''Are a Drag'' is the second album by

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just Me First or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, Fat Mike, Joey Cape, and Dave Raun. Ch ...

, released in 1999 on the

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

. The album is made up mainly of

show tunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

. The album's title alludes to the fact that most of the songs on the album feature vocalist

Spike Slawson Spike Slawson is an American punk rock musician, a member of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Swingin' Utters, Filthy Thievin' Bastards, Re-Volts, and Uke-Hunt. Early life Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Slawson worked in the mail order departme ...

singing songs that were originally performed by female characters in their original stage shows/movies (with the exception of the Phantom's part in "Phantom of the Opera", "Science Fiction/Double Feature" which was sung by a female traditionally, but more popularly by Richard O'Brien in ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'', and "Rainbow Connection"). The album's cover features the members of the band dressed up, in drag, as five characters from the musicals represented in song: a member of ''A Chorus Line'' ("What I Did For Love"), Annie Mudge from ''Annie'' ("Tomorrow"),

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...

from ''The Wizard of Oz'' ("Over the Rainbow"), Sandy Dumbrowski from ''Grease'' ("It's Raining on Prom Night"), and Dr. Frank-N-Furter from ''The Rocky Horror Show'' ("Science Fiction/Double Feature"). Like many other Gimme Gimmes albums, ''Are a Drag'' contains many elements of mash-up - more specifically, musical allusions to punk or power-pop songs in their covers. The intro to the song "My Favorite Things" quotes "Generator", by

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

, and at the end of "Tomorrow", Fat Mike can be heard singing "Mommy's alright, daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird" - a lyric from "

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

" by

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

Track listing

Personnel

- vocals * Chris Shiflett (a.k.a.

Jake Jackson Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is most recognizable as lead guitarist for the American rock band Foo Fighters. He was previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) an ...

) - lead guitar *

Joey Cape Randal Joseph Cape (born November 16, 1966) is an American singer and musician. Active since 1989, Cape is best known as the frontman of the California punk rock band Lagwagon. Cape released his first solo album, ''Bridge'', in 2008. His secon ...

- rhythm guitar *

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...

- bass *

Dave Raun Dave Raun (born June 7, 1970) a resident of Fresno, California, is the drummer for the seminal California punk rock band Lagwagon. He also filled in on drums for a short period for Sean "SC" Sellers of Good Riddance. Additionally, Raun drums f ...

- drums

Additional musicians

* Karina Denike - backing vocals * Sara K. Fisher - backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Me First and the Gimme Gimmes albums Fat Wreck Chords albums Albums produced by Ryan Greene