group is concerned; a horn section comprised of a sax and trumpet is a beautiful set up.

One thing that bothered me that I didn't realize until Lips Palisade action figure was released, was that he (and most other Muppets who play instruments) holds his trumpet wrong! This is because puppeteers are usually right handed, so their left hand would have to perform any arm rods, that means (I guess) that Lips holds his trumpet backwards. Just a note though; whether you're left handed or right handed, the trumpet is always held with the left hand while the valves are operated with the right.

As a trumpet player, I've evaluated Lips (or rather searched for the stage musician(s) who provided the trumpet part) and find him to be a great horn player with what sounds like a strong influence from ragtime and Dixiland Jazz. Any Muppet song that features the trumpet automatically jumps to my top spot. I've only heard the song "Just An Old Fashioned Love Song" from the Paul Williams episode, so I'm not aware if that's Lips or not, but that has one of my favorite trumpet solos of all times. A band I was in covered that version and I got to write out the parts for myself (on trumpet, which I had a blast playing) and a trombone player (who I kinda' snubbed a lot from and gave me all the fun stuff!).

 

[ryhoyarbie]

I include Lips as the 6th official member of the Electric Mayhem. Rowlf and Clifford were there to just help out and are excluded from the band as members.

I wish Steve would do more with Lips. He could still be a popular character amoung the other band members. But the problem is that most people only picture 5 members in the Mayhem band, that being Dr, Teeth, Floyd, Janice, Zoot, and Animal. If some writer writing a new muppet movie, special, or whatever included Lips with the rest of the band, then that would be great. Give him some lines with the rest of the band members, then that would be even better.

ryan

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I agree with Ryan, but disagree with so-called purists. He was there on TMS and while Jim was around. He's an official Muppet. He's the 6th member of the EM Band. I miss his being around, too.

 

[TogetherAgain]

From what I read in the interview, Lips didn't talk much because Steve was kind of aiming for a Louis Armstrong voice, and they weren't confident on the whole "politcally correct" aspect of having a white character with an african-american voice.

 

[zootlove]

Lips is an okay character. He is about as quiet as Zoot is (not that I have anything wrong with the insanity). The first time I saw him, the band was doing "Rockin Robin". I think that is the only time I saw him (unless I get The Great Muppet Caper, I might never see him again). I do not have nothing wrong with Lips at all.

 

[jrhzoot]

I would love it if they brought back Lips. For one thing, he's a really neat looking muppet. Plus he appears to have a relatively large fan base, including me, who want to see him return.

I don't know how feasible it is to expect his return any time soon, I wonder what it would take to actually see him again?

 

[Convincing John]

Yeah, Rowlf wasn't really a member of the Electric Mayhem band. After the EM band leaves at the end of the Kaye Ballard episode, only Rowlf is left to play the closing theme in the orchestra pit.

Rowlf: "You must admit Nigel, this does sound kind of square."
Nigel: "Play hound, play!"

Check out this link to read more about the episode:
http://www.muppetcentral.com/guides/episodes/tms/season1/23_ballard.shtml

Convincing John

 

[ryhoyarbie]

I like Lips's beard. That made him cool. Not to mention his hair was great too.

ryan