The Rocklopedia Fakebandica

On this episode of The Rocklopedia Fakebandica, we celebrate the birthday of Gary Gygax, the brains behind Dungeons & Dragons, the role playing game that brought RPGs to the mainstream.  We talk about his life, his game, his novels, and the novels of others inspired by his work.   

We celebrate one of our own by wishing happy birthday to T. Mike!  We try to find a band to play his birthday party, and we look for the bands all over pop culture, including The Simpsons, Parks and Rec, Metalocaypse, Z Rock and even greeting cards. 

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica wishes Cameron Crowe a happy 69th birthday by looking into his fake band legacy.  From Singles and the birth of grunge, to Almost Famous and the nostalgia of the rock gods of the 1970s, and even one of the hardest TV shows we've ever attempted to find, we discuss Crowe's fictional music universe, including one of the bigger fake bands out there: Stillwater.

Once again, we take a subject and give you a fictional band for every letter of the alphabet!  This time, we look at alien bands, since it's around the anniversary of the Roswell discoveries.  We look at fake bands from all the different Star Trek shows, Doctor Who, Marvel Comics, Daft Punk, Futurama and Future Folk.  Be sure to listen before you get abducted again!

Usually it's pretty easy to identify what is and isn't a fake band.  Sometimes, though, the lines can be blurred.  We look at Ricky Nelson, Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords and decide once and for all where they fit in the Rocklopedia Fakebandica.

To celebrate the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, we compare the fictional musicians with the longest names.  With entries from Kids in the Hall, Wayne's World, Arrested Development, George Carlin, Adult Swim, Ray Stevens, Marvel Comics, and Monty Python, there has to be at least one entry that you're curious about, right?

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica is sending out secret messages to the special listeners out there, full on spy stuff, you know?  We discuss Austin Powers and his band Ming Tea, The Man from UNCLE, Get Smart, and maybe the greatest Arch Hall, Jr movie ever, if there is such a thing.

Sure, the worlds may be a bleak grayish hellscape, but there's always music!  We look at 1984 (The Orwell book, not the Van Halen album), Brave New World, the collected works of Philip K. Dick, and Frank Zappa and his rock opera Joe's Garage.  Then we get mad at a comic book.