Danny's older brother Richard Elfman and Danny co-founded The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo which eventually became just Oingo Boingo. It was Richard who "...has seen Dead Man’s Party and has been supportive of his ersatz Oingo." I stand corrected.

Market confusion is created when two offerings serving a similar market have similar names.

It's easy to see how 'Oingo Boingo Trubute Band' and 'Oingo Boingo Dance Party' could be confusing to a potential concertgoer trying to decide where to spend their money.

Which brings me to the major flaw in the article: the centerpiece argument is based on outdated Information.

Danny Elfman himself recently endorsed Johnny Vatos' group, supporting their taking on the full name of the band. Vatos' group is now called Oingo Boingo Dance Party. Vatos has been performing the music he helped make a Halloween season must-see for a decade now.

It is very misleading to leave statements like "Oingo founder Danny Elfman has seen and supports Dead Man's Party" in the article when there's not only no evidence to support that claim, but in fact Danny has come out in support of Johnny Vatos' group.

As a fan, I have to note that the two bands couldn't be more different: DMP tends to play the album arrangements at the album tempos (which Oingo Boingo, known for their raucous live shows, almost never did) while Vatos' group breathes life into the music, playing it with the intensity and insanity they established.

DMP is portraying a live experience that never existed, and one that, had the real band put forth, would've certainly cost them fans. They are attempting to duplicate the recordings in a live setting, which sucks the spontenaeity out of the performance.

Additional note: the band's name has never been shortened to or officially referred to as 'Oingo'--but it has been called Boingo. They used 'Boingo' in their merch for years, referred to themselves that way, and even released an album under that name. If you're going to abbreviate their name, Boingo is generally the preferred version.

Danny Elfman's "endorsement" has nothing to do with Johnny Vatos' representative Wendy Pineda demanding that Dead Man's Party stop billing itself as an "Oingo Boingo Tribute." According to the attorney and everyone I spoke with, it is completely legal and honorable for this decade-old tribute band to continue calling itself "Dead Man's Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo." The fact that Vatos was in fact a founding member of the original band and is now basically playing in a separate tribute band, somewhat confuses the issue. I guess you could say he is a tribute to the band he used to be in. But because Elfman likes Vatos' tribute band does not take away from Dead Man's Party right to continue billing itself for what it is: an Oingo Boingo tribute band. The reality is -- according to its fans and true believers -- there is not now nor will there ever be another Oingo Boingo, since its major creative force, Danny Elfman, doesn't want an "Oingo Boingo" to ever resurface. As the attorney suggested, it seems on its face a little sketchy that the sponsoring radio station for the November Johnny Vatos show and its venue (Music Box) is billing its show as the "Oingo Boingo Dance Party." But as the attorney also pointed out, ANYBODY can theoretically use "Oingo Boingo" since that name is not legally protected. It seems to me there is plenty of Oingo Boingo appreciation opportunities out there for everybody. Dead Man's Party has done a fine job for years, and according to James Wilson, so does Johnny Vatos' tribute band. The fun started when Pineda made legal-sounding demands to Dead Man's Party and the Belly Up.

Dead Man's Party is a great show, I was planning on seeing them this Sat but something else came up.

Dead Man's Party IS a great show. Do you have any idea how good a musician you have to be to play those complex arrangements? I am told they have sold more advance tickets for Saturday's show at this time than they had for previous DMP/Belly Up shows that sold out, which seems to indicate this weekend's show will also sell out. Full disclosure: the band I managed, Incognito, opened for Oingo Boingo in 1981 at the Little Bavaria in Del Mar. Also, I met Danny Elfman when Oingo played the Del Mar Fair in 1984. I interviewed him for an advance article in the Times-Advocate (a daily North County paper). Like Oingo Boingo, the Little Bavaria and the Times-Advocate no longer exist.

All of us from Dead Man's Party would like to extend our thanks Ken & jnojr for your flattering comments, and thanks again Ken Leighton for retracting and fixing the misquote; I appreciate it. Most importantly, we want to thank everybody out there who have kept this band alive for FIFTEEN YEARS now - WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Ken, I agree that "there's plenty of Oingo love to go around." Dead Man's Party was founded to celebrate the music of Oingo Boingo for the love of the band and the music. Fortunately for us, over the years of doing what we do we have been fortunate enough to gain the support of both Boingo veterans and newbies alike. With the ongoing support of Boingo and DMP fans it looks like we will continue to do so for years to come! :)

There are no original Oingo Boingo band members in Dead Man's Party, though we have been blessed to have the support of many of them, the most active of which is Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo founder Richard Elfman (check out his upcoming movie Forbidden Zone 2). We've even been lucky enough to have a number of Boingo members join us on stage over the years - a dream come true for all of us! Still, to some people there is no substitute for the original, no matter what the quality of the reproduction is. To them a tribute is and will always be a cheap knock-off. That is just a simple fact that all tribute bands must face and accept.

Now to clarify some of the confusion. DMP's goal is to be the closest recreation of an Oingo Boingo concert that a concert goer can experience. Many of us saw the originals a number of times - myself included (1st show @ Pacific Amphitheater in '85). We base our performances on our own experiences as well as referencing the many videos available online. And yes, we admit that we are not trying to BE Oingo Boingo, so we don't do ALL the moves, nuances, etc, but you do have to make a show your own just a little, ya know? Speaking at least for myself, that's where part of the passion comes from. Anyhow, Boingo went through a few different phases, so we have chosen to focus on their early years since that is where it all originated (and when I became a fan myself). Though we DO attempt to sound as close to the original recordings as possible, we do so just as Boingo originally did in their live performances. We also change up the arrangements we choose to play from time to time based on live arrangements also performed by our original counterparts. For the most part we do not attempt to do our own renditions of Boingo tunes. It seems to me that, by definition, that would make us a cover band, not a tribute band.

We love and appreciate you all, and are looking forward to partying with you at what is already nearly a SOLD OUT house at the Belly Up in Solana beach this Saturday night! Long live Boingomania!!!

15 YEARS of Dead Man's Party, the original Oingo Boingo tribute band