Nalan Cheel / Legends Nalan Cheel was a Bith musician and professional bandfill player for the popular Jizz band known as Figrin D ' an and the Modal Nodes . Like his band mates , Nalan was registered with the Intergalactic Federation of Musicians . Regions of Nalan ' s highly evolved brain allowed him a special acuity when it came to analyzing and relating to music . As such , his talents helped to greatly enhance the quality and popularity of the Modal Nodes ' music . Biography . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin , Figrin D ' an and the Modal Nodes had entered into an exclusive contract with the Tatooine crime lord , Jabba Desilijic Tiure . They would routinely perform in the courts at Jabba ' s Palace and his Mos Eisley town house , but it didn ' t take long before they all regretted entering into a contract with the Hutt . Recognizing Jabba ' s penchant for executing underlings that displeased him at a moment ' s notice , the Modal Nodes began to fear for their lives . It would only be a matter of time before Jabba decided to make a snack of the musicians , by tossing one down into the dungeon abode of his pet rancor . Fortunately for them , a golden opportunity was fresh at hand . One of Jabba ' s rivals , a Whiphid named Lady Valarian , offered the band 3 , 000 credits to perform at her wedding to the Whiphid hunter , D ' Wopp . Figrin decided that the fast money would enable them to get off of Tatooine and out from under the thumb of Jabba the Hutt . They arrived at the Star Chamber Café reception hall inside of the Lucky Despot Hotel & Casino in Mos Eisley . Jabba learned of the Modal Nodes breach of contract and sent several of his bounty hunters down to the casino to disrupt the festivities . As luck would have it , Imperial stormtroopers likewise raided the party and a massive fire - fight broke out . During the confusion , the Modal Nodes met a party guest named Wuher who showed them a quick way out . Wuher put in a good word for them with Chalmun — a Wookiee who owned a nearby cantina where Wuher tended bar . Chalmun hired the Modal Nodes to play a couple of gigs at his bar , the following evening . They were performing the day when Luke Skywalker and Obi - Wan Kenobi entered the cantina seeking a pilot willing to ferry them to the Alderaan system . They continued to perform at Chalmun ' s on a regular basis . Occasionally , Chalmun ' s nightshift manager , Ackmena , would liven the bar ' s atmosphere by singing along with the Modal Nodes ' rhythms . However , Cheel was not present when they played during the Imperial curfew . Shortly after this event , Figrin D ' an wagered the band ' s instruments and equipment on a hand of sabacc . He lost the bet , but the Modal Nodes soon convinced him to win their equipment back . He eventually succeeded and the Modal Nodes went on to play the intergalactic circuit . Personality . Nalan Cheel enjoyed touring across the galaxy with the Modal Nodes , but a part of him always longed to return to the pink , bubbling swamps of his home world , Clak ' dor VII . Notes . Like many in the band , Nalan Cheel did not actually own his bandfill . All of the instruments and equipment were the property of Figrin D ' an ( the only exception to this was Doikk Na ' ts , who custom built his own Fizzz ) . Behind the scenes . One of the Lucasfilm makeup artists , Laine Liska , played the role of Nalan Cheel in " " . Laine Liska also played the role Muftak , but was never given screen credit for either part . In 1995 , Kenner released a special " Power of the Force " series mail - in offer for a five - piece action figure lot containing the members of the Modal Nodes . Nalan Cheel was one of the action figures featured in the set . In 1997 , Nalan Cheel was released as a twelve - inch action figure for the exclusive Star Wars Collector Series . In 2007 , the Kenner mold was reissued as part of an exclusive Commemorative Tin Set containing the members of the Modal Nodes . This time around Nalan Cheel and the other figures were given fabric vests .