Hear ye, o heshers and bangers of candy-colored heads. Many of you sent follow-up suggestions for Sunday’s Boing Boing post about punk rock cover bands and bluegrass deathmetal makeovers. Boing Boing reader Big John sez:
Thought readers may enjoy some cover bands as reported on by the Cleveland Scene magazine. I don’t think anyone can top Nudist Priest!
(Image: Nudist Priest performs in Los Angeles; shot by Toni Wells.)
Tattoed author Jim Ruland (who hosts the überpunkrawk literary event Vermin on The Mount this Sunday in LA’s Chinatown) sez:
The best cover band of them all is Manic Hispanic. They play cholo versions of great punk rock songs: The Clash’s Garageland beomes Barrioland and so on. They’re also the house band for the awards ceremony at the Las Vegas Punk Rock Bowling Tournament.
Boing Boing buddy Boogah sez:
It’s also worth noting that Gabby and Steve Soto from Manic Hispanic are also in another cover band that goes by the name Flock of Goo Goo. This one does 80’s pop and new wave covers with a whole buttload of stage antics. They don’t have a web presence, but they’re worth seeing live. I mean, where else can you see a band whose onstage antics have included a chubby man in a wedding dress crawling around the stage gasping “Like A Virgin” into a microphone? Nowhere, I hope…
Flock of Goo Goo photo by Jenifer Hanen: “Here is a fun pic I took at last year’s New Year’s Eve Prom at Alex’s Bar when Gabby was dressed up in his Madonna Like a Virgin outfit (or a Quinceanera gone very wrong).”
C. Drake sez:
Beatallica is a no-DRM, no copyright, completely copy-left Beatles revival band. They perfected a great imitation of Metallica’s sound and then mixed Metallica and Beatles songs together. They actually tour and everything. You can download the entire CDs from their website. I particularly enjoy Leper Madonna and The Thing That Should Not Let It Be (Cthulhu references aplenty).
Tim Martienssen in the UK sez,
Check out The Ultimate Punk Rock Cover Song Project: Link.
Thomas Lockney sez:
You can’t have a proper discussion of punk rock cover bands that crosses into bluegrass territory without mention of the Bad Livers. Although they played a lot of original music and traditional bluegrass numbers, for a long time they were best known for their covers (including songs by Metallica, Motorhead, The Stooges, etc.). Their album Delusions of Banjer was even recorded by Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers.
Reader Ken A. sez:
Punk Rock Orchestra: I’m especially fond of their version of the suddenly re-topical California Uber Alles.
Apocalyptica: All strings, all Metallica cover band… you will be astonished at how hard it still rawks. A friend once played this for a coworker who was down on metal but big on the classics and this person apparently loved it, disbelieving they were metal covers.
The Duke of Uke: This one’s for Mark: a ukelele player who does Sex Pistols covers, as heard on The Church of the Subgenius’ “Hour of Slack.” Site doesn’t look to have been updated in a couple years now, but he’s still out there, covering Nirvana and The Ramones.
Kim sez:
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain do a truly magnificent cover of the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the UK. There’s a clip in this report from the Today programme.
sarah lefton sez:
Duckmandu (aka Aaron Seeman) is an accordion virtuoso in Oakland and he specializes in pitch perfect squeezebox covers of Jello Biafra. Also does arrangements for the Punk Rock Orchestra.
Lane Buschel sez:
My own band, DEVA, is the world’s only two girl-fronted devo cover band.
Thanks to everyone who contributed, including the many suggestions we didn’t have room for this time around. Previously: Punk cover bands and Motorhead’s bluegrass makeover