Cover Me Badd

CMB started as a barely rehearsed group of exiled San Diego musicians residing in Berkeley in August of 1994. The band played a random set of covers by artists as diverse as the Brady Kids, Nirvana, Neil Diamond and James, sometimes all in the space of one medley. The group later turned into a tongue-in-cheek poetry act in the mold of Mike Myers' character in "So I Married An Ax Murderer" and appeared at an Acoustic Chanukah festival. The Cover Me Badd moniker was revived back in San Diego in December of 2000 when Gimbel put together a tribute to boyband pioneers that featured Color Me Badd classics married to the rocking melodies of the Stone Roses and Rolling Stones and other inconceivable combinations.
In 2001, Cover Me Badd presented a Chanukahtime Revue for Casbah's annual 12 Days of Christmas. Adam assembled a band of Jewish musicians and singers to perform an eclectic set of songs by legendary Jewish music stars. Dubbed Rabbi Gimbel's Jews Explosion , their motto is: "There's more to a Jewish education than Adam Sandler." The set offered up everything from metal and rap bombast to Depression-era classics. Their lone sold-out show was such a sensation that the "Jews Explosion" made a triumphant return in December 2002, rocking San Diego AND LA and even performing on the Fox Rox Christmas Disaster special (the mp3 you're listening to as you read this).

In July 2002, the band found the perfect way to poke fun at the "tribute band" world with an Oasis parody called The Fookin' Wankers . Sometimes referred to simply as "Fauxasis", the band insulted the audience and each other while doing spot-on Oasis covers filled with Beatles and Blur references. A lot of concertgoers thought they were serious, which made it all the more fun. They played shows with real-deal serious tributes to the Who, Oingo Boingo and the Smiths, got kicked offstage at a Beatles convention and got a spot playing at San Diego's biggest Halloween annual rockshow. They hope to revive the act someday and take it to England. In the meantime, check the amazing highlight video at youtube!

Cover Me Badd does less and less as Rookie Card is finally getting the attention that is so richly deserves as an original band, despite the occasional press person writing them off because of the occasional genius cover (they were the first band to play "Rock The Casbah" at San Diego's famed Casbah and once took a club full of people outside to sing "Back In The USSR" in the San Diego Airport's flightpath with planes flying overhead exactly in time like the original *click for video of both* ). In 2003 and 2004, the only Cover Me Badd shows were a one-off American Idol parody and the somewhat appropriately drunken Replacement Replacements. In February 2005, Cover Me Badd presented a night of bands covering entire albums, including Rookie Card themselves, who played Weezer's debut dressed as old men and Geezer was born . Look for more shows where whole albums are recreated without getting quite so worried about authentic wardrobe.
In October 2005, Cover Me Badd debuted THE BLASPHEMOUS GUITARS: DMode/Cure/Smiths mashed with METAL...and Whitney. The new act took the synthesizer driven hits of D-Mode and the mope anthems of the Cure and the Smiths, rocked them out with THREE guitarists, including 2005 San Diego Guitarmaggedon champ Greg Vaughan, and combined them with the most ridiculously unrelated songs ever. Whether you loved or hated "The Holy Trinity of Mopedom", EVERYONE was floored by crazy combinations like "Just Can't Enough GnR", "The Beautiful People Are People" and "Just Like Stairway To Heaven". Overly serious bands were twisted up with bits of Whitney Houston and "Walking On Sunshine" like no band has ever done. They played to thousands of fans at San Diego's House of Blues, Big Night San Diego, Spaceland, The Casbah, The Beauty Bar, Club Rock It and other top venues around southern California. Their Cure covers benefit raised $1800 for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.
The BG's worked so well that they lasted almost two years, longer than every other Cover Me Badd act put together. They made such a name for themselves, that band started stealing their name. Several other Cover Me Badds popped up worldwide and a serious LA DMode copyband took the name "Blasphemous Rumours" in an obvious attempt to confuse the easily duped tribute band audience. ( read the whole story here) . The band retired in August 2007 (click for heartbreaking press release) , just after being nominated for a Music Award. They immediately publically made fun of their competitors (click) . Rumors immediately circulated about weekly reunion shows.
The cast: (left to right) Tim Peacock on bass (Waterline Drift, Rookie Card, Jews Explosion), Roger Morrison , Adam Gimbel (the usual ringleader) on guitar/vocals, Greg Vaughan on guitar/vocals (Brother Love, San Diego Guitar Center Guitarmaggedon champion), Scott Hoover on drums (Pure Milk, Rookie Ricardo).