With The Flaming Lips
Coyne formed the Flaming Lips in 1983 with brother Mark singing lead and Michael Ivins on bass guitar. Mark later left the band and Coyne assumed vocal duties. Wayne and Michael have been the only two constant members of the band since its founding.
During large-crowd festival performances, Coyne makes his entrance by descending from an alien mother ship (a nod to Parliament-Funkadelic) in a bubble and floats across the audience. Coyne has also been known to pour fake blood down his face via a hidden tube during live shows. Coyne does this to pay homage to a famous picture of Miles Davis who, after a performance, had blood on his suit because a police officer had beaten him during the show.
Flaming Lips concerts also feature confetti cannons, lasers, laser pointers, images projected on to a screen, dozens of large balloons, a stage filled with dancers dressed as aliens, yetis, etc. Before performing, Coyne can be seen helping the stage crew. Their performances have been likened to psychedelic experiences rather than something so benign as music shows, a tradition that goes back to the band's formation.
Read more about this topic: Wayne Coyne
Famous quotes containing the words flaming and/or lips:
“Between extremities
Man runs his course;
A brand, or flaming breath,
Comes to destroy
All those antinomies
Of day and night....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Then I discovered that my son had learned something new. For the first time, he was able to give a proper kiss, puckering up his lips and enfolding my face in his arms. “Kees Dada,” he said as he bussed me on the nose and cheeks. No amount of gratification at work could have compensated for that moment.”
—Donald H. Bell. “Conflicting Interests,” New York Times Magazine (July 31, 1983)