EVIL MINIONS
RANDY HOFFMAN was the first person to tell Rand and Adam that what they were doing was filk music. He dragged Rand to Marcon in 1993 and made him play View Master and some other early Ookla songs. Soon after, Rand and Adam were fixtures at conventions all over North America. You don't have to draw Ookla a map. Randy is also an extremely talented singer and songwriter. (He and Kira Heston make up the filk act Partners in K'Rhyme.) All of the good lyrics in "Dollar Fifty Movies" - and the best couplet in all of Smell No Evil - were written by him.
MICHAEL ILASI - one of Adam's best friends from high school - is an independent filmmaker who worked on such films as Chicago, Woody Allen's Hollywood Endings, and Empire Falls. He also directed the award-winning short film adaptation of Ookla's Das Uber Tuber. (It's on YouTube. We'll wait here.)
JIM IAROCCI has been Ookla's emergency back-up East Coast bassist for many, many shows. A veteran rocker and member of fellow Buffalo Dr. Demento artists The Fibs, Jim has come through for Ookla so many times that Rand and Adam have decided to name their firstborn after him. To differentiate between the children once they are born, each child will be given a distinguishing nickname, like "Jim-bo Bellavia" or "Jiminy English."
DAVE LENNON might or might not exist. All we know for sure is that Ookla makes reference to a Dave Lennon on all of their albums. Can you find these references? Can you prove his existence? Show your work.
BRIAN PLATTER met Rand at a comic book store. Normally that would allow anyone to enter Ookla's inner circle, but when they found out that Brian was a professional graphic designer who also played killer lead guitar... Well, let's just say they're not letting go anytime soon. Brian did the graphic design for the Nerdvana EP, vs. Evil, and this very website. He also put down the "good" guitar tracks on vs. Evil.
TOM RONAN is another of Adam's best friends from high school. Tom and Adam were the creative genii behind Dramatis Personae: The Greatest Prog-rock Concept Band That Never Got Out Of Their Garage in Batavia, NY, which also featured Mike Mallory on bass. Although Tom was the keyboardist in Dramatis Personae, he actually played bass with Ookla in their very first concert in Broadway Joe's bar in Buffalo. It was also Tom who used his tape deck and Radio Shack spring reverb box to record the Rand and Adam Tape.
STERLING SMALLEY played drums with Ookla for several shows in 2004. Sterling is a really great musician and a really cool guy who, as it turns out, really hates going to science fiction conventions.
JEFF THOMAS , while not ever having been a member of the band, is an extremely noteworthy figure in the history of Ookla the Mok. Years before he produced their award-winning Oh Okay LA album, Jeff was a college classmate of Rand and Adam's. They were writing their very first songs during the formation of Jeff's phenomenal band, the Frogs. The origins of Ookla's catchy melodies and unabashed silliness is easy to see in the Frogs' two amazing albums, Flail and Yeah Yeah Yeah. Jeff MacHaggis, the main character in Ookla's Monkey Rock Opera Smell No Evil, is not-so-loosely based on Jeff. Jeff continues to write and produce amazing music, most recently with his new band Jeff Thomas' All-Volunteer Army, and on Ookla's own vs. Evil.
Due to a clerical error, THE WARRIORS THREEare, in reality, only two people: Scott Edersheim and Ed Wright. Ed and Scott claim to be Ookla's Biggest Fans. Adam insists that he is, in fact, Ookla's Biggest Fan, but there's still a little something called the swimsuit competition. For sure they'll all be standing on that little podium during the medal ceremony, but only time will tell who will get to forget the words to their national anthem on live television. The Warriors Three designed, created, and maintained the fantabulous fan site OTFAN.com from 1996-2003.
THOMAS WOODS was Ookla's very first drummer. Thomas played with the band during their formative first few months before remembering that he didn't know how to play the drums. Thomas remains a close friend of Ookla's, and is responsible for the photography that appears on Less Than Art, Smell No Evil, and Oh Okay LA.
Just as our heroes were about to throw in the towel, they met URBAN TAPESTRY. UT (Allison Durno, Jodi Krangle, and Debbie Ridpath Ohi) is a filk band from Toronto who have been quite instrumental in Ookla's success. Along with Randy Hoffman, UT banged the Ookla drum loud and long, giving Ookla lots of attention and exposure. They also were kind enough to perform on the track "Still Can't Buy Me Love" from Ookla's debut CD, Less Than Art. In return, Ookla was all over UT's CD Myths and Urban Legends. UT does a stellar cover of Ookla's "Tiberius Rising," Ookla does what Ookla does on "Teenybopper Love," and Ookla co-wrote and performed on "Leftovers." Even if you hate Ookla, you should still give this amazing album a listen.
And if you do hate Ookla, what in the name of Jesus, Buddha, and Allah are you doing this deep into their website? I mean, Sweet Jumping Jeepers! Just how much free time do you have?
