# Gimmick Bands **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128 "2019-04-27T13:55:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/21 "2019-04-28T02:29:38Z")
And, anything Jack Black is involved with. Almost Karmic… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/22 "2019-04-28T03:12:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > The appearance of Okilly Dokilly, the “heavy nedal “ band on the Simpsons has started me thinking. Gimmick bands have existed for a long time, but few ever make a real musical contribution, or become more than a one hit wonder. At the same time, bands like Gwar and Kiss are obviously gimmick bands, but remain popular. Well, if KISS are a gimmick band, then [Mini Kiss](https://minikisses.com/) are a gimmick band of a gimmick band. (And, believe it or not, there was another band of short-statured folks called [Tiny Kiss](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crazy-crazy-nights-for-kiss-tributes-warring-dwarves-6103246.html) that were apparently in a bit of a conflict with the members of Mini Kiss.) I actually saw one of these two bands in Budapest at a music festival in the early 2000s – I think it was Mini Kiss – and they were quite good. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/23 "2019-04-28T03:36:14Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > I guess The Village People may be the best known Gimmick Band overall, if not, I can’t think of another with such widespread, mainstream notariety. Well there was a band that came along in the 60’s that had the gimmick of smashing up their instruments at the end of their [performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sACe54Y_lFE&list=RDB0gBfUje1t4&index=6). I think a few people are still fans, so I guess I’d challenge the Village People as far as “widespread, mainstream notoriety”. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/24 "2019-04-28T11:07:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If weird costuming and a distinctive shtick count, then [Devo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw) has to be included as a kind of gimmick band. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Anything Jack White is involved with. And these examples are kind of why when I read the OP, I thought, “Any good band has some sort of gimmick. Otherwise they wouldn’t stand out, and you wouldn’t remember them.” Seriously, there’s a ton of people out there who play unbelievably well. As an act in the entertainment industry, a gimmick is pretty much necessary to sell yourself as a band. In the end, even an over-athletic playing style is a kind of gimmick. So you really just have to figure out what your (or your favorite) band’s gimmick is, not whether it has one or not. It might make you feel better about it if you think of it as a “mystique” rather than a “gimmick”. My current band doesn’t have much of one, and if I could think of a good one, I’d use it in second. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/25 "2019-04-28T15:42:56Z")
I can’t help but think we’re stretching the definition of what a gimmick is. The Rolling Stones may have been referred to as a type of anti-Beatles but they weren’t a gimmick band. But what the hell? Maybe I’m wrong. Wikipedia considers Slash’s top hat to be a gimmick. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/26 "2019-04-28T15:44:26Z")
Cybertronic Spree dresses like Transformers and plays mostly video game themes. > **[The Cybertronic Spree](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCybertronicSpree)** > > The Cybertronic Spree performs the 1986 The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack, in full costume, and at full volume. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram for details about upcoming gigs. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/27 "2019-04-28T15:47:09Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > I guess The Village People may be the best known Gimmick Band overall, if not, I can’t think of another with such widespread, mainstream notariety. It always make me laugh when I see people who probably attend conservative Christian churches and vote Trump singing along with YMCA. Don’t they know what the song is about and how the Village People were stereotypes of gay men in the 1970s? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/28 "2019-04-28T16:00:03Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I can’t help but think we’re stretching the definition of what a gimmick is. The Rolling Stones may have been referred to as a type of anti-Beatles but they weren’t a gimmick band. But what the hell? Maybe I’m wrong. Wikipedia considers Slash’s top hat to be a gimmick. Andrew Loog Oldham made several changes to the band and controlled their images as “bad boys” in a contrast to the Beatles. If he hadn’t jumped in with that gimmick, it’s unlikely the band would have had any more than a very modest success. OTOH, Pete Townshend smashing a guitar just happened, and only when he felt like it (they couldn’t afford new ones). It may be gimmicky, but it wasn’t planned. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/29 "2019-04-28T16:48:17Z")
Another one of those cover bands with a twist, GABBA. They do ABBA songs in the style of the Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/30 "2019-04-28T17:51:09Z")
The Blues Brothers started out as a Saturday Night Live skit and ended up having four U.S. Top 40 hits. Mary Kay Place played country singer “Loretta Haggers” on the sitcom “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”, and sang a song on the show called “Baby Boy”. It was released in the U.S. as a single in 1976, credited to “Mary Kay Place as Loretta Haggers”, and reached #3 country and #60 on the Hot 100. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/31 "2019-04-28T18:01:32Z")
The Polyphonic Spree and Mannheim Steamroller are built around gimmicks. [Compressorhead](http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/heaviest-metal-robot-band-compressorhead-is-looking-for-a-lead-singer/) is an all-robot band. You can’t get more gimmicky than that. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/32 "2019-04-28T19:06:32Z")
[Chris Sievey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Sievey) used a papier-mâché head as a gimmick and became Frank Sidebottom. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/33 "2019-04-28T19:50:34Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Would The Monkees and The Partridge Family count? The bands were created for TV series and ended up selling a boatload of records (_I Think I Love You_ outsold _Let It Be_…). How about **The Archies**. Or was there even “a band” outside the recording studio? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/34 "2019-04-28T19:56:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Andrew Loog Oldham made several changes to the band and controlled their images as “bad boys” in a contrast to the Beatles. If he hadn’t jumped in with that gimmick, it’s unlikely the band would have had any more than a very modest success. I very much doubt that this is correct. My opinion scoffs at your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/35 "2019-04-28T21:45:41Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > How about **The Archies**. Or was there even “a band” outside the recording studio? Yes. They even [made a video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nE2spOw_o) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/36 "2019-04-28T21:52:37Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > How about **The Archies**. Or was there even “a band” outside the recording studio? That absolutely amazing\* music video aside, I suspect that the band never appeared “live.” [It was a group of session musicians.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Archies) \*- And, by “amazing,” I mean “amazingly cheesy.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/37 "2019-04-28T22:03:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If weird costuming and a distinctive shtick count, then [Devo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw) has to be included as a kind of gimmick band. This made me think of Paul Revere and the Raiders. But I’m really old. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/38 "2019-04-28T22:40:53Z")
Warp 11 is/was an indy rock band from California, that performs original songs with lyrics entirely about Star Trek. Say what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/39 "2019-04-29T00:51:51Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > This made me think of Paul Revere and the Raiders. > > But I’m really old. I’m pretty sure lots of bands dressed alike. But how many went as far as Manfred Mann’s members, who all changed their names to Manfred Mann for a while. Or so I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128/40 "2019-04-29T02:11:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Slayer is probably the ultimate gimmick band. Even 30 years ago when they started out, it was reported that some of the members didn’t even know what a Satanist was or what they believed in or did. > > ETA: Found the link. > > [SPIN - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=8Yh9p0GCKsEC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=bob+larson+and+slayer&source=bl&ots=1vDPu82_eV&sig=ACfU3U31j2mmR7teZr9EC3Z8OJpMMDil5g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8m8em34TgAhXSmeAKHT-vDEwQ6AEwDHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=bob%20larson%20and%20slayer&f=false) Nope. Just because they don’t personally espouse their often satan-oriented lyrics does not, in any way, make them a gimmick band. Could the austere aesthetics of Kraftwerk, live, standing in front of their podium/console/computer/whatevers (with nothing else onstage except for a sort of lightshow) be considered gimmickry?😕 Or the mind-bending chaos of the Shaggs? Probably? Probably not? There’s live footage somewhere of the Kinks coming onstage with the most gigantic white afros. Like, larger than gigantic beach-ball large. [Three Day Stubble](https://youtu.be/okCI2JFK5wo?t=71) used extreme wierdness as a gimmick, I suppose. Heh - or maybe [thirty years later?](https://youtu.be/NaDEEI7VTD4?t=34) Daft Punk? Slipknot? Alice Cooper? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gimmick-bands/833128.md?page=3)