Episode 618
Have a Ball with Us: Bowling Shirts, Punk Covers & Why This Album Still Gets Me (and Shane)
We're diving straight into Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' album Have a Ball — one of my all-time favorite records and the focal point of this episode. I dedicate this one to my old buddy Shane O' Mac (miss you, man), and we hang out, play tracks, and gush like goofy fans about how these 60s classics sound when punk flips them upside down. For anyone who doesn't know, Me First are basically a punk rock supergroup that only does covers — no originals — and each of their albums is a cheeky theme (show tunes, country, 60s hits, you name it); Have a Ball came out in 1997 on Fat Wreck Chords and yes, we rate it E for Extremely Good. We play and react to songs like Danny's Song, Mandy, Seasons in the Sun, Nobody Does It Better and Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, chatting about the goofy band name (yep, from a kids' book) and their bowling-shirt stage vibes that make everything feel delightfully juvenile. I also nerd out about the rotating punk rock A-team who showed up over the years — Spike Slawson, Joey Cape, Fat Mike, Chris Shiflett, CJ Ramone and the rest — and explain how they take familiar melodies and rework them into high-energy punk bops that somehow feel both nostalgic and mischievously new. So kick back, maybe grab a late-night coffee like I did, and come laugh with us as we celebrate an album that bonded Shane and me — it's equal parts reverence, ridiculousness, and pure sing-along fun.
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I stayed up late, had a coffee, and decided to finally do something I’d been promising for ages — a geeky, loving deep dive into Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ Have a Ball, dedicated to my old buddy Shane O’Mac. We’re laughing, crying a little, and absolutely geeking out over how a punk rock supergroup can lovingly blow up 60s classics into high-energy singalongs. I talk about why this record hooked me — the production is clean, the vocals are tight, and the whole thing feels like a jukebox rewired with skate-punk springs. We play tracks like “Danny’s Song,” “Mandy,” “Seasons in the Sun,” and the Paul Simon classic “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” and I keep marveling at how these familiar songs suddenly snap into a new shape without losing their heart. I also explain basic stuff for folks who might not know: a ‘supergroup’ is basically a punk rock all-star team-up (think Fat Mike, Joey Cape, Spike Slawson, CJ Ramone — yes, CJ’s in there), and a covers band means no originals — they rework other people’s songs in their style. There’s a playful, juvenile vibe — they even named themselves after a children’s book and wore matching bowling shirts for Have a Ball — but that juvenile energy is the point: it’s pure, unapologetic fun, and I talk about why that mattered to Shane and me. If you like nostalgia wrapped in pogo beats and cheeky charm, this is the episode you’ll hum for days.
Takeaways:
- We dedicated this episode to my late buddy Shane o' Mac, and I share how Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' album Have a Ball bonded us over 70s radio classics.
- I explain that Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a punk-rock supergroup that only does covers—no originals—which feels gloriously juvenile, cheeky, and intentionally fun.
- We dug into the band's name origin (yep, it comes from a children's book) and laughed about their matching bowling shirts—punk Lanes, anyone?—as part of their whole playful aesthetic.
- I gush about the album production and the nostalgia-heavy song choices like "Danny's Song," "Mandy," and "Seasons in the Sun," which turn my childhood AM-radio memories into raucous, sing-along punk covers.
- We also mapped out the rotating all-star lineup—Spike Slawson and Joey Cape as anchors, CJ Ramone on bass, plus guest legends like Fat Mike and Chris Shiflett—making the project a hilarious who's-who of punk royalty.
Transcript
Welcome to the Sean, Sean and Geek.
Speaker B:Sean, Geek and Fast podcast.
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Speaker A:It's me again with a little antitude for all you out here in white bread land.
Speaker A:Let's see, we're on 92 FM.
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Speaker A:Price is Right.
Speaker A:This is bigger than friendship.
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Speaker B:The Buddhists call it, let me see.
Speaker A:Reincarnation.
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Speaker A:Hey, wait a minute.
Speaker A:Since when is Pismo beach inside a cave, I wonder.
Speaker A:You know, I just bet we should have turned left at Albuquerque and then maybe a right turn at La Jola.
Speaker B:Shush.
Speaker B:Hush.
Speaker B:Please.
Speaker A:Welcome to the Sean, Geek and Fast R podcast.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:I just had to do it.
Speaker A:I just had to do it.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:It's late at night.
Speaker A:I had a coffee.
Speaker A:11:43 At night.
Speaker A:I'm not usually awake at this time, but I am now.
Speaker A:So I've decided this is one I've been planning to do for a while.
Speaker A:An episode I wanted to do for a while.
Speaker A:I wasn't sure if this was Todd's cup of tea or not, but we're going to do this episode now.
Speaker A:This episode is one that I promised I would do a long time ago, and I just never got around to it.
Speaker A:Kind of a.
Speaker A:Sorry about that.
Speaker A:But the reason I haven't come around to doing this episode is just there's lots of stuff to do.
Speaker A:So today, this episode is dedicated to my old buddy, Shane o', Mac.
Speaker A:No longer with us.
Speaker A:Miss you, buddy.
Speaker A:This is going to be a breaking episode where we discuss one of my favorite albums of all time.
Speaker A:It was also one of Shane's favorite albums of all time.
Speaker A:And it was an album that we bonded over multiple times.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We both loved this album.
Speaker A:And I know there's many out there that also love this particular album and love this particular band, but we're gonna focus on one of their albums.
Speaker A:So who's the band?
Speaker A:Me first and the Gimme Gimmes.
Speaker A:Now, what the kind of band is this?
Speaker A:You know, like, with.
Speaker A:Where do you come up with a name like this?
Speaker A:If you try to find them online, they've renamed themselves.
Speaker A:They used to be Me first in the Gimme Gimmes, and now they're calling themselves Spike in the Gimme Gimmes.
Speaker A:There's a reason for it and we'll probably get into it in the episode, but let's.
Speaker A:Let's just focus on here.
Speaker A:So they released an album called have a Ball.
Speaker A:I don't remember how I get my hands on it.
Speaker A:I know something had something to do with Fat Mike being part of the band.
Speaker A:I know it had a lot to do with being on Fat Records.
Speaker A:And my discovery of Fat Records was through Propagandi.
Speaker A:Propagandi was famously on Fat Records.
Speaker A:And I was always a big fan of Propaganda, so.
Speaker A:And you know, by extension, also a fan of that records, no effects off of that label and various other bands that were part of that label.
Speaker A:Gray Band, great label.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:What is me first in the Gimme Gimmes?
Speaker A:Well, they're a punk rock super group that only does covers.
Speaker A:No originals.
Speaker A:None whatsoever.
Speaker A:The original lineup of the band was a who's who of, you know, a who's who of punk rock gods.
Speaker A:And they got their start.
Speaker A:Now they got their start on playing on some like.
Speaker A:They just had singles they released.
Speaker A:They ended up showing up on compilation records.
Speaker A:And they started out doing John Denver, a couple of John Denver covers.
Speaker A:But eventually they put out have A Ball and have A Ball was a bunch of covers from the 60s.
Speaker A:So basically 60s classics redone the Gimme style.
Speaker A:And every album was a different style.
Speaker A:We're not going to play all of them.
Speaker A:We're going to stick to this one album because this was my introduction to the band.
Speaker A:But just.
Speaker A:Just for.
Speaker A:Just to let you know what they've done, they had an album called Ara Drag, which was consists entirely show tunes.
Speaker A:Blow in the wind, which was 60s classics, take a Break, which was contemporary R and B songs.
Speaker A:They also did a live album at someone's bar mitzvah, recorded live at the bar mitzvah.
Speaker A:And it was like kind of pop music and what we would call social music.
Speaker A:The sorts of songs you would hear at Socials.
Speaker A:They also did a country one and that one was fantastic.
Speaker A:And more.
Speaker A:And they just keep releasing stuff.
Speaker A:They've had a big turnover in band members.
Speaker A: Revolts, has been there since: Speaker A:And C.J.
Speaker A:Ramona, the Ramones is currently their bass player.
Speaker A:And Joey Cape, who you might know from Lag Wagon, he was.
Speaker A:He's there been their guitarist the entire time.
Speaker A:Other members of the Gimme Gimmes have been Chris Shiflett, also famously known for no Use for Name.
Speaker A:And this other small band called Foo Fighters.
Speaker A:And of course Fat Mike, Dave Ron Light, Lag Wagon.
Speaker A:Anyway, but they've also had a number of other like, you know, greats.
Speaker A:I mean, Jay Bentley of Bad Religion was.
Speaker A:Was in there.
Speaker A:No Effects Guitarist Eric Melvin.
Speaker A:Brian Baker of Minor Threat Bad Religion was also in the band at one point.
Speaker A:Just like fantastic, incredible lineups.
Speaker A:But let's stick to this album.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker A:For me, this was a lot of the songs I grew up on in the 70s.
Speaker A:Hearing them on the radio.
Speaker A:I'm just a little kid and this is probably on AM radio.
Speaker A:A lot of these songs, the original, the originals that I'd heard were.
Speaker A:Were there and that's what they were, right?
Speaker A:So it was fantastic.
Speaker A:Like, it was awesome.
Speaker A:Now, I have a huge affection for this album.
Speaker A:I mean, it's great.
Speaker A:Lot of good stuff on it.
Speaker A:I want to make sure I'm grabbing the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker A:The most current version of the album.
Speaker A: So this came out in: Speaker A:Extremely good.
Speaker A:They've also released a lot of just singles, like, just separately from the albums and stuff.
Speaker A:But we're going to start with.
Speaker A:Oh, fuck.
Speaker A:We'll just start the opening track.
Speaker A:Let's just do it.
Speaker A:Danny's song.
Speaker A:Here you go.
Speaker B:People smile and tell me I'm a lovely one and we've just begun Think I'm gonna have a son you will be like she and me as free as a dove Come and see me the sun is gonna shine above Even though we ain't got money I'm so in love with you, honey Everything will bring a chain of love in the morning when I rise Bring a tear of joy to my eyes and tell me every earthman's gonna be alright Pisces, Virgo Rising is a very good sign Strong, kind and a little boy of now I see a family where there once was none and now it just begun yeah, we're gonna fly at the time Even though we ain't got money I'm so in love with you, honey Everything will bring the chain Love in the morning when I rise Bring a tear of joy to my eyes and tell me everything's gonna be alright Love holds the world in a paper cup Come on and drink it up Love her and she'll bring you luck if you find she helps your mind better take her home don't you live alone?
Speaker B:Try to earn what lovers on Even though it ain't got money I'm so in love with you, honey Everything will bring a change in the morning when I rise Bring a tear to my eyes and tell me everything's gonna be all right.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:What'd you think it.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:What'd you think of that?
Speaker A:It was pretty good, right?
Speaker A:Great vocals, solid production.
Speaker A:It sounds great.
Speaker A:I Don't know.
Speaker A:I really love the production on this.
Speaker A:So where did this name come from?
Speaker A:Like, what the hell kind of name is this for a band?
Speaker A:Like, I don't quite get it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, what.
Speaker A:What is this all about?
Speaker A:So it was actually named after a children's book, which is like kind of a really.
Speaker A:I don't know, it's.
Speaker A:It's juvenile.
Speaker A:And everything about this band feels juvenile.
Speaker A:They even wear matching clothes on stage when they're performing on the first album, they're all wearing bowling shirts.
Speaker A:Have a ball, right?
Speaker A:And they're all, you know, they had bowling balls and they look like they're going out bowling.
Speaker A:But anyway, they were named after the.
Speaker A:The book called Me first and the Gimme Gimmes was written by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane.
Speaker A:Diane V. Cirincione and illustrated by Jack Keeler.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's a.
Speaker A:The story follows me First, a selfish and angry young member of the Gimme Gimmes who learn.
Speaker A:Learns how to transform into a caring and kind individual.
Speaker A:I really want to buy this book because.
Speaker A:Well, why not?
Speaker A:Like, why not?
Speaker A:Anyway, let's go into another song off this album.
Speaker A:I'm not going to be playing these songs in any kind of order, but I definitely want to play this one because this is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Speaker A:And then the gimme's covered it.
Speaker A:So this is again 70s rock radio singer, songwriter.
Speaker A:Shit.
Speaker A:This is Mandy.
Speaker B:I remember all my life Raining down As cold as I Shadows of a man A face through a window Lying in the night and night goes into morning Just another day Happy people pass my way Looking in the rise I see a memory I never realized how happy you met me oh manly but you came and you gave without taking But I sent you away Old man will you kiss me and stop me from sinking?
Speaker B:And I need you today Old man There watch out my standing on the edge of time I walked away when love was mine Caught up in a world of uphill climbing here's all your eyes and nothing is rhyming Old Mandy well you came and you gave without taking But I sent you away Old Mandy well you kiss me and stop me from shaking and I need you today oh man.
Speaker B:Yesterday's a dream I faced the moaning Crying on the breeze the pain is calling Old Mandy when you came and you gave without taking But I sent you away Old Mandy but you kept me and stopped me for shaking and I need you today.
Speaker B:Oh, Mandy well you came and you gave without taking and I sent you away oh man well, you kiss me and stop me from shaking and I need you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:How was that?
Speaker A:How was that?
Speaker A:Did you enjoy that?
Speaker A:It was pretty good, wasn't it?
Speaker A:It was freaking awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:I mean, I used to listen to all these songs like this, the songs we've heard so far.
Speaker A:These are songs that grew up in the 70s.
Speaker A:These are songs I heard on the radio.
Speaker A:These are the songs I listened to in.
Speaker A:You know, I mean, this is what I grew up on.
Speaker A:This is the man.
Speaker A:This is the absolute, like, greatest stuff.
Speaker A:And if you don't, you know, like.
Speaker A:If you don't like it, I don't like it.
Speaker A:Then, you know, get off the stage.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Get off the stage.
Speaker A:So, you know, let's go.
Speaker A:We're gonna play another song.
Speaker A:Here, here.
Speaker A:Oh, this is a.
Speaker A:This is a classic.
Speaker A:Tell me, and I'm curious, do you guys know the original versions of these songs or.
Speaker A:Or am I just too old?
Speaker A:Anyway, here we go.
Speaker A:Here is.
Speaker A:Seasons in the sun.
Speaker B:Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
Speaker B:We've known each other since we were nine or ten together we've climbed hills and trees, Learned to love An ABC Skinned our hearts and skinned our kn.
Speaker B:Goodbye, my friend.
Speaker B:It's hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky.
Speaker B:Now that spring is in the air.
Speaker B:Pretty girls are everywhere.
Speaker B:Think of me and I'll be there.
Speaker B:We had joy, we had fun.
Speaker B:We had seasons in the sun.
Speaker B:But the hills that we climbed were the seasons at a time.
Speaker B:Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me.
Speaker B:I was the black sheep of the family.
Speaker B:You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Speaker B:Too much wine and too much song.
Speaker B:Wonder how I got along.
Speaker B:Goodbye, Papa.
Speaker B:It's hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky.
Speaker B:Now that spring is in the air.
Speaker B:Little children everywhere when you see them, I'll be there.
Speaker B:We had joy, we had fun.
Speaker B:We had seasons in the sun.
Speaker B:But the wine and the song like the king crawled on.
Speaker B:We had joy, we had fun.
Speaker B:We had seasons in the sun.
Speaker B:But the wine and the song like the things have all gone.
Speaker B:Goodbye, Rochelle, my little one, you gave me love and helped me find the sun.
Speaker B:And every time that I was down you would always come around and get my feet back on the ground.
Speaker B:Goodbye, Rochelle.
Speaker B:It's hard to die when all the birds are singing in the sky.
Speaker B:Now that spring is in the air with the flowers everywhere I wish it was there.
Speaker B:We had joy, we had fun.
Speaker B:We had seasons in the sun.
Speaker B:But the stars we could reach live.
Speaker B:The starfish are the beach we had joy, we had fun we had seasons in the sun but the stars we could reach Were the starfish on the beach we had joy, we had fun we had seasons in the sun but the wine and the song like the seasons have all gone all our lives we had fun we had seasons in the sun but the hills that we climbed Were just seasons out of time.
Speaker A:How was that?
Speaker A:Did you.
Speaker A:Did.
Speaker A:Did you like that?
Speaker A:Was that good for you?
Speaker A:You know, Was that good for you?
Speaker B:You like that, huh?
Speaker A:Yeah, I certainly like that.
Speaker A:I certainly like that.
Speaker A:That was quite good.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker A:I thought this tape was gonna be a conversation stimulator, man.
Speaker A:Totally.
Speaker A:Totally.
Speaker A:You know, this is just great, man.
Speaker A:All right, we're gonna play another song.
Speaker A:I mean, I don't even know what I want to say.
Speaker A:I mean, I don't even know what to say.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I think I'm gonna play two more.
Speaker A:Two more tracks.
Speaker B:Tracks here.
Speaker A:Let's go with.
Speaker A:Let's go.
Speaker A:This one.
Speaker B:Nobody does it Half as good as you baby all the best I wasn't looking Somehow you found me I tried to hide from your love life like heaven above me Inspired of me Keeping all my secrets Set tonight and nobody comes better Sometimes I wish someone Nobody does that right the way you do why you have to be so good the way that you hold me Whenever you hold me Some kind of magic Magic inside you that keeps you from running but just keep it jumping how to learn to do the things you do and nobody does better Makes me feel better Nobody does that have to love you, baby Baby.
Speaker B:I remember all my life.
Speaker A:I just love this so.
Speaker A:One of.
Speaker A:One of my favorite things.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I. Shane and I would do this at the end of every song by the Gimmes, especially on this album.
Speaker A:You get the singer just screw.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:At the end all the time.
Speaker A:This is hilarious.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's like he's trying to do like a. I don't know.
Speaker A:It almost feels like a big concert ending sort of thing.
Speaker A:But anyway.
Speaker A:Hilarious.
Speaker A:Quite hilarious.
Speaker A:Anyway, we're gonna play one more song, and then I'm gonna call it quits.
Speaker A:It is late.
Speaker A:Yeah, It's a short episode, but, you know, whatever.
Speaker A:This is probably the one that got put on every single mix for a very long time.
Speaker A:This song is called Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard.
Speaker A:Remember this one?
Speaker B:Mama Pajama rolled out of bed and she went to the police station when her papa found out he began to shout it's gotta be investigation.
Speaker B:It's against the law it was against the law I wasn't Mama's law It was against the law Mama looked down and spit on the ground Every time the name gets mentioned Papa said I always forget that bond I'm sticking in the house of attention well, I'm on my way I don't know where I'm going I'm on my way I'm taking my time but I don't know where you burn the Corona See me and Julio down by the schoolyard See me and Julio down by the schoolyard Sam and take me away but the rest of the story now when the radical breeze come they give me release news all on the COVID of Newsweek well, I'm on my way I don't know where I'm going I'm on my way I'm taking my hump and I don't know where the queen of Corona leave me A Julio down by the schoolyard Remember me and the Julio down by the schoolyard yeah, me and the Julio down by the schoolyard.
Speaker B:Thank you for listening, and we'll see.
Speaker A:You next week, and bye.
Speaker B:Have a good day.
