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.
San Francisco
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you'e going to San Francisco
You'e gonna meet some gentle people there
For those who come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
In the streets of San Francisco
All across the nation
Such a strange vibration
People in motion, people in motion
There' a whole generation
With a new explanation
All of those who come to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you're going to sneaky peepshows
Summertime is nice with wild wild hair
The opening lines of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes's song "San Francisco" invite the listener to visit the city with a ringing endorsement for flower-adorned heads. The lyrics nostalgically recall the hippie era of the 1960s and 70s, when San Francisco was a hub of counterculture, with droves of young people converging on the city for the Summer of Love. The song's chorus repeats the call to visitors to wear flowers in their hair, urging them to participate in this era-defining symbol of peace and love. The gentle people of San Francisco with flowers in their hair are emblematic of a bygone era, a time when young people believed that they could change the world and do it peacefully.
The lyrics also make reference to the social and political upheaval of the era, such as the "strange vibration" that was felt across the nation, as well as the "new explanation" that the youth of the time were offering. As a whole, the song is a tribute to the idealism and optimism of the 60s counterculture movement, which sought a better world through peace, love, and understanding. By inviting listeners to join in and experience the flower power of San Francisco, the song is a call to revisit the spirit of that era and continue to advocate for change and progress.
Line by Line Meaning
If you'e going to San Francisco
If you are planning to travel to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
It is suggested that you wear flowers in your hair when visiting as it is a common and accepted practice there
If you'e going to San Francisco
If you are indeed going to San Francisco
You'e gonna meet some gentle people there
You will encounter friendly and kind locals in the city
For those who come to San Francisco
People who travel to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
The summertime in San Francisco is known for having music festivals and gatherings of people coming together to enjoy each other's company and music
In the streets of San Francisco
The city's streets and neighborhoods
Gentle people with flowers in their hair
The locals in San Francisco are often kind, accepting, and adorned with flowers in their hair
All across the nation
Everywhere in the country
Such a strange vibration
There is a unique and unusual feeling in the air
People in motion, people in motion
People are moving around and traveling
There' a whole generation
A whole new era or demographic of people
With a new explanation
With a new way of seeing things or understanding the world
All of those who come to San Francisco
All people who travel to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
It is recommended again to wear flowers in your hair while visiting San Francisco
If you're going to sneaky peepshows
If you are visiting prohibited, inappropriate venues or activities
Summertime is nice with wild, wild hair
The summertime in San Francisco is lovely to enjoy with a carefree attitude and free-flowing hair
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: John Edmund Andrew Phillips
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mr. Steal Yo Chicken Nuggets
my favorite song of theirs
Juan Ardon
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Fotis Baxevanis
Nice Stranger Than Fiction feel to it
JohnMcClane23
No shit, Sherlock.
J B
The next Die Hard should be set in San Francisco, featuring this song.
Zee Jorem
Doesn't sound like Spike though. Different singer?
JohnMcClane23
No, he's Spike and he sounds like Spike.