Spike and the Gimme Gimmes (fka Me First and the Gimme Gimmes), for nearly 30 years, have delivered the best covers from any band in the world, period, full stop. You can make every argument that so and so’s cover of this or that was great, but no band has consistently delivered high quality reimagining classics from nearly every genre known to man like The Gimme Gimmes.
Recently, we caught up with Spike Slawson, the eponymous Spike of the newly rechristened Spike and The Gimme Gimmes, and he gave us some wild answers about the band’s decision to change its name, new music, longevity and what’s on the horizon for the band.
The first question is the most obvious question — you’ve been known as Me First & The Gimme Gimmes forever, what was the thought behind the decision to change it to Spike & The Gimmes Gimmes?
Truth in advertising… pride… egotism… take your pick. The Gimmes do not think so much as default.
The Gimmes Gimmes have been a band for 30 years this year. What is it about this band that keeps your audiences coming back for three+ decades?
World-class original material (originated by others); daring fashion-sense; rapier wit…
The average person leaves our show unable to decide whether to feel amused, aroused, outraged, offended, disturbed, radicalized, pandered to…
That tension is our essential chemistry.
Your last album Blow it….at Madison’s Quinceanera dropped in 2024. Can we expect new music on the horizon in the near future? If so, can you give us a hint of what you’ll be covering?
Certainly. We’re on it. Movie, anyone?
You’ve covered so many wildly different genres and artists, but who do you have on your wishlist of songs/artists/genres you still want to cover?
Everything is on the table. You build it, we will vandalize it.
What are some songs you cover that are a must for every show you do?
John Denver (RIP) is always a part of our set… Judy Garland… Dolly Parton… Paula Abdul… Paul Simon… The Guess Who… Al Hirt… Eclectic doesn’t even begin to cover it—we’re fucking schizo.
What are some of your favorite deep cut songs you like to drop into a setlist?
“O’Sole Mio” really gets the Neapolitan diaspora agitated, wherever they happen to be. We are looking forward to the day that we can actually bring it back to its spiritual home of Naples!
What do you love most about being in this band?
Trolling unsuspecting crowds and eliciting a variety of disparate emotions, reactions and facial expressions. Sowing confusion and dysfunction hither and yon. I ain’t your daddy but I might be your Dada.
What are you most excited about for the band for the rest of 2025 and heading into 2026?
Our upcoming tour with Alien Sex Fiend. They are not yet aware of it, but I am confident that we will make it happen and am very excited. Also, South America will be a gas.
Come up and see us sometime!
Spike and the Gimme Gimmes play the Northeast this week, click here for ticket info:
- 7/30: Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA
- 8/1: Theater of the Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA
- 8/2: Irving Plaza, New York City
- 8/3: The Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ
- 8/4: Anthology, Rochester, NY
