I recently found the film Hardbodies on a movie streaming site. I have nothing to really say about the film, because the whole time I was skipping through looking for shots of Vixen performing. This paid off. I have two new pictures of Jan Kuehnemund's Mercury!
Please forgive the video window elements; I had to pause to grab the frame and the bar doesn't fade like on YouTube.
So, this reveals some new information about the instrument that couldn't be so clearly seen in The 1985 ad posted before. It's possible that these are two completely different guitars (Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo, after all, said he received two as well), but let's go over what we can infer:
Firstly, I believed the pickups installed to be early Lace humbuckers. I can see now I was wrong--for both guitars, these are most likely Mighty Mite 1800 "Super Stud" humbuckers. The bobbins on Jan's guitar are transparent, so you can see the wire coiled around, which from a distance (or in low resolution) can look like gold foils or the aforementioned Laces.
Second, the color. In the 1985 ad, her guitar is pretty clearly Pelham blue. Here, there's a bit of a blue bias in the lighting and the guitar still appears to be a sort of amethyst color, or maybe royal or electric purple. Steve Bartek has said that JBP had a phase where all their guitars were painted in what he called "nail polish colors".
Third, while the guitar in the ad has a Kahler tremolo, this specimen appears to have a standard S-type tremolo system. Based on the visible geometry in the second photo I am guessing this was a Mighty Mite ST111-B
Fourth, the controls. On the guitar in the ad there are two knobs, most likely master volume and tone, plus a toggle selector switch. The one in the film has three knobs. I'm inclined to guess that this guitar had a blend control. Dana Zacuto was known for being an experimenter, after all.
This guitar can obviously be seen in other scenes of the movie, but this was where it was most clear. Sadly Jan Kuehnemund is no longer with us to answer questions and I don't even know where I would begin to find people who might know something. If you have a tip, please tell me.
What guitarist would be more fitting to represent an all-Californian guitar company than that of California's musical crown jewel? Steve Bartek, primary guitarist and right-hand man of Danny Elfman in Oingo Boingo, utilized his background in jazz and psychedelic rock to weave intricate, multifaceted guitar work into a sonic tapestry that drew from West African highlife, prewar jazz, punk, rockabilly, Balinese gamelan, ska, and synthpop.
Don't worry, you'll get a concrete example in a moment.
Now, a guitarist with eggs in that many baskets ought to have a guitar that can handle something like that, right? Well, throughout his career with the band, Steve was mostly content with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, a Carvin DC200, and a Strat with Lace Sensor pickups. But sometime during the Good for Your Soul sessions in late 1982-early 83, J.B. Player approached Steve with a guitar. As recalled by the man himself:
"They made that one for me special (or so they said). I remember it being a little skinny for my fat fingers, but it played well and was way way lighter than my Les Paul, thus easier to play for a long set."
Steve was bandmates with Randy Zacuto in his high school days, so from the get-go a connection was there. He had been in J.B. Player advertisements to begin with as discussed earlier, but a guitar built specifically for him (even if it was just a semi-custom job) was new. This, of course, was his marine blue Mercury, fitted with three singlecoil pickups (most likely Mighty Mite 1100s) and a Kahler 2300 vibrato bridge.
Much like how Devo's ugly-duckling Gibsons fit with their particular visual presentation, the familiar-yet-unfamiliar, almost goofy styling of the Mercury was appropriate for a group that had the trappings of a rock band but still leaned heavily on a background of whimsical musical theatre and Cab Calloway antics. Steve had two J.B. Players, the second one I'm unsure of what it was.
The guitar was delivered by March or April 1983 and had its live debut at a secret show in Reseda, CA. Later, during Labor Day Weekend of that year, tens of thousands of concertgoers witnessed Steve pull out the Mercury for the midsection of Oingo Boingo's set at that year's US Festival. He switched out his guitars just before "Grey Matter" and just after "Violent Love".
Mr. Bartek took his Mercury on the road with him during the 1983 tour, and possibly for a few dates the following year. Afterwards, Dead Man's Party was released, and Carvin approached Steve with an endorsement deal. With J.B. Player undergoing a paradigm shift as ownership changed hands and production moved to South Korea, and Oingo Boingo stepping in a more "pop" direction in both sound and stage presence, the Mercury was stowed away.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Southern United States. Hundreds, if not thousands, of charity auctions cropped up to support relief efforts in the aftermath. Steve Bartek nobly contributed both his J.B. Player guitars to the cause in a private auction. While there may be receipts or some sort of record, maybe a name of the winning bidder, I don't have it. I just hope whoever went home with those guitars knows just how unique they are--pieces of an untold history, points of light in an otherwise darkened room.
Here's a JB Player USA ad from around 1985. This is unfortunately the highest resolution I can find.
All of the guitars pictured here are American-made. This was just before they made it big. JBP would continue to be represented by the band afterwards, though these custom builds would be eschewed in favor of mass-production models coming from South Korea.
Janet Gardner poses with a black Explorer in the top left, and a metallic magenta Strat copy in all other photos.
Pia Maiocco (who didn't stick around long) Has two Jazz-style basses--one in red and black, and one "murdered out".
Jan Kuehnemund has another Explorer--this one in pelham blue with a custom print. Also seen is her custom-built Mercury, with what appear to be Lace Dually Visionary humbuckers. If this is the case then those are incredibly early examples thereof. However, they could simply be some other blade humbucker type, as this guitar was around by at least 1984, if not sooner.
As always I am accepting submissions of any more stuff from this era. If anyone has a higher-res copy of this poster please send it in.
These photos were sourced from an archived eBay auction. This brochure was printed around 1983 and included as "case candy". Anyone who has this or a similar brochure is invited to share higher-quality scans.
Exterior with phone number, address, and artist roster
Front cover, featuring Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo. He holds a Mercury in his hands.
The artist roster. Bob Mothersbaugh's last name is hilariously misspelled. Vixen, at the time of this ad, was still a small local band. This was before their appearance in Hardbodies.
The inside of the brochure, with a model lineup and prices. Both the Buick and Mercury are shown with Motherbucker triple-coil pickups, each coil with its own on/off/phase reverse switch. It should be noted that Steve Bartek was photographed with Buicks but never played one onstage. He was, however, seen with a Mercury. Jan Kuehnemund of Vixen played a Mercury as well, at least until 1985. I can't find any photos of anyone other than Bob Mothersbaugh using a Buick, despite the listed names. This is the only photographic evidence I can find of the Buick Bass. Gayle Erickson of Vixen is similarly elusive. She left before the Hardbodies filming.
