Punk's premier cover artists, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a conglomerate of some of the most recognizable faces in new-school punk. Drawn together by a mutual love of '60s and '70s music, the Gimme Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. Their repertoire include songs from such acts as Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, and John Denver.
Singer Spike Slawson formed the Gimme Gimmes in 1995, drawing in the talents of NOFX bassist Fat Mike, Lagwagon singer Joey Cape, Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett, and Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun. Never originally aiming to put out a record, the band made appearances on punk compilation albums through much of the year. In 1996, however, the band began releasing singles named after the singer they had covered. They produced Billy, Diamond, Paul, Denver, and Barry in this manner.
Finally, the group produced their first full-length effort, 'Have a Ball', in late 1997. The group's second full length CD, 'Are a Drag', came out in June 1999. 'Blow in the Wind' followed in early 2001. The bands fourth album 'Take a Break' came out in july 2003 and pays tribute to the greatest black artists. Their latest release, 'Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah'is a live album, released in October 2004.
All the stuff you hear about other members from well known bands playing in Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is not true, it's just a joke that's gotten out of hand. However, sometimes the line-up does change for live shows when not everyone can be there. For example, Max Huber of the Swingin' Utters replaced Joey a couple of times. Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals did the same during the Warped Tour in 2001 and 2003 when Chris Shifflet couldn't be there.
Former members of the Gimme Gimmes should have been Billie Joe (Green Day), Tim Armstrong (Rancid), Mike Watt (Minuteman), Fletcher Dragge (Pennywise), Brett Guerewitz (Bad Religion), Pig Champion (Poison Idea), Joe Escalante (Vandals), Ben Weasel (Screeching Weasel), Danny Vapid (Screeching Weasel), Ron Weltner (Offspring) and Lou Italian (Sick Of It All).
Source: http://home.hetnet.nl/~boeradje/mfatgg/index.html |
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