The Max Rebo Band is a fictional alien swing music band in the Star Wars franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi as a trio performing the song "Lapti Nek" for crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The original lineup consisted of the blue-skinned Ortolan organist Max Rebo, the plump Kitonak woodwind player Droopy McCool, and Pa'lowick lead singer Sy Snootles, while additional members were inserted into the later-edited Special Edition of the film. A great deal of further information about the band and the personal histories of its members is found in various literature of the now non-canonical Star Wars Legends universe.
The group is classified as "jizz-wailers", which, according to the Star Wars Encyclopedia, refers to a "musician who plays a fast, contemporary, and upbeat style of music.""Jizz-wailer," Star Wars Encyclopedia, Stephen J. Sansweet (New York: Del Rey, 1998), p. 152, .
Max and Droopy were portrayed by actors in bodysuits, while Snootles was operated by two puppeteers stationed above and beneath the set. For the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, the original Snootles puppet was replaced with a computer-generated version, and nine new band members were added with live actors and computer animation digitally composited into new and existing footage. "Lapti Nek" was additionally replaced with a new track titled "Jedi Rocks".
Appearances
Film
The Max Rebo Band made their debut in Return of the Jedi during the scenes set in Jabba's palace on Tatooine. In the original version, the trio performs a pop song in Huttese titled "Lapti Nek" (Huttese for "Fancy Man"); the English lyrics (by composer John Williams's son Joseph Williams) are about dancing; Hardware Wars creator Ernie Fosselius helped arrange the song."Jabbapalooza: Who's Who in the Max Rebo Band," Star Wars Insider 67, May 2003 The track was replaced in the Special Edition with "Jedi Rocks", written by jazz musician Jerry Hey and described in the Star Wars Databank as a "less-dated piece of music".Max Rebo Band at The Star Wars Databank
In both versions of the film, the group follows the singing number with festive instrumental tunes, during which only Max is shown up close. The fate of the trio is unclear following the explosion of Jabba's sail barge after his attempted execution of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.
Other versions of the song "Lapti Nek" exist, including a 12-inch club mix, a dub mix, and a cover by Meco—as well as a later recording by vocalist/lyric writer Joseph Williams as Urth, which incorporates lyrics he wrote for Return of the Jedis "Ewok Celebration".
Literature The original members of the Max Rebo Band make several appearances in Star Wars Expanded Universe literature. Max, Droopy, and Sy are featured in John Gregory Betancourt's short story And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale, from the 1995 anthology Tales from Jabba's Palace. According to the story, the band begins as a quartet called "Evar Orbus and His Galactic Jizz-wailers." They arrive on Tatooine in three years after the Battle of Yavin depicted in A New Hope, one year before the events of Return of the Jedi, for a gig at the Mos Eisley cantina, but regular in-house band, the Modal Nodes, objects to the presence of a second group, and Orbus is killed by Nodes leader Figrin D'an following a scuffle aboard an airbus.
Droopy and Sy elect Max as their new bandleader, and the trio secures an audition with Jabba the Hutt, who is pleased with their performance of "Lapti Nek". He offers the band a lifetime contract paid in food instead of money, much to Max's delight and Sy's disdain. However, the execution of Han, Luke, and Chewbacca at the Great Pit of Carkoon descends into chaos as Jabba is fatally strangled by Princess Leia, and the band escapes from Jabba's barge sans instruments just before it explodes. Droopy quits the group on the spot after wandering off into the desert to join fellow Kitonaks he hears playing in the distance, and Sy and Max join forces as the Max Rebo Duo. The book's epilogue describes the pair splitting up; Sy flops as a solo act while Max joins up with the Rebellion and uses his musical talents to entertain the troops.John Gregory Betancourt, "And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale," in Kevin J. Anderson, ed., Tales from Jabba's Palace (paperback; New York: Bantam Spectra, 1995), p. 209, .
Comics In the 2000 Dark Horse release A Hot Time in the Cold Town Tonite!, Jabba sends the puzzled trio to the frozen planet Hoth to play for a rival crime lord, Bingo Mehndra, who threatens to feed the band to his pet Wampa if he suspected any kind of trickery. The group soon discovers that Jabba is actually using them as pawns in an assassination attempt against Bingo after they discover explosives hidden inside their speakers. They make their getaway by superimposing holograms of themselves from a past performance onto the stage, which Bingo realizes just as the explosives detonate. Though Jabba had blatantly endangered their lives, the band nonetheless chooses to avoid his wrath by returning to Tatooine.Ian Edginton, "A Hot Time in the Cold Town Tonite!", ill. Mark Martin and Rick Neilsen; Star Wars Tales 6 (Dark Horse, December 2000).
In Dave Cooper's Stop That Jawa! (part of Star Wars Tales 2 published by Dark Horse Comics in 2000), the trio has their instruments "salvaged" by Jawa scavengers outside the Mos Eisley cantina. They are then pursued by a droid bounty hunter who earlier overheard Sy badmouthing Jabba in the cantina. The bounty hunter is revealed at the conclusion to be a Derfian musician named Tik Tali Talosh, who pressures the Jawas into returning the instruments before proclaiming his adoration of the group and requesting an audition.Dave Cooper, "Stop That Jawa!", in Star Wars Tales 2 (Dark Horse Comics, January 2000).
Television Max Rebo appears in the first, second, and fourth episodes of the television series The Book of Boba Fett, which takes place five years after Return of the Jedi. He was shown to have survived the destruction of Jabba's sail barge.
Other The original band has made minor appearances in other Star Wars media. The unfinished 1982 David Tomblin mockumentary Return of the Ewok showed them in Jabba's palace, and they briefly appeared in an October 1985 episode of the animated series Star Wars: Droids titled "The Lost Prince", in which they performed in Doodnik's Café on the mining planet of Tyne's Horky.The Lost Prince, Episode 5, Star Wars: Droids; aired October 5, 1985. The trio also featured in the video games Star Wars: Demolition (2000) and Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005).
In May 2003, nearly six years after the rerelease of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Insider published brief biographies of the band's new members for an article called "Jabbapalooza: Who's Who in the Max Rebo Band."
Concept and creation Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that the scene featuring the band was intended to be an elaborate production, but the crew "never really had the time" to film it. Lucas commented, "I thought [it] would be funny [to have a musical number] in the middle of a Star Wars film."George Lucas, commentary to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Special Edition (VHS, 20th Century Fox, 1997).
The original band members—Max, Sy, and Droopy—were puppets designed by Phil Tippett of Industrial Light and Magic's Creature Shop. Timothy D. Rose was the puppeteer for Sy. Lucas was not entirely pleased with the scene, saying that the puppets were too static and motionless. Special Edition producer Rick McCallum concurred that the requirements of the scene were too complex, even for animatronics.Rick McCallum, commentary to Return of the Jedi, Special Edition, VHS.
For the 1997 rerelease of Return of the Jedi, Sy Snootles was recreated entirely in CGI and nine new musicians and dancers were added, while Max and Droopy's screen time during the segment was reduced in comparison to the original film. Visual effects supervisor Dave Carson described the process of creating Sy and new character Joh Yowza as similar to sculpting clay models, adding that CGI characters were more like puppets than cartoons and that animators "constantly find limitations: [the] characters don't bend right, or their mass isn't right," problems he claimed that confronted puppeteers.Dave Carson, commentary to Return of the Jedi, Special Edition, VHS.
In addition to the new characters, "Lapti Nek" was replaced with "Jedi Rocks." Lucas insisted that the revised sequence added more atmosphere and quality to the film.
Original band members
Max Rebo is the stage name of Siiruulian Phantele, a stocky Ortolan keyboardist, and the eponymous leader of the Max Rebo Band. He plays a Red Ball Jett keyboard, which is similar to a circular reed organ with clavinet characteristics. Max was a founding member of Evar Orbus and His Galactic Jizz-wailers, but after Orbus's death, he was elected the group's new leader.
Like other Ortolans, Max is a glutton; he ecstatically accepts a lifetime contract from Jabba that is paid in endless meals instead of money, which angers the rest of the group. With their contract terminated following Jabba's demise, Max and Sy team up as the Max Rebo Duo in the wake of Droopy's departure. After performing for Lady Valarian, the pair splits. Max joins the Rebel Alliance to entertain the troops, one reason being that "the Rebellion has the best food." After the Galactic Civil War, he quits the music business and opens a chain of successful restaurants throughout the galaxy. He retires to a life of wealth and luxury on Coruscant.Max Rebo at the Star Wars Databank
In a nod to his physical appearance, Max's real name, Siiruulian Phantele, is a play on the words "cerulean elephant." He was portrayed by Simon Williamson in both versions of Return of the Jedi, and the character was a puppet constructed from the waist up by ILM.From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, narrated by Mark Hamill (1985; VHS, CBS Fox Video, 1992).
Sy Snootles is a robust female Pa'lowick who is the lead vocalist and original member of the band. She had an affair with her Yuzzum groupie, Clayton. She is angered at Max's acceptance of Jabba's contract, and after attempts to rework the deal prove futile, Sy resorts to secretly spying for over a dozen of Jabba's enemies to earn credits, but then works as a double agent by giving them false information provided by Bib Fortuna. She was also not above getting her hands dirty when she killed Ziro the Hutt to obtain for Jabba a book containing dirt on the other Hutt leaders.
She teams up with Max as the Max Rebo Duo following Jabba's death and Droopy's departure from the band. Following a brief gig for Lady Valarian, Sy dissolves her relationship with Max and begins her solo career, but her subsequent recordings sell poorly and she is relegated to touring Outer Rim dives under different stage names.Sy Snootles at the Star Wars Databank
During production, Sy Snootles' nickname was "Ms. Snooty." In the original version of the film, the character was a marionette-like puppet operated by puppeteers Mike Quinn and Tim Rose; Quinn was stationed on scaffolding and controlled her upper body, while Rose moved her legs from beneath the set. The character's oversized ruby lips were suggested by George Lucas, who referred to them as "Mick Jagger lips."