Me First and The Gimme Gimmes // Fat Mike interview about DIVAS. (New Noise Magazine Cover Story #09 - April 2014) - Damian Burford: Freelance Writer/Podcaster from Denver, CO & Napa, Ca

Me First and The Gimme Gimmes // Fat Mike interview about DIVAS. (New Noise Magazine Cover Story #09 – April 2014)

Editor’s Note: This is the raw draft of the interview published by New Noise Magazine. This draft has not been seen by an editor. There will be errors.

A Diva is a force to be reckoned with. A powerhouse singer with an overwhelming, powerful attitude to match. A Diva is likely to get their own way, no matter what the cost. Regardless, a true diva can shape significant portions of the cultural landscape of popular music.

It’s a fitting theme for the Avengers-esque punk rock powerhouse of Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. The band is known for its general infighting and party time attitude, while taking popular songs and crafting them into their own songs.

Those powerhouses who form Me First and The Gimme Gimmes have always been Joey Cape (Lagwagon) mixed with the might of Chris Shiflet (Foo Fighters/No Use For A Name) with the added prowess of drummer, Dave Raun (Lagwagon/RKL) and the almighty Fat Mike Burkett (NoFx/Fat Wreck Chords) on the bass centered around the majesty of singer, Spike Slawson.

Each generation has their own Diva to look up to and call their own. In the punk rock world we have Fat Mike.

Hours before he heads to Japan for a week-long Gimmes tour, we speak with Mike from his San Francisco home. Mike sounds tired when he picks up the phone and explains that he had spent the day at the beach riding bikes with his daughters. What we get is a Fat Mike who is very open and honest about his feelings towards the project, the newest album and his past feeling about Divas.

In my head I associate Divas with the 70’s. You grew up in the 70’s, and do you have any memories of the then Divas scene?

Well, My mom and my dad divorced when I was four. They only had two records. They weren’t music listeners. They just had a stereo and when they had people over, they would put on a couple of records. They only had two. One was Barbara Streisand. I grew up with very little music in the house. I knew Second Hand Rose by Streisand for sure. That’s not why we did Divas. We like to come up with a theme and this way we could play popular songs of the past five decades.

What I like about Divas is that you guys cover a little from every decade with this record. Is there something about these songs you choose?

We just listen to a bunch of the songs, and it’s surprisingly hard to do a Gimmes album. With the country album we went through about a hundred songs to get twelve good ones. People don’t really think about that. People are all the fucking time [telling me], “Hey Mike, Why don’t you do this cover? That would be a really good one!” I’m just like, “Shut up. You have no idea how hard it is to do a song that sounds good in punk rock style.”

We went through every Britney Spear song. We couldn’t find one. We couldn’t find one that was good. There is nothing for chord progressions. They are all dance songs. We tried it with Beyonce and Pink. The only Pink song we liked was the Tim Armstrong one and it’s kind of lame to do that. [Editor’s note: Rancid’s Tim Armstrong co-wrote and produced songs for Pink’s 2003 Try This album. The song “Trouble,” a Rancid outtake was reworked for Pink and won a Grammy. The song was later recorded by Tim Timebomb And Friends in 2012] It’s really hard to find good songs.

When you go in to make a record like this, do you think to yourself anything along the lines of, “What would Celine Dion do?”

Yeah, we don’t take it that seriously. We just try to get through it. What’s cool about the Gimmes now, we get to record at the Foo Fighters studio for free. They have a HUGE awesome studio now, the 606. It’s with the board from that movie, Sound City, came from. So we go there, hang out and go over songs. We just try to knock them out. So we’re not really thinking. I was wasted the whole time. Joey [Cape from Lagwagon] wasn’t there. We don’t really like recording with Joey. We argue too much. He comes in and does his parts, but he is on his own.

What are the tours like? All you guys have such big personalities, how do those personalities fit on the same bus?
We have a good time. We are all interchangeable, which is kind of cool. We’ve done tours without everybody, well everybody except for Spike. Spike is the only person that we really need. It’s just easier that way. Chris [Shiflet] is in the Foo Fighters. He only plays three or four shows with us a year. His brother [Scott Shiflet, also of Face To Face] plays with us too. Brian Baker [Minor Threat & Bad Religion] has been in the Gimmes and Warren [Fitzgerald] from The Vandals has been in the Gimmes. Some people from RKL [Rich Kids on LSD] and some people from Screw 32. Nowadays if we are going to replace any of us, we have to replace them with somebody who is kind of popular.

Do you get jealous when these people are out on the road in place of you?
Oh no, not at all. I’m busy doing other stuff. I was kind of bummed that this last European tour was our most successful tour ever. So that was kind of a bummer. It’s nice to know that after twenty or so years, our tours are bigger than they ever have been before.

Are the tours bigger thanks to the internet making you guys more accessible?
I don’t know if it’s the internet. The internet doesn’t help some bands, and it hurts other bands. The Gimme Gimmes are one of those bands that nobody loves, but everybody likes. The longer we’ve been around, more people will like us. Our bar back catalog is probably the best back catalog on Fat Wreck Chords. People are always playing our records and people are always hearing us. So maybe it’s the internet, but I don’t know. We don’t do that much on the internet.

What about Boy George, and the cover of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon?” How does it fit into your Divas theme?

It’s a great song. He pretty much acted like a Diva his whole career. He became more famous; WAY MORE FAMOUS than the band. He’s got his own, for real, dolls. He’s a diva! Who the fuck knows where the other guys in the band went, right? So I think he qualifies. And he dresses like a girl.

The Carpenters “Top of The World” is an interesting choice for the album, as is Donna Summer’s “On the Radio.”
Yeah, [Karen Carpenter] wasn’t really a Diva either, but we really liked that song. She was a popular singer. The other one, [On The Radio], was alright.

I think the Celine Dion song is the funniest. That song is just not very good. We did it anyway. We wanted to include Celine.

I love the cover of “I Will Always Love You.” It seems to both pay tribute to both the Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton versions of the songs.
Yes! Yes, it does! It was a twofer! Two credits for that one.

Is it daunting to take a song that is so universally well known from two different artists and throw your own spin on it?
No. Oh no no. It’s not very hard for the Gimmes to make all these songs better. Punk rock is better than other styles of music. Thank god we have a great singer. If you take a good song and you do it well, it’s not hard to outdo it. You can’t cover an AC/DC song and do it better. You can’t do it. You can take a Barry Manilow song and make it better. That’s the whole idea behind the Gimmes. We’re not going to take great rock songs and try to make them more rocking. You can take shitty pop songs and certainly make them better.

On that subject, I really enjoy the Gimmes version of “Crazy For You,” by Madonna; better than the original version. I know you guys have pissed off artists such as The Eagles, but have you met anyone who likes a Gimmes version better than their own?

I know R. Kelly liked our version and gave us permission to do the video for it. But I haven’t met anyone, and I should really try harder because I know some people and I could probably meet someone.

I might be reading too much into this, but with songs such as “I Will Survive,” “My Heart Will Go On,” and “I Will Always Love You,” my first instinct was that this album was a way of dealing with the death of No Use For a Name singer, Tony Sly.
No! You are totally reading into it too much. I like that, but that’s the whole thing with the Gimmes, we don’t put a whole lot into anything. That’s the beauty behind it. We have a band that we like, and we don’t have to write songs for. We don’t have to try very hard and obviously we don’t.

You’ve got to try a little bit right? The albums come out great and people around the world love the band.

There is a secret to it. The secret is that we pick good songs and we have a great singer. If you listen to a lot of the records, the production isn’t that good. It’s sloppy. We don’t rehearse. With our past few records we didn’t even rehearse. We just went into the studio, find a song, work on it for an hour or two and record it. So no. We don’t try very hard. We had a t-shirt that said: “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. We don’t try very hard.” So sure, I think we’re good, but I don’t think it is because of our effort. I think it is because we know how to pick good songs, and that Spike is great! You need a good singer. With punk rock bands there are so few good singers. There really is a very few. Especially with bands that are big. Bad Religion is it. If you look at all the other punk bands, the singers kind of suck, me included. NoFx, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, AFI, Blink 182; Are you serious? They can’t sing. We can sing our melodies, but try singing an Elton John song. Fuck. No way.

Spike has his own cover side project with UKE HUNT. Do you see Spike breaking out on his own, or are the Gimmes his mainstay?

I think Gimmes will still stay with his band, but he wants to travel and tour all around the world, a lot. The rest of us are all in other successful bands. We can’t tour as much as he wants to. So Uke Hunt gives him a chance to do that.

Where will this new album take the Gimmes in the next year?

They just did Europe. We just did California. Tomorrow we are going to Japan. Then I’m doing stuff with NoFx. I think we might do Riot Fest. We don’t tour very much. I party too much. I can’t tour.

In 2017 The Gimmes will be celebrating 20 years. Do you have anything in the works yet for this momentous occasion?
No, we were just discussing the other day what our next theme was going to be. Once again we just started arguing with Joey. Well, It was Me, Spike and Joey. We’re the arguers. It’s funny. We started this band because we were all friends and we wanted to start a band that we wouldn’t stress out about. I argue more with the Gimme Gimmes twenty times more than with NoFx. Too many cooks in the kitchen.

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‘A music lover’s paradise: Record Store Day returns to Napa this Saturday’ – Napa Valley Register – Right On!!! Records Napa

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An ode to Alissa Rogers (1982 – 2016) Shreveport / Denver

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I miss her and think of her often. This was written in grief, and a first draft was posted. It desperately needs to be edited, but I just can’t stop crying when I read this to make the fixes…. So please forgive all the grammatical errors and such… —– Alissa Rogers was the first woman who let me touch her boobs. She was wearing these fake silicon pads you put into your bra and wanted me to feel them too see if they were real. Years later she told me that was the night she wanted to take my virginity, but I was too dumb to make a move. Alissa Rogers is the reason I am the man I am today. Alissa Rogers passed away today. I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to write about that wild, wonderful and obnoxious woman. I’ve been sitting here in silence for the last 15 minutes trying to find the right words when it dawns on me, had she been here she would have said something wildly inappropriate to break the tension. She would have made me and every one else laugh. She was fierce. 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Sean and Alee Go All The Way

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In 2023, I was invited to be the officiant of my dear old friends, Sean and Alee’s wedding. It was the invitation of a lifetime and I was honored to be the one to bring their lives together. Sean and I both were tearful in the moment, while Alee was ever the dude who made fun of us for being a “bunch of crybabies.” I share this here today for posterity, misspellings and all. Below is the Officiant’s speech (or whatever it’s called). ***YOU MAY BE SEATED.***** Dearly Beloved We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Sean and Alee! So many of us have traveled great distances to be here for this joyous celebration. There is nowhere else we would rather be than right here right now, celebrating this NEU family. Pun intended. Hold for chuckles. The love in this venue is powerful! Can you feel it? So many friends. family. both old, new and those friendships yet to be discovered. Of course Friendship is the cornerstone of any great relationship and that’s where today’s journey begins. Sean and Alee began their life first as friends. They met at College and became roommates. They lived together in a large house, each working towards their futures. Both of them were unaware that their futures were destined to be together. Sean and Alee would stay friends after college. They would go on to start their individual lives, but they stayed close. They were there for each other through thick and thin, growing slowly towards becoming the best friends they were always meant to be. Weddings are intended to be quiet affairs, but if we might break decorum real quick. Can we get some noise from those of us who knew long before they did that these two both were meant to be together? It was so obvious wasn’t it? Obvious to everyone but them! Every story I’d hear, the nicknames or inside jokes from these two said it all… These two were meant for each other. But isn’t that how the greatest relationships are formed? Time. Growth. Dedication. Love. All those qualities existed long before they found their romance. It was those years of friendship that they built the foundation of this love and their future life. Sean works in Security and in the days before I met alee, I would joke, “I wonder what it would take to get that Top Secret clearance to Sean’s heart?” I stopped joking the moment I met Alee. Immediately, I knew she was the key to his heart. They are each other’s Yin and Yang. They bring each other a sense of Balance. Who else experienced the absolute joy when they revealed that they had finally taken that obvious leap into romance? And it was in those early days of this adventure that Sean and Alee invited my love and I on a double date at the Botanical Gardens. We watched as these two danced around each other. Still so nervous of the relationship that was blossoming. These two had loved each other for so long, but what did it mean now? It was in those tender moments in the gardens.. watching as the two of them held hands.. watching them gently explored what this next chapter of their relationship would become… I knew these two would GO ALL THE WAY. Their love grew to the true place it was always meant to grow. Today we are here in celebration of what they have discovered since that afternoon in the gardens. The love in this room is powerful. Look around the room and You can see the love and joy that these two represent, reflected in each of your faces. Not just our love of Sean and Alee, but the love we have for each other. With this love in our hearts, we are helping to build the bond that will carry these two forward into their futures. That love is worth more than any of the wrapped boxes we brought with us today. Those are the real gifts that we bring to this couple by being here today in this joyous celebration. As we continue this ceremony, think of your love of Sean and Alee. Think of your favorite moments you may have of them and hold that love close in your hearts as we welcome these two to their next chapter and adventures unknown. OFF MIC: Shall we begin? Are you two ready? Marriage is a supreme sharing, perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure in life. It is the joyful uniting of two individuals whose care and affection and understanding have flowered into a deep and powerful love. Those who take its vows have their lives blended together into one, as the waters of two rivers are joined when they come together to form an even greater one. The bride and groom have prepared their own vows: —- Alee: Do you take this man for your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this & day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? Sean: Do you take this woman for your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? You may kiss the bride! Ladies and Gentlemen.. I present to you… Sean And ALEE NEU!!!