Dead Man's Party

Halloweens were no longer acceptable since Oingo Boingo called it quits in '95; the holiday would never be the same without them. Because of this, Dead Man's Party, the Oingo Boingo tribute band began to form in the later part of 2000, beginning the endeavor to re-create the Halloween cheer that so many other Southern Californians had come to know as Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party." The band started out with Rob on vocals, Axel Clark on drums and Mike Ryon on lead guitar.

The band started out with Rob on vocals, Axel Clark on drums and Mike Ryon on lead guitar. Rob was a huge Oingo Boingo fan, Axel and Mike were both very familiar with Oingo Boingo and thought the project sounded like fun, and the three had worked together before; both in the studio and in another band. Things seemed to click pretty well, so slowly the rest of the band was recruited. Everything continued to go so well that, even before finding a horn section, the band went ahead and booked their first show. Then things got sticky.

The horn section that the guys had intended to work with never seemed to have the time to rehearse. It was now just over three months before the gig, and Dead Man's Party was stuck. Luckily, they were informed about a great SKA band from San Diego that had an incredible horn section; a band called Skanic. The guys contacted the Skanic horn section and invited them to a rehearsal. Fortunately, they were all Oingo Boingo fans themselves. They liked what they heard, and the band was set.

On October 26, '01 - three months later - Dead Man's Party played their first show at the House of Blues, Anaheim. It had been a long journey, and now they faced a packed house of Oingo Boingo fans expecting to be entertained...or else. Thankfully, the crowd accepted them and the show went great.

Though Dead Man's Party was originally intended to be primarily a Halloween band, Oingo Boingo fans kept asking when they were playing next. The guys started booking other shows throughout the year, with a seemingly ever-growing fan base. After a few band member changes and over five years later, Dead Man's Party finds themselves playing around Southern California about once a month and still loving it.