Rocklopedia Fakebandica, the wiki of Fake Bands

July 12, 2014 7:20 AM

If you've ever found yourself reading or watching something that references a particular band or musician and you've wondered "is that a real group?" then Rocklopedia Fakebandica (aka FakeBands.com) can help you out. The old site was (and still is) categorized alphabetically, from The A-Men and The Ace Tones (IMDb) to The Zits and Zorak. The new site is wiki-based, so anyone can submit new musicians, but the organization is a bit different. There is no alphabetical grouping (yet), but you can browse by Years, Medium, and other Categories. So you can take a jaunt back, way back, to 1700 and learn about Pietro Caraffa, the musical quack, or find a really obscure reference to Slab Hauler.
posted by filthy light thief (24 comments total)

I don't want to come over all "your favourite fake band website sucks," but this is really not that great. I admire the aim, but the execution could be so much better. Rocklopedia Fakebandica manages the difficult task of being simultaneously overly brief and tedious. Ten minutes' browsing, and this is the most in-depth and entertaining entry I can find:

John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd were Joilet Jake and Elwood Blues. First, on Saturday Night Live (1975), then on a concert tour (1979), then in their own movie (1980). There was also a book based on the movie. They released 2 or 3 albums, plus a "best of" compilation. Their back up band was a veritable who's who of R&B session men.

Then, a scant 18 years later, Dan Ackroyd said to himself, "You know, I suck. But I don't suck enough. I must ruin people's one remaining good memory of me." And that's how Blues Brothers 2000 got made. True story!

posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:34 AM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Four Star Trek entries, but no Space Hippies?!
posted by Flunkie at 7:36 AM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm so tempted to put up the fake bands from the YA novels I'm rewriting, but that would probably curse their publication, huh?
posted by pxe2000 at 7:47 AM on July 12, 2014

Nëëds mörë ümläüts.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:52 AM on July 12, 2014

Did he say 'making fuck'?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:06 AM on July 12, 2014

No Tim Cappello in Lost Boys?
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:16 AM on July 12, 2014

Checking...... Yes. It has Mystik Spiral. Carry on.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:26 AM on July 12, 2014

Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, a fake band of a fake band? Yes. I'm satisfied.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:41 AM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

The entry on Holophonor needs a link to a real Holophonor. (real holophonor previously)
posted by ardgedee at 8:46 AM on July 12, 2014

Brb setting up an ITTT trigger to post an entry on this site everytime someone says "That'd be a great name for a band."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:05 AM on July 12, 2014

ricochet biscuit: I don't want to come over all "your favourite fake band website sucks," but this is really not that great.

♫ the wonderful thing about a wiki is that anyone can edit it. ♫

But I agree, the editorializing at the end about Blues Brothers 2000 is pretty shitty.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:01 AM on July 12, 2014

I went looking for Dorchester Melon, Endomorph, and Spoon Rest. Disappointed.
posted by synecdoche at 11:33 AM on July 12, 2014

No Disaster Zone. None of Norman Spinrad's fictional rock bands. Hell, here's a whole list of novels about rock, none of which seem to be on the OP linked site.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:37 AM on July 12, 2014

For God's sake, he doesn't even have Spinal Tap!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:39 AM on July 12, 2014

Spinal Tap has to be the ultimate "Belongs under fake bands / DOES NOT BELONG UNDER FAKE BANDS FUCK YOU THEY HAVE REAL ALBUMS" wiki editor war.
posted by ardgedee at 11:49 AM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I may end up redoing the entry for Larry Underwood (from The Stand). It doesn't even mention his band, The Tattered Remnants, let alone their members and the fairly complete history that King puts in right up to the point that Larry calls a bartender on the opposite coast who's got a) his royalty check and b) the superflu.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:25 PM on July 12, 2014

Kirth Gerson: For God's sake, he doesn't even have Spinal Tap!

From the front page of the new wiki site:

What's copied over: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, Q, U, X, Y, Z.
What's not copied: R, S, T, V, W.

So that accounts for Spinal Tap (who are on the old site), but not Norman Spinrad's fictional rock bands.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:35 PM on July 12, 2014

OK.

I don't think it's ready.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:46 PM on July 12, 2014

Missing - The Tenmen, Hyddyn Sceptyre, AND The Death Sound? Triplefail. Altho some begrudging credit for listing Puscifer as a fake band from before they were a real band.
posted by FatherDagon at 3:32 PM on July 12, 2014

My favorite fake band of all time is the Society for Creative Rock Anachronism, and they don't have a page....
posted by sotonohito at 6:33 PM on July 12, 2014

Sad not to find The Tenmen listed.
posted by edheil at 9:11 PM on July 12, 2014

Needs more Mozart's Ghost.
posted by activitystory at 9:50 PM on July 12, 2014

So many missing! *rolls up sleeves*
posted by freya_lamb at 10:33 AM on July 13, 2014

Norman Spinrad created some great fake bands, especially 'The Four Horsemen', an acid-rock band sponsored by the aerospace defense industry in 'The Big Flash'.
posted by ovvl at 10:39 AM on July 13, 2014