Me First & The Gimme Gimmes “Blow It At Madison’s Quinceañera”

Twenty years after Me First And The Gimme Gimmes ruined Johnny’s Bar Mitzvah, punk rock’s premier cover band is back to wreak havoc on another important coming-of-age ceremony. This time, as the album title reveals, it was a Quinceañera. Nobody attending had ever heard of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes before, and nobody knew what to expect. It would have been so easier for the band to play to a crowd who already knew and loved them, but that’s not the Gimme Gimmes way. Me First And The Gimme Gimmes Blow It At Madison’s Quinceañera was recorded on July 15th 2023 at The Soap Factory in San Diego and is now available via Fat Wreck Chords. On this live outing Me First and the Gimme Gimmes were Spike Slawson (Swingin’ Utters), Joey Cape (Lagwagon), CJ Ramone (Ramones), Swami John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt), Andrew “Pinch” Pinching (The Damned), Keith Douglas (Mad Caddies) and Jason Crane (Rocket From The Crypt).

“A Quinceañera is a very celebrated and important event, not just in a young girl’s life, but in the whole families. Mom and Dad were great, but it took the uncles a little while to warm up to me and our off-color jokes, though I think eventually they got it. Our process is to cast the line out and bring people to the point of—and beyond—outward expressions of displeasure like booing, and then hopefully reel them back in by the end of the set. I would like this to be considered indicative of what a live show by the Gimme Gimmes can be. The only difference is that there would be people that wanted to hear us specifically and came to see us. What happened at this show, to me, is better than unfettered, unconditional applause from a lot of people. Golf-claps from about five people is how I want to hear a live record. It’s funny, and it doesn’t stop being funny. Not only do outward displays of disapproval not scare me, but I might even crave them a little bit. I don’t necessarily want to leave with people booing, but fawning praise makes me cringe. The girl had a good time, her mom and dad had a good time, her abuelo had a good time. And then when the DJ music finally played, her friends had a good time, too.” (Singer Spike Slawson)