Outrageous, obnoxious, outlandish and extraordinary are just a few of the adjectives that immediately spring to mind while listening to "Good For Your Soul," the third album from schitzo-rockers Oingo Boingo. A mainstay of the L.A. club scene, the group has been around in different forms for about a decade, initially roaming the streets as an asphalt act called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo which incorporated music, mime, dance, magic and other shenanigans into its revue. Then, during the late 1970's and early '80s, the band went through a radical metamorphosis, slimming down from 12 members to its current 8-man line up and abandoning all the theatrical trappings for a more streamlined rock-oriented persona.

Recently we had the opportunity to sit and chat with Danny Elfman, the "little maestro" who sings, composes, plays rhythm guitar and ringleads the Boingos. Although the talk covered such areas as the break from Mystic Knights, the band's affiliation with the bastion of new music radio, KROQ-FM, and a number of other topics, Elfman seemed most animated when the discussion touched on one of his favorite subjects — gardening. "I love creating little jungles for myself," he grinned, describing the tropical environment of his habitat in Venice.

Besides brandishing his green thumbs, Elfman also became quite lively when talking about music critics around town who put down his band. Although the L.A. Times did devote more than a page to Elfman and Oingo Boingo last year in its weekend Calender section, Elfman claims the piece was "just them tossing us a bone." Actually, the chief Boingo says he really gets a kick from reading critical reviews of his work. "Those are the only ones I save," he explained. "I do enjoy the fact that we're able to become so popular In town with them so set against us. It just makes it a little sweeter."