The studio core comprises Spike Slawson on vocals, bassist Fat Mike, Joey Cape on guitar and backing vocals, Dave Raun on drums, and Chris Shiflett on guitar (his brother Scott of Face To Face/Viva Death fills in for Chris on tour). Touring members have included Brian Baker (Bad Religion/Minor Threat), Barry DaLive (Crosstops/RKL), Eric Melvin (NOFX), Matthew MacNasty (bagpipes player from the Real McKenzies), and Warren Fitzgerald (The Vandals).
Originally a themed 7" singles project, now each of their full length albums covers a different genre of music spanning the 50's to the 90's. Their first release in 1997 was entitled Have a Ball, followed by Are a Drag in 1999. In 2001 they released Blow in the Wind and two years later released Take a Break. Almost immediately after the release of Take a Break the released a live album Ruin Johnny's Bar Mitzvah The genres they've butchered now include country, on Love Their Country featuring covers of songs made popular by The Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash and others. Their most recent release is a collection of B-sides from their album Have a Ball, simply titled Have Another Ball.
The Gimme Gimmes perform to entertain themselves as much as for the entertainment of their fans. Their albums and concerts are some of the most lighthearted and off the wall musical experiences in the punk world. Concerts are often interrupted between songs to freshen cocktails at the on stage tiki bar. CD liner notes relate the hardships of recording such as Fat Mike getting so caught up in "Wild World" that he believed he was Fat Stevens, a guitar-toting Islamic Extremist, so that when Spike sang "All My Lovin" he mistook it for "Allah my Lovin" and condemned Spike to death for heresy.
The Gimmes are also known for their costumes. Each album has a 'theme' for which they all dress up for the cover art and live shows. Some themes include red suits, metallic suits with fezzes, cheerleader outfits, drag (each Gimme dressed as a character from a musical they took songs from on the cover of Are a Drag: Chris Shiflett was Columbia and Spike was Dr Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror, Joey Cape was Annie, Fat Mike was Sandy from Grease and Dave Raun was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz). During a Warped Tour they dressed as AFI, to the confusion of many fans. Most recently they have been dressing as cowboys, but are possibly best known for their lurid Hawaiian shirts.
Or their live album, "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah", the band performed for a crowd of 30 at a Bar Mitzvah. The CD contained video of the actual event and the liner notes were written by attendee Benjamin Rosenblatt who describes the events: "They made a lot of mistakes. They even started a song then stopped, then started again." -track 7 "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the CD.
Blowin
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No man, it's goes like this:
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand
And how many times must the cannon balls fly
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea
Yes and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free
Yes and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see
The answer my friend is blowin in the wind
The answer is blowin in the wind
The answer my friends is blown in the wind
The answer is blowin... in the wind
The lyrics to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes's song Blowin' in the Wind are a cover of Bob Dylan's classic folk song from 1963, which has become an anthem of the civil rights movement and a symbol of social change. The song raises questions about the nature of freedom, equality, and justice, and asks how these ideals can be achieved in society. The opening lines, "How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man" and "How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand," explore the idea of maturity and recognition, suggesting that these markers of adulthood are not bestowed upon a person simply by existing, but rather by their actions and experiences.
The next verse switches to questions about the passage of time and change, asking "How many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea" and pondering how long it will take for humans to finally recognize the need for freedom and equal rights for all people. The final stanza expresses a sense of frustration at the world's failures to achieve these ideals, asking "how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see," before concluding that the answer to these questions is elusive and unknowable, "blowin' in the wind."
Overall, the song is a call to action, urging listeners to confront the injustices and inequalities present in society, and to work towards creating a better world for all people, regardless of race, gender, or social status.
Line by Line Meaning
How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man
What benchmark must a man meet before society recognizes him as a grown-up?
How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand
What distance must a dove fly before it can rest in peace?
And how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they are forever banned
How much war and bloodshed must our world go through before we find peace?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The solutions to life's biggest questions are not easily found and often elusive. They may be right in front of us, but hard to see and understand.
How many years can a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea
What is the lifespan of a seemingly indestructible object like a mountain before it is inevitably destroyed by the power of nature?
Yes and how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free
How long will individuals who are oppressed and held captive be denied the basic rights of a free life?
Yes and how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see
How often can we ignore the injustices in our world and pretend they are not happening right in front of us?
The answer my friend is blowin in the wind
Once again, the answers to these difficult questions are not easily found or understood. They may be all around us but hard to grasp.
The answer my friends is blown in the wind
The ultimate truth to life's biggest mysteries may never be fully discovered or understood.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind