Explore every episode of the podcast The Rocklopedia Fakebandica

When the Charles is away, the cats will play. If by "play" you mean "talk about fake bands from newspaper comic strips whose names start with N-Z." You meant that, right?

Join us on our deep dive into Grace of My Heart to celebrate its 30th anniversary.  This Alison Anders film is a heavily fictionalized version of Carole King's life, starring Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, Eric Stoltz and Matt Dillon.  We look at the music of the 1960s, the men and women of the Brill Building, and why we need to give every last bit of minutia and trivia about our subjects.

We lost two beloved icons on the same day: Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.  We look at Dolly's legacy, her fake band roles in 9 to 5 and Rhinestone, and how she lived her life the way our heroes should live.  Then we discuss Tim Curry, the gifted actor who wowed us with charisma and fake band flair.  Oh, and T. Mike talks about the TV show Wiseguy for hours and hours and...

The Autopian's Jason Torchinsky joins us as we delve deep into the comics page, looking for fake bands and artists (and finding quite a few).

Sometimes you have to run your experiments in the lab, and sometimes you have to rock!  We look at real scientists from real bands like Queen and The Offspring, we look at real scientists who were in fake bands like Bridgit Mendler, and then a lot of fake scientists with their fictional tunes.  Then, after all the laughs, we get serious.  Yahoo Serious, that is.  It's a full show.

So there's a group of people who share a house.  Okay, not a group of people, but a milkshake and an order or fries and a meat wad.  You heard me. A wad of meat.  It only gets weirder from there on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  Luckily for us, they make a lot of fictional music so we can talk about them!

We tackle the early days of Adult Swim, that crazy channel for adult animation.  If you like Space Ghost, Harvey Birdman, Brak, Zorak, and SeabLab 2021, or you think the names are funny and you want to hear more, well this show is for you!  Next week, we'll finish Adult Swim with a look at Aqua Teen Hunger Force so stay tuned!

Guest hosts Kelli and Michal join Charles once again to talk about fictional music in recent Korean dramas.  After the longest five minutes ever to discuss Yumi's Cells, they tackle Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Twinkling Watermelon, and Idol I.  

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.  

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica spends this episode discussing an assortment of fictional bands that don't quite fit into the show topics.  We look at musicals, podcasts, RuneScape, the Tudor era, and even the greats of Finnish cinema.  It's a mix that even we don't quite understand how it happened, but it works.

We look at some fictional bands from animated shows that are geared more for adults and kids.  You know, like BoJack Horseman or The Boondocks, or even a show based on the hometown of The Rocklopedia Fakebandica!

If you think Fred Armisen is the GOAT of fake bands, let us offer another candidate: Noel Fielding.  From The Mighty Boosh to Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy to even The Great British Baking Show, Fielding has created a legacy of fictional music to rival the best in the fake band biz.  So sing a crimp to our latest legend, and Happy St. Fielding's Day to those that celebrate!

We talk with Mario DiGeorgio (syrupgraphics.com; mockbandtees.com) and Brad Albright (albrightillustration.com) about their amazing work in clothing and art that further the fake band cause, and we marvel that some people are smart enough to get money through fake bands.

Let's revisit our original Stars Wars episode this May the Fourth!  In our seventh episode ever, way back in 2024, we discussed Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes and looked at the detailed world building of the franchise.  We also tackled The Max Rebo Band and whether it's okay for a filmmaker to keep changing the film.  Just remember, every time you hear "Mad About Me," we're really saying we're mad about you, ma pateesa!

Let's celebrate Star Wars with a deep dive of fictional bands in the movies, TV shows, books, video games, and anyplace else we can find them in the Star Wars Galaxy.  We look at Gaya, DJ-R3X, The Agasar, Shag Kava, and even... Hakko Drazlip and the Tootle Froots?

Hello world, there's a podcast we're doing... on The Partridge Family!  We look at the show, the band, the albums and that iconic bus.  This is one of the big fake bands in pop culture, so it's why we made sure to discuss them on one of our first 111 episodes.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Ramones' debut album, we find fake punk rock bands and musicians from A to Z.

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica talks record stores again because the geniuses behind Record Store Day can't just put their celebration on Rex Manning Day.  We look at Hearts Beat Loud with Nick Offerman, and discuss whether Logic's movie Paradise Records even counts as a fake band movie.

We celebrate our favorite holiday by analyzing the movie Empire Records, and then we decide the show isn't long enough and we add in every version of High Fidelity too.

On this episode, we revel in the glory that is 1980s TV and remind the world about the fake band that was supposed to turn around an entire network.  

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica tries its hand at playing the board game Hi-Fi.  It goes as well as you might expect.

The Rocklopedia joins a cast of thousands at Podcasthon.org, a weeklong collaboration between podcasts and the charities and nonprofit they support.  We're celebrating Student Diplomacy Corps (https://sdcorps.org/) and talking fake bands that might be near the incredible SDC offerings.

You asked for it, you got it!  We discuss three relatively new animated shows that are smart and kid friendly and chock full of fake bands.  From Steven Universe to Twelve Forever to Regular Show, we leave no stone unturned in our quest to find all the fictional musicians we can.

Oh, THIS is an episode, THIS one, you see

All about Dr. Seuss and his fake-band-i-tree!

We talked about Geisel, that wonderful brain

Who gave us fake music again and again!

It's the 11th anniversary of the beloved NBC sitcom's series finale, and we delve into all the fake bands, big and small.  Even with Parks and Rec, we go to 11!

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica welcomes our latest inductees!  Catherine O'Hara sadly receives her entry posthumously, and we go back to the 20th Century for the legendary Marlene Dietrich 

We celebrate our 100th show with a parade of fake bands with numbers in their names! From 2 Guys N the Parque to Calvin Stopes and his Sixteen Sexophonists, we cover them all!

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are legends in the fake band world.  They may be Muppets, but they rock hard and party harder (at least in Wellington).  We talk the Muppets, the band, and the possible nationality of Animal (?).

Does The Rocklopedia Fakebandica have the pluck and guile to make Tatooine's favorite song the #1 song in the US? 

Not everyone starts out famous.  It takes a lot of hard work, and sometimes, you have to play in a fake band.  The Rocklopedia Fakebandica commends these hard working fake musicians that finally found their place in the sun!

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica keeps its fingers on the pulse of today by discussing fictional musicians that debuted 95 years ago and are now part of the public domain.  What is the public domain, you ask? Well then, this is the episode for you!

Call it an appetizer if you will, because The Rocklopedia Fakebandica is giving you 26 little nuggets of fake band trivia to tease our upcoming year of shows.

The Rocklopedia finishes 2025 they way we finished 2024, with some fake bands from movies and some unique looks into the future of fake bands

On the episode of The Rocklopedia Fakebandica, it’s Christmas Time, and our gift to you is watching Hallmark movies until we pass out. It will be a Christmas miracle if we survive this show.

Rob Reiner was one of the greats in the fake band world.  The Rocklopedia Fakebandica remembers his contributions to pop culture and his effects on us personally.

Happy Hanukkah! We search far and wide for Hanukkah fake bands, even in Christmas specials, and finally we just let AI create a holiday "classic."

It's been 45 years since the senseless murder of John Lennon, and The Rocklopedia Fakebandica celebrates his life in the way we know how: through fake bands based on The Beatles, and the fake bands The Beatles themselves created!

Spy movies and shows aren't just about secrets and espionage and... secrets? Did we say secrets already? Sometimes the spies are musicians as well!  We look at a few secret agent fake bands in pop culture, a few of which are absolutely bonkers!

WKRP in Cincinnati is the best TV sitcom about the greatest fake Ohio AM radio station of the 1970s and 1980s. That is not up for debate. What is up for debate is whether this sitcom has the greatest Thanksgiving TV episode ever. Happy Thanksgiving from The Rocklopedia Fakebandica!

After last week's foray into Gen X nostalgia, we tackle something more recent: A fake musician from a show that went off the air about, um, 15 years ago. OMG it’s HANNAH MONTANA! Squee!

We explore how two brothers from Montreal made children’s TV in the 1970s and 80s super, super, super weird. Yes, it’s time to discuss the fake bands from the world of Sid and Marty Krofft.

We get mellow with the folks that are yellow by spending more time with the fictional musicians of The Simpsons, that animated juggernaut in its 37th season. Can you believe it? I mean, sure, we’ve done 85 episodes on fake bands, but 37 seasons?!

We’ve been working in the lab late one night when our eyes beheld an eerie sight: Halloween/monster-themed fake bands we haven't discussed yet! So join us for a seasonal romp through "Monster Mash," The Munsters, The Addams Family, Mad Monster Party?, The Groovie Goolies and more!