Elizabeth My DearThe Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Formed in 1983 as a small-town noise rock foursome, The Flaming Lips have gone through numerous lineup changes and style reinventions, ultimately settling on a consistent core in the late 1990s with frontman Wayne Coyne, chief composer Steven Drozd, and bassist Michael Ivins putting out sublime pop-rock with grandiose synth-orchestral backing arrangements.

Notable former band members include Wayne’s brother Mark Coyne, who was the band’s first vocalist, Jonathan Donahue, who went on to become the frontman of Mercury Rev, guitarist Ronald Jones, and roadie turned tour drummer Kliph Scurlock.

Once Wayne took over as frontman in the late 1980s, the Lips were known for their loud, psychedelic guitar rock (an aesthetic best summed up in the name of an early works compilation “Finally, the Punk Rockers Are Taking Acid”) and wild stage antics.