MUPPETS MAYHEM

One of my favorite aspects of The Muppets has always been the characters that makeup Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. So, I was geeked to find out that the band is getting back together to be featured in an upcoming show now in production for Disney+. THE MUPPETS MAYHEM will be a comedy series that will take the band on a music-filled journey as Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem at long last record their first album. With the help of a driven young music executive, Nora (Lilly Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face to face with the current day music scene as they try to finally go platinum.

Starring in The Muppets Mayhem are Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet.

DR. TEETH

Dr. Teeth is the lead singer, keyboardist and gravelly-voiced leader of the band. The Electric Mayhem bandleader is green-skinned and red-haired with a large grinning mouth of teeth with a gold tooth that stands out. He sports a scruffy red beard with no mustache, a fur vest, a striped shirt and a floppy purple top hat. His self-introduction in The Muppet Movie exemplifies Dr. Teeth's typically grandiose: "Golden teeth and golden tones. Welcome to my presence." 

Dr. Teeth was one of the puppets that was actually handled and voiced by The Muppets creator Jim Henson in performances. The character has arms so long that additional puppeteers are required to guide them; this design enabled Henson to work the puppet while another performer acted as Dr. Teeth's hands in order to play the keyboard. After Henson's death, John Kennedy took over as puppeteer for the character from 1991 - 2003 and Bill Barretta has had the role since.

FLOYD PEPPER

Floyd Pepper is the left-handed playing bassist and backup singer. A laid back hippie with a pink body and long orange hair, he is often seen sporting a green army cap or other times is decked out in a Beatles' Doctor Pepper inspired red uniform with epaulets and ornate gold braid on the buttons. Although Dr. Teeth is the leader, Floyd is the one who sings lead most often. Some of the songs he sang on the original The Muppet Show include: "New York State of Mind", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". He has a close relationship with Janice and is Animal's close friend and handler. 

Floyd was performed by Jerry Nelson (1975–2003), John Kennedy (2005–2006), and has since been handled by Matt Vogel. His pink coloring and first name are a homage to the band Pink Floyd with his formal band outfit and last name honoring the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. The character has a high self-opinion of itself once saying to Kermit the Frog, "you are talking to Floyd Pepper! The hippest of the hip! I mean I have a room for life at the home of the chronically groovy!"

JANICE

Janice is a guitarist and backup singer with a flower child personality. She has blonde hair, big eyelashes and lips, and usually wears a brown hat with a turquoise gem and a feather. Though she regularly performs vocals, Janice has only actually only sang lead a couple of times on-screen. Her favorite guitar is a Gibson Les Paul with cherry sunburst color scheme.

Unlike the other members of the band who have had a limited number of puppeteers, Janice has had more than double the number of any of the other characters. Janice has been performed by Fran Brill (1975–1976), John Lovelady (1975) Eren Ozker (1976), Richard Hunt (1975, 1977–1991), Matt Vogel (2000), Kevin Clash (2001), Brian Henson (2002–2003), Tyler Bunch (2005–2008), and David Rudman (2008–present). Some added trivia here ... Janice is the only member of the band other than Animal to have appeared in the animated series Muppet Babies. Jim Henson meant Janice's name to be a tribute to Janis Joplin and her appearance is meant to resemble Mary Travers from Peter, Paul & Mary.

ANIMAL

Animal may be one of the most recognizable members of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem band. Even if people don't know the name of the band, everyone knows Animal! He has to be a fan favorite when it comes to The Muppets. 

Animal is the primitive wildman drummer for the band. He is the only member of the band to appear in every feature film and the only member to be in the main cast of the Muppet Babies spin-off cartoon. He is named for his wild behavior and drumming. Frank Oz performed Animal from his first appearance until 2000; in 2002 newcomer Eric Jacobson took over. In Muppet Babies, he was voiced by Howie Mandel (1984–1985) and by Dave Coulier (1986–1991). Animal's drumming are recordings of performance by British jazz and big band drummer Ronnie Verrell.

ZOOT

Zoot is a teal-colored, balding saxophone player with dark glasses and a high-crowned blue felt hat and was generally a laid-back fellow of few words. His name refers to the 20th-century saxophonist Zoot Sims and the puppet is modeled after Latin jazz artist Gato Barbieri. He has been performed by Dave Goelz since the character's creation in 1975.

Zoot's claim to fame is playing the final off-keynote to the end theme of the original The Muppet Show series; he then looks into his saxophone with a bewildered expression, checks his music, gives a satisfied nod, looks around at the other musicians and gives the same nod. Zoot sounds as if he is playing a tenor saxophone though his instrument has the appearance of an alto saxophone.

LIPS

Lips joined the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band for several numbers during the final season of The Muppet Show, playing the trumpet. His name refers to the fact that trumpet players use their lips to play. He has yellow hair, goatee and a permanent squint. 

Lips was mainly created so that Steve Whitmire could have a character to perform in the band. His lack of character development was apparently due to Whitmire's uncertainty about performing Lips. Whitmire was less experienced as a puppeteer at the time and wanted to use a voice like Louis Armstrong but was afraid of offending African Americans. 

Lips appeared in the recent ABC network television series The Muppets with the puppet having been completely rebuilt, as the original puppet from The Muppet Show days actually disintegrated during the filming of the The Muppets music video of "Kodachrome" in 2015. Peter Linz took over the character in 2017.

A debut date hasn't been announced yet for Muppets Mayhem which is being produced by Adam F. Goldberg (ABC's The Goldbergs) and the Muppet Studio based upon the characters created by Jim Henson. I for one will absolutely be watching this show when it begins streaming on Disney+.  Rock on Electric Mayhem!