The Best Fake Bands From Movies And TV

The creation of a fake band is something special, especially when the band ultimately rocks. From film to TV shows, fake musicians have been numerous and some have actually been quite talented. I must give a disclaimer for the Blues Brothers since they didn’t make the list on the grounds that since they were a musical guest on SNL, they’re technically a real band. With that said, here are some of the coolest bands to ever grace the small and big screens.

Barry Jive and the Uptown Five/Sonic Death Monkey/Kathleen Turner Overdrive (from High Fidelity)

For fans of Nick Hornby’s novel of the same name, this is when Jack Black was in his golden period. Black relied on actual talent with no fart jokes needed and his band belted out a more than decent version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it on”. The band only played one song, but that was the beauty of it; they were only there to be a big surprise and that was all. As far as fake bands go, they did a damn fine job with such a short set list.

Captain EO (from the Captain EO Disneyland Show)

While Michael Jackson is a real person, his onscreen performance of Captain EO was like no other. First off, Captain EO and his band, made up of a rag tag group of misfit aliens who would come to your planet and play a private show, complete with special effects that seem to affect only evil people and change your political structure. What service! Say what you will about Michael Jackson’s personal affairs (which you can on our forums or in the comments below) but Captain EO will always be a legendary spectacle for the eyes and ears.

Sex Bob-omb (from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)

In what seems to be one of the smoothest transitions of comic book to film; Sex Bob-omb manages to be loud, sophomoric, unrefined and totally awesome. From the moment their drummer, Kim, starts the count off; Sex Bob-omb unleashes a fury that can literally be seen by audience members that sometimes manifests itself into lightning bolts or a giant yeti monster. Though they are highly amateur since they only play classic punk rockstyle 3 chord songs, Sex Bob-omb still proves to be a strong act through the entire movie.

Drive Shaft (from Lost)

The only had one song…and they repeated it time and time again through the course of the show. We were lucky that “You All Everybody” was catchy, because if it hadn’t been for a killer soundtrack, I might not have watched all 6 question filled seasons of Lost. Still, Charlie Pace and brother Liam were fake rock Gods, if only for a little bit of screen time. Also, it’s a funny song to sing along to.

Feel free to check out our forums and give us your input on your favorite fake bands.