Who Is In Oingo Boingo Former Members
Five original Oingo Boingo members are on the published roster. That is a roster, not a cast list for any one date — and the difference matters.
Five original Oingo Boingo members are on the published roster. That is a roster, not a cast list for any one date — and the difference matters.
The roster
The band’s own page lists nine musicians. Five of them played in Oingo Boingo: Johnny “Vatos” Hernandez on drums, Steve Bartek on guitar, John Avila on bass, Sam “Sluggo” Phipps on saxophone and Carl Graves on keyboards.
The other four are José Maldonado on lead vocals, Mike “The Spike” Glendinning on rhythm guitar, Freddie Hernandez on bass and Brian Swartz on trumpet.
Where sources disagree, they disagree about the singer. Listing-site biographies copied from one another still name Brendan McCreary, who has also fronted this band; the band’s own page names Maldonado. Neither is Danny Elfman, and this site does not state which of them you will see.
That caution is deliberate, and it is the most useful thing on this page. Nobody publishes per-show line-ups. At least one widely-copied biography goes as far as describing some of the original members as appearing on occasion. So if a specific musician is the reason you are buying a ticket — and for a lot of people that musician is Steve Bartek — ask the venue before you buy rather than trusting a schedule.
Where the name came from
The act did not appear out of nowhere and did not take the name without asking. By the account given by Hernandez, once Elfman had decided he would not be returning, he gave Hernandez permission to use the name Oingo Boingo Dance Party. The billing later became Oingo Boingo Former Members, which describes the thing more plainly.
The group has been playing California venues since the mid-2000s. What it is not is a re-formed Oingo Boingo: that would need the singer, and he has ruled it out.
Live inventory
Live listings with current pricing from TicketNetwork’s marketplace. Match the date and the venue against the schedule rather than the event title — no show on sale is an Oingo Boingo reunion, whatever a listing calls it.
Where they are playing
These dates have passed. Every announced show is on the schedule page.
Good to know
The band's own page lists Johnny “Vatos” Hernandez on drums, Steve Bartek on guitar, John Avila on bass, Sam “Sluggo” Phipps on saxophone and Carl Graves on keyboards — all from the original band — with José Maldonado on lead vocals, Mike “The Spike” Glendinning on rhythm guitar, Freddie Hernandez on bass and Brian Swartz on trumpet.
The band's own page lists José Maldonado on lead vocals. Older listing bios still name Brendan McCreary, who has also fronted the band. Neither is Danny Elfman, and the singer is not guaranteed for any particular date.
This site will not tell you that, because nobody publishes it. The band lists a roster; at least one widely-copied bio describes some original members as appearing on occasion. If a specific musician is the reason you are buying, ask the venue before you buy.
It is a band of former members of Oingo Boingo playing their own back catalogue, using the name with Danny Elfman's permission. It is billed as Oingo Boingo Former Members, not as Oingo Boingo.