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The Max Rebo Band is a fictional
alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...
band in the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who w ...
'' as in-house performers for crime lord
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
. The lineup originally seen in the film consists of the blue-skinned Ortolan keyboardist Max Rebo, a plump Kitonak
woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ...
player named Droopy McCool, and the spindly-legged Pa'lowick lead singer Sy Snootles, while additional members were inserted into the later-edited Special Edition of the film. A great deal of further information about the band and the personal histories of its members is found in various literature of the now-noncanonical ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe. The group are classified as Jizz-wailers, which, according to the ''
Star Wars Encyclopedia ''Star Wars Encyclopedia'' is a 1998 reference book written by science-fiction author Stephen J. Sansweet, the director of content management at Lucasfilm. The book defines, explains, and illustrates the characters, creatures, settings, objects ...
'', refers to a "musician who plays a fast, contemporary, and upbeat style of music." Max and Droopy were portrayed by actors in bodysuits, while Sy was operated by two puppeteers who were stationed above and beneath the set. The new members seen in the 1997 Special Edition re-release of ''Return of the Jedi'' were computer-generated, as was Sy Snootles in said version.


Appearances


Film

The Max Rebo Band made their debut in ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who w ...
'' during the scenes set in
Jabba's palace Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
on
Tatooine Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by Human (Star Wars), human settlers and a variety of other life forms. T ...
. In the original version, the trio performs a Huttese-language pop song titled "Lapti Nek" (Huttese for "Work It Out"); the English lyrics (by composer
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
's son Joseph Williams) are about dancing; ''
Hardware Wars ''Hardware Wars'' is a 1978 American short science fiction parody film in the form of a teaser trailer for a fictitious science fiction film that parodies ''Star Wars''. The 13-minute film, which was released almost 18 months after ''Star Wars ...
'' creator
Ernie Fosselius Carl Ernst Fosselius (born October 23, 1945), better known as Ernie Fosselius, is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his satirical spoofs of popular films, including the ''Star Wars'' parody '' Hardware Wars''. Film career Fosselius' fi ...
helped arrange the song."Jabbapalooza: Who's Who in the Max Rebo Band," ''Star Wars Insider'' 67, May 2003 The track was replaced in the Special Edition with "Jedi Rocks", written by
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
musician
Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...
and described in the ''Star Wars'' Databank as a "less-dated piece of music".Max Rebo Band a
The Star Wars Databank
In both versions of the film, the song is performed shortly after
C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to a ...
and
R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...
are given to Jabba. The group thereafter plays festive instrumental tunes, during which Max was the only band member who appears onscreen. The fate of the trio is unclear following the explosion of Jabba's sail barge after the unsuccessful execution attempt of
Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
,
Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film ''Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' ...
, and
Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and f ...
. Other versions of the song "Lapti Nek" exist, including a 12-inch club mix, a dub mix, and a cover by
Meco Domenico Monardo (born November 29, 1939), known as Meco, is an American record producer and musician, as well as the name of his band or production team. Meco is best known for his 1977 space disco version of the ''Star Wars'' theme from his ...
—as well as a later recording by vocalist/lyric writer Joseph Williams as Urth, which incorporates lyrics he wrote for ''Return of the Jedi''s " Ewok Celebration".


Literature

The original members of the Max Rebo Band make several appearances in ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe literature. Max, Droopy, and Sy are featured in
John Gregory Betancourt John Gregory Betancourt (born October 25, 1963) is an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels, as well as short stories. He is also known as the founder and publisher, with his wife Kim Betancourt, of Wildside Press in 1 ...
's short story ''And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale,'' from the 1995 anthology ''
Tales from Jabba's Palace ''Tales from Jabba's Palace'' is an anthology of short stories set in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. The book was edited by Kevin J. Anderson and published on December 1, 1995 by Bantam Spectra. Contents * Introduction # "A Boy and H ...
''. According to the story, the band begins as a quartet called "
Evar Orbus The Max Rebo Band is a fictional alien pop music band in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'' as in-house performers for crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The lineup originally seen in the film consists ...
and His Galactic Jizz-wailers." They arrive on Tatooine in three years after the Battle of
Yavin Yavin (also known as "Yavin Prime", to distinguish it from its moons) is a fictional planet in the ''Star Wars'' galaxy. It first appeared in the 1977 film ''Star Wars'' and is depicted as a large red gas giant with an extensive satellite syste ...
depicted in ''
A New Hope ''Star Wars'' (retroactively titled ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'') is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first film in th ...
'', one year before the events of ''Return of the Jedi'', for a gig at the
Mos Eisley Mos Eisley is a spaceport town in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Located on the planet Tatooine, it first appeared in the 1977 film ''Star Wars'', described by the character Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) as a "wretched hive of s ...
cantina, but regular in-house band, the Modal Nodes, objects to the presence of a second group, and Orbus is killed by Nodes leader Figrin D'an following a scuffle aboard an airbus. Droopy and Sy elect Max as their new bandleader, and the trio secures an audition with Jabba the Hutt, who is pleased with their performance of "Lapti Nek". He offers the band a lifetime contract paid in food instead of money, much to Max's delight and Sy's disdain. However, the execution of Han, Luke, and Chewbacca at the Great Pit of Carkoon descends into chaos as Jabba is fatally strangled by
Princess Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan ...
, and the band escapes from Jabba's barge sans instruments just before it explodes. Droopy quits the group on the spot after wandering off into the desert to join fellow Kitonaks he hears playing in the distance, and Sy and Max join forces as the Max Rebo Duo. The book's epilogue describes the pair splitting up; Sy flops as a solo act while Max joins up with the Rebellion and uses his musical talents to entertain the troops.John Gregory Betancourt, "And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale," in Kevin J. Anderson, ed., ''Tales from Jabba's Palace'' (paperback; New York: Bantam Spectra, 1995), p. 209, .


Comics

In the 2000 Dark Horse release ''A Hot Time in the Cold Town Tonite!,'' Jabba sends the puzzled trio to the frozen planet
Hoth Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games. Description Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote ...
to play for a rival crime lord, Bingo Mehndra, who threatens to feed the band to his pet
Wampa This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order. Humans and humanoid sentient species Humans Human ...
if he suspected any kind of trickery. The group soon discovers that Jabba is actually using them as pawns in an assassination attempt against Bingo after they discover explosives hidden inside their speakers. They make their getaway by superimposing holograms of themselves from a past performance onto the stage, which Bingo realizes just as the explosives detonate. Though Jabba had blatantly endangered their lives, the band nonetheless chooses to avoid his wrath by returning to Tatooine. In
Dave Cooper Dave Cooper (b. 1967 in Nova Scotia, Canada) is a Canadian cartoonist, oil painter, and animator. Cooper was born in Nova Scotia in 1967 and moved to Ottawa, Ontario at the age of nine. Cooper began his career in the 90s, making underground c ...
's ''Stop That Jawa!'' (part of ''
Star Wars Tales 2 ''Star Wars Tales'' is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999, and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue is 64 pages and features a few unrelated stories from various eras of the ''Star Wars'' ...
'' published by
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
in 2000), the trio has their instruments "salvaged" by Jawa scavengers outside the Mos Eisley cantina. They are then pursued by a droid bounty hunter who earlier overheard Sy badmouthing Jabba in the cantina. The bounty hunter is revealed at the conclusion to be a Derfian musician named Tik Tali Talosh, who pressures the Jawas into returning the instruments before proclaiming his adoration of the group and requesting an audition.Dave Cooper, "Stop That Jawa!", in ''Star Wars Tales'' 2 (Dark Horse Comics, January 2000).


Television

Max Rebo appears in the first, second, and fourth episodes of the television series ''
The Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from the series ''The Mandalorian'', taking place in th ...
'', which takes place at least five years after ''Return of the Jedi''.


Other

The original band has made minor appearances in other ''Star Wars'' media. The unfinished 1982
David Tomblin David Tomblin, OBE (18 October 1930 – 20 July 2005) was a film and television producer, assistant director, and director. As a producer, he was best known for ''The Prisoner'' TV series. As a first assistant director, he worked on a number of ...
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on ...
'' Return of the Ewok'' showed them in Jabba's palace, and they briefly appeared in an October 1985 episode of the animated series '' Star Wars: Droids'' titled "The Lost Prince", in which they performed in Doodnik's Café on the mining planet of Tyne's Horky. The trio also featured in the video games '' Star Wars: Demolition'' (2000) and '' Star Wars: Battlefront II'' (2005). In May 2003, nearly six years after the rerelease of ''Return of the Jedi'', ''
Star Wars Insider ''Star Wars Insider'' is the official ''Star Wars'' magazine. It began in 1987 as the official magazine of ''The Lucasfilm Fan Club'', and was renamed in 1994 to coincide with the release of '' Star Wars: TIE Fighter''. Its contents include st ...
'' published brief biographies of the band's new members for an article called "Jabbapalooza: Who's Who in the Max Rebo Band."


Concept and creation

''Star Wars'' creator
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
stated that the scene featuring the band was intended to be an elaborate production, but the crew "never really had the time" to film it. Lucas commented, "I thought twould be funny
o have a musical number O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
in the middle of a Star Wars film."George Lucas, commentary to ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', Special Edition (VHS, 20th Century Fox, 1997). The original band members—Max, Sy, and Droopy—were puppets designed by
Phil Tippett Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...
of
Industrial Light and Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
's Creature Shop. Timothy D. Rose was the puppeteer for Sy. Lucas was not entirely pleased with the scene, saying that the puppets were too static and motionless. Special Edition producer
Rick McCallum Richard McCallum (born August 22, 1954) is an American film producer. He is mostly known for his work on '' The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' as well as the ''Star Wars'' Special Editions and prequel trilogy. He is best known for his frequen ...
concurred that the requirements of the scene were too complex, even for
animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy ...
s. For the 1997 rerelease of ''Return of the Jedi'', Sy Snootles was recreated entirely in CGI and nine new musicians and dancers were added, while Max and Droopy's screen time during the segment was reduced in comparison to the original film. Visual effects supervisor Dave Carson described the process of creating Sy and new character Joh Yowza as similar to sculpting clay models, adding that CGI characters were more like puppets than cartoons and that animators "constantly find limitations: hecharacters don't bend right, or their mass isn't right," problems he claimed that confronted puppeteers. In addition to the new characters, "Lapti Nek" was replaced with "Jedi Rocks." Lucas insisted that the revised sequence added more atmosphere and quality to the film.


Original band members

Max Rebo is the stage name of Siiruulian Phantele, a stocky Ortolan keyboardist and eponymous leader of the Max Rebo Band. He plays a Red Ball Jett keyboard, which is similar to a circular
reed organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
with clavinet characteristics. Max was a founding member of Evar Orbus and His Galactic Jizz-wailers, but after Orbus's death, he was elected the group's new leader. Like other Ortolans, Max is a glutton; he ecstatically accepts a lifetime contract from Jabba that is paid in endless meals instead of money, which angers the rest of the group. With their contract terminated following Jabba's demise, Max and Sy team up as the Max Rebo Duo in the wake of Droopy's departure. After performing for Lady Valarian, the pair splits. Max joins the
Rebel Alliance The Alliance to Restore the Republic ( colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imper ...
to entertain the troops, one reason being that "the Rebellion has the best food." After the Galactic Civil War, he quits the music business and opens a chain of successful restaurants throughout the galaxy. He retires to a life of wealth and luxury on
Coruscant Coruscant () is an ecumenopolis planet in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Its first appearance was onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of ''Return of the Jedi'', but was first depicted and mentioned by name in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel ...
.Max Rebo at th
Star Wars Databank
/ref> In a nod to his physical appearance, Max's real name, Siiruulian Phantele, is a play on the words "
cerulean Cerulean (), also spelled caerulean, is a shade of blue ranging between azure and a darker sky blue. The first recorded use of ''cerulean'' as a colour name in English was in 1590. The word is derived from the Latin word '' caeruleus'', "d ...
elephant." He was portrayed by Simon Williamson in both versions of ''Return of the Jedi,'' and the character was a puppet constructed from the waist up by ILM.''From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga'', narrated by Mark Hamill (1985; VHS, CBS Fox Video, 1992). Sy Snootles is a robust female Pa'lowick who is the lead vocalist and original member of the band. She had an affair with her Yuzzum groupie, Clayton. She is angered at Max's acceptance of Jabba's contract, and after attempts to rework the deal prove futile, Sy resorts to secretly spying for over a dozen of Jabba's enemies to earn credits, but then works as a double agent by giving them false information provided by
Bib Fortuna Bib Fortuna is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The Twi'lek majordomo and chief aide of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Bib is Jabba's closest associate, succeeding him as daimyo after his death before ultimately being kil ...
. She was also not above getting her hands dirty when she killed
Ziro the Hutt The Hutts are an alien species in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. They are rotund, voracious and grotesque-looking slug-like creatures with a predisposition to being leaders in organized crime. The most famous Hutt and the first to be depicted w ...
to obtain for Jabba a book containing dirt on the other Hutt leaders. She teams up with Max as the Max Rebo Duo following Jabba's death and Droopy's departure from the band. Following a brief gig for Lady Valarian, Sy dissolves her relationship with Max and begins her solo career, but her subsequent recordings sell poorly and she is relegated to touring
Outer Rim {{Short pages monitor