Currently working up a new album, Oingo Boingo is rehearsing at Audible Sound in Burbank. "We divide rehearsals up into two kinds," says Danny Elfman. "I'm talking about the fun kind and the not-so-fun kind. The kind we don't like to do is when we're rehearsing just before a concert or tour. This we like to keep to an absolute minimum. We do it just to remember all the old stuff off the albums. On the other hand, when we're getting ready to do an album or put together new material, that's when rehearsal is fun. At that point, it's a creative process and not just a mechanical one."

With a double deal at MCA, Elfman has just completed his first solo album—a project that didn't require the kind of rigorous pre-production rehearsals the band is accustomed to. "With Oingo Boingo, we try to put in a month of pre-production before an album," he says. "That'll get up to five days a week. We may rehearse 25 songs and record that many and pick and choose. We use four-track in rehearsals to capture ideas and I use an eight-track at home. Sometimes, we're rehearsing eight hours a day just before recording."

Oingo Boingo has never relied on video cameras or mirrors to monitor their stage performance. "We don't care what we look like. We don't want to look like we're having a good time if we're not having a good time," reasons Elfman with a shrug.