For baseball fans everywhere, it is the all-star break when the majority of athletes in the sport go home to their families for what amounts to the length of a long weekend. Tonight is the reason for the break, the all-star game itself. So to celebrate, we look at some of our favorite all-star bands (also called “supergroups”) of all time.
10. Damnocracy (Sebastian Bach, Ted Nugent, Jason Bonham, Evan Seinfeld of Biohazard, and Scott Ian of Anthrax)
While I can not name a Damnocracy song, nor can I speak to the group as a musical entity, I can tell you that VH1’s SuperGroup was better than most music-themed reality TV could ever hope to be. What anchored the shows greatness was everyone in the band’s genuine hate for Sebastian Bach leading to extraordinaire infighting and very little of anything ever actually getting done.
09. Duck Sauce (Armand Van Helden, A-Trak)
Supergroups are thought of as bands or occassionally rap groups but very rarely have two producers come together like Duck Sauce. Armand Van Helden coming off his wildly successful “Bonker” collaboration with Dizzee Rascal teamed up with Fool’s Gold Records CEO, A-Trak to release two banger singles: “Barbara Streisand” and “Big Bad Wolf.”
MP3: Duck Sauce “Big Bad Wolf”
08. Hindu Love Gods (Warren Zevon and Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry of R.E.M.)
R.E.M. minus Michael Stipe worked as Warren Zevon’s backing band for his 1987 album, Sentimental Hygiene. As the story goes, on a drunken night in the recording studio the quartet recorded 10 blues standards. Although not intended for publication, it was eventually released by Giant Records as Hindu Love Gods.
MP3: Hindu Love Gods “Raspberry Beret”
07. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (Spike Slawson of Swingin’ Utters, Fat Mike of NOFX, Chris Shiflett of Foo Fighters, and Joey Cape and Dave Raun of Lagwagon)
Although there is something light-hearted about Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, make no mistake that they belong on this list. The punk-rock supergroup who specialize in covers of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and today are the perfect mix between an awesome bar band and punk rock veterans cutting loose and having fun.
MP3: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes “My Favorite Things”
06. The New Pornographers (Dan Bejar of Destroyer, Kathryn Calder of Immaculate Machine, Neko Case, John Collins of The Evaporators, Kurt Dahle and Todd Fancey of Limblifter, and A.C. Newman)
Canadian supergroup, The New Pornographers married three of the countries most successful singer/songerwriters: Destroyer (nee Daniel Dejar), A.C. Newman, and Neko Case. Sharing the singing duties between all three, the group some of the best indie pop of the last decade plus.
MP3: The New Pornographers “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk”
05. Monsters of Folk (Conor Oberst, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Mike Mogis of Lullaby for the Working Class and M. Ward)
To me, The Monsters of Folk felt like The Original Kings of Comedy of the modern folk scene. There are no bigger names in modern Americana music than Conor Oberst and M. Ward. Add to that the mouthpiece of My Morning Jacket and you have a mammoth that truly deserves to be mentioned with the biggest names to ever team up.
MP3: Monsters of Folk “Baby Boomer”
04. The Throne (Kanye West, Jay-Z)
When Lil Wayne and Baby teamed up for an album people thought the bar was being set for full-length rapper collaborations, little did they know The Throne was coming. The album, Watch the Throne did so well that Lil Wayne and Drake shelved their collaborative album because there was no way it could stack up.
MP3: The Throne “Niggas in Paris”
03. Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Pat Smear of The Germs, Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate, Taylor Hawkins of Sass Jordan, Franz Stahl of Scream, Chris Shiflett of No Use for a Name)
When The Foo Fighters released their debut album in 1995, people thought this was a natural continuation of Nirvana. Only rock scholars realized they were watching a finely tuned machine of punk rock veterans. Dave Grohl and Franz Stahl of punk band Scream joined with Pat Smear of punk legends The Germs and Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith of proto-emo band Sunny Day Real Estate to create Foo Fighters, a band that joined all of their styles into one chart-topping mix.
MP3: Foo Fighters “I’ll Stick Around”
02. Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, Roy Orbison)
In the late 1980s, four Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers teamed up to form Traveling Wilburys, arguably the most esteemed group of musicians ever assembled. Recording two albums, the group played a blend of heartland rock that lived up to all of their collective namesakes.
MP3: Traveling Wilburys “Handle With Care”
01. Cream (Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce of Manfred Mann, and Ginger Baker of Graham Bond Organisation)
Although they might not have the biggest names, Cream are considered the godfathers of supergroups. Eric Clapton was already famous for his work with the Yardbirds when he teamed up with two members of the British jazz group Graham Bond Organisation to form Cream. The group’s mix of psychedelic rock and blues made them one of the most successful groups of the late 60s and propelled them into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
MP3: Cream “Sunshine Of Your Love”
