Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just the Gimmes or Me First) is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione. The Gimmes have a habit of wearing quirky matching costumes during their live shows.
History
The band wasn't originally planning on releasing albums, appearing only on compilation albums for their first year. In 1995, however, the band began releasing singles named after the singer they had covered. They produced Billy, Diamond, Paul, Denver, Barry, Shannon, Stevens, and Elton in this manner. Their first full-length album, Have a Ball, was released , 1997.
Each album by the band is themed differently: Have a Ball focuses on classic 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s songs by singer/songwriters like Elton John, Neil Diamond, and John Denver; Are a Drag consists entirely of showtunes, Blow in the Wind consists of 60s classics, Take a Break consists entirely of contemporary R&B songs by artists such as Boyz 2 Men, Lionel Richie, and Vanessa L. Williams; their fifth album, Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah, was recorded live at an actual bar mitzvah and consists of pop music from the 1960s through the 1980s by artists such as REO Speedwagon, Styx and The Beatles, as well as traditional songs like "Hava Nagila" and Love Their Country's theme is country and western songs such as The Eagles and Garth Brooks. Their latest record, Have Another Ball! has the same theme as their debut which is 60's-80's music.
They entered the studio on , 2006 to work on their sixth album, Love Their Country, which was released on , 2006. The theme of this album is country and western, and includes covers of tracks by Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, Hank Williams, Sr. and Johnny Cash.. Prior to the release of the album, Fat Wreck Chords released a digital label sampler, iFloyd which included "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" by the band.
In late 2006, Fat Wreck Chords released another digital label sampler Christmas Bonus, containing a previously-unreleased cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans". In August 2006 Me First and the Gimme Gimmes were scheduled to play three dates at PNC Park after Pirates games, but after they got booed on the first night, the next two nights were cancelled. They were to play along with fireworks during the post-game "Skyblast" shows.
On , 2007, Fat Wreck Chords released a flash MP3 holiday bonus sampler called Hanuk-Comp containing "The Boxer" which was originally released on the "Garf" single (released in 1997). There is also a downloadable podcast that features commentary from Fat Mike and Floyd during breaks between songs in which the next album is revealed. It is named Have Another Ball! and contains all the B-sides from Have a Ball. The album was released on July 8, 2008.
Their cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" has been used as the theme song for HBO's documentary series Taxicab Confessions. Their cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is currently featured in an ad for Microsoft's Bing search engine.
Members
The core lineup, left to right: Cape, Slawson, Raun, Burkett, and "Jake Jackson" (Chris Shiflett)
Spike Slawson (of Swingin' Utters and Re-Volts)- vocals
"Fat" Mike Burkett (of NOFX)- bass
Chris Shiflett (of Foo Fighters ex- No Use For A Name)- guitar
Joey Cape (of Lagwagon)- guitar
Dave Raun (of Lagwagon)- drums
Fill-in Members for Tours
Brian Baker (of Minor Threat and Bad Religion) filled in for Shiftlett in 2006.
Chris Shiflett's brother, Scott Shiflett (of Face to Face and Viva Death) has been filling in for him on the band's most recent tours.
During the 2007 European tour and 2008 Australian tour, NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin filled in for Fat Mike on bass.
Costumes
The Gimmes have a habit of wearing quirky matching costumes during their live shows. Some of the themes match the albums, such as when they dress in cowboy outfits to accompany the album Love Their Country or in drag as various characters from musicals in Are a Drag. They have also worn pajamas, red suits, cheerleader outfits, shiny suits and fezzes, and, during one show in Camden, NJ on the Warped Tour, dressed as the band AFI. Easily the most common and popular costume set are their matching Hawaiian shirts of varying styles and colors over the years.
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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me First And The Gimme Gimmes
Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me First And The Gimme Gimmes
