Every Tuesday night, a lively crowd of music enthusiasts comes to the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave., decked out in their best clothes to belt out Janis Joplin, The Who, Led Zeppelin and many other classic hits from the past 35 years. Leading this dizzying spectacle is Madison's perennial favorite band, the Gomers. Playing a mind-boggling 1,000 song set list, they have carved out a lasting niche within Madison's music scene with their unique blend of stage antics and immense talent.
The Gomers formed in 1986 as a creative side project of Biff Blumfumgagnge and Mark Hervey out of the stress of their more serious band. When that serious band was offered a gig on a weekend, they were short a drummer, and Hervey suggested they play the show as the Gomers, a nickname given to each other equating to 'jerk.' Enlisting drumming skills from a roommate, the Gomers were formed and from their first show they were no ordinary band.
\We decorated the stage with posters of meat found in a grocery store dumpster and littered the front of the stage with toys from goodwill,"" Hervey recounted. ""Half the set was improvised and the other half was half-improvised. We had a dance contest. We played 'I'm an Antenna,' 'It wasn't Human,' 'Don't Put that Bag on Your Face,' 'Hey What's the Big Idea,' 'Sgt. Carter'-all songs we still have on our set list today.""
Hervey and Blumfumgagnge brought in friends from other bands to add to their goofy side project.
""We took to the clubs in Madison, playing anywhere from a small room in a frat house to a regular Tuesday night rock-jam at the fabled Club de Wash,"" said guitar and bass player Gordon Ranney.
With an infinite amount of musical talent, Gomer band members discovered they were prolific in spontaneously performing cover songs, and early original Gomer sets were frequently peppered with cover tunes.
Regularly hosting specialized music nights such as ""Sticky Zeppelin: A Night of Classic Album Rock"" or ""The Dark Side of the WHO"" where the Gomers covered entire albums of classic rock, the idea to do a live karaoke format as they perform at the High Noon Saloon did not occur until former Madison resident and Onion writer Todd Hanson told the Gomers of a New York club where a band did a live karaoke set of classic punk hits featuring the Ramones and Sex Pistols.
When planning the opening of her club, High Noon Saloon owner Cathy Dethmers decided she wanted a regular house band that would include the audience in their show. She did not have a concrete idea of how to execute her idea, but Gomer guitarist Blumfumgagnge had some notions.
""I had talked to Biff for a little bit before we opened,"" Dethmers said. ""He brought up the idea of live band karaoke which is something that I had already been thinking about."" From there, Dethmers and the band put together the show's format as it stands today.
In recognition of their vast contributions to Madison's community, the Gomers were honored with a mayoral decree in 2003 by former Mayor Sue Bauman. She proclaimed February 1 ""Gomer Day"" in the city of Madison in honor of the band.
The fact that the Gomers have played Madison for nearly two decades and are active members of many other bands does not slow their enthusiasm. Hervey relocated to New York several years ago but still manages to get together with the band many times a year.
""It truly is a joy playing with these guys,"" he said. ""Why would or should we ever stop playing together? It's way too much fun. ... Let's see U2 or the Rolling Stones stay together if they weren't getting paid millions of dollars.""
Their regular karaoke gig gives the Gomers the opportunity to entertain not only older generations who grew up with classic rock, but to also educate younger generations. ""Our mission statement calls for the classic rock and roll brainwashing of the freedom-loving children of America,"" according to Blumfumgagnge, ""I mean, if we can just get one kid to tune into the Stones or Zeppelin, and turn away from today's corporate schlock rock, we can go to bed a little happier, and perhaps even a wee bit drunker.""
On April 22, The Daily Cardinal takes a look at punk ska band I Voted for Kodos.
