26 fictional bands from movies and TV that we wish we could see in real life
Whether they’re musicians in disguise, actors paid to pretend or even an actual band, plenty of fictional music groups have graced big and small screens. From Jesse And The Rippers to Sex Bomb-Omb, check out some of the best below.
Jesse And The Rippers (Full House)
Jesse Katsopolis, portrayed by John Stamos, was the cool uncle to the Tanner sisters on Full House. He fronted Jesse And The Rippers, topping the fictional charts in Japan in 1992 with their the Beach Boys cover, “Forever.” The band reunited in a makeshift Smash Club on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2013 and again onscreen in the 2016 Netflix reboot of the show, Fuller House.
Stillwater (Almost Famous)
Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical tale of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone while out on the road with a band by the name of Stillwater. The fictionalized band was reportedly inspired by Crowe’s real-life experiences with the Allman Brothers Band, the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin and more.
Staton-House Band (Roadies)
Roadies followed those who keep it together behind the scenes as roadies (portrayed by Machine Gun Kelly, Luke Wilson, Carla Gugino and more) for the Staton-House Band. While they may have a real website with tour info and album release details, they are unfortunately not a real band. Despite this, the Cameron Crowe-created Showtime series did have actual artists such as Lucius, Halsey, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Phantogram pop on tour throughout the show.
Gretta James (Begin Again)
Begin Again stars Keira Knightley as singer-songwriter Gretta James, who ventures to an open mic after a fallout with her songwriting and romantic partner, played by Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Here, she is discovered by a struggling record exec (Mark Ruffalo) who convinces her to record a live album on the streets and rooftops of New York City.
Fly Paper (The Princess Diaries)
The Princess Diaries; GARAGE BAND by elkblood
Granted, Fly Paper was actually just Rooney in disguise, as frontman Robert Schwartzman appeared on screen with his real band when filling the role of Anne Hathaway’s geeky friend-turned-love interest in 2001’s The Princess Diaries. Regardless, the band pumping out “Blueside” for practice in the auto shop is an iconic scene amongst 2000s teen movies.
Downtown Sasquatch (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
Before he was topping charts as Drake, Aubrey Graham was playing guitar in the fictional Degrassi: The Next Generation band Downtown Sasquatch. The TV show’s favorite bad boy, Craig Manning, fronted the band, and he was portrayed by Jake Epstein, who later went on to snag a lead role in Green Day’s American Idiot musical.
Sing Street (Sing Street)
Set in 1980s Ireland, Sing Street is the coming-of-age story of a teen boy who starts a band in order to garner the attention of his aspiring model love interest so that they can cast her in their first music video.
A.D.D. (The Rocker)
The Rocker follows the story of a failed drummer (The Office’s Rainn Wilson) who joins his nephew’s (Josh Gad) band consisting of Teddy Geiger on vocals and Emma Stone on bass. At the time, only Geiger was known for his musical ability through his eponymous solo career, but since then Stone went on to win an Oscar for the critically acclaimed musical La La Land and Gad starred in Disney’s kid-friendly musicals Frozen and the 2017 reboot of Beauty And The Beast.
Nasty Bits (Vinyl)
The HBO series, co-created by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, may have been cancelled after only one season, but they didn’t waste time honing in on the music culture of the ’70s. The series followed record exec Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) who is attempting to resurrect his label through things like signing punk act Nasty Bits—fronted by Jagger’s son James and supported by real-life Brooklyn band Beach Fossils.
Pink Slip (Freaky Friday)
Lindsay Lohan garnered several major film roles in the early to mid-2000s, from Mean Girls to Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen. While balancing said roles, Lohan was also pursuing a music career, making her role as Pink Slip’s guitarist in 2003’s Freaky Friday less than surprising. However, thanks to the mother-daughter body swap plot of the movie, we also get to see Jamie Lee Curtis rock out behind the scenes.
Steel Dragon (Rock Star)
If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like for Mark Wahlberg to front an ’80s metal band, look no further than Rock Star. Wahlberg’s character is initially the frontman of a tribute band to Steel Dragon, Blood Pollution (taken from a Steel Dragon track), but after each band part ways with their respective frontmen, he is called up to audition for Steel Dragon, and lands the gig.
Creation (Freaks And Geeks)
Pulled from the short-lived but much-loved Freaks And Geeks, Creation consisted of Seth Rogen on vocals, James Franco on guitar and Jason Segel on drums. Franco offers one of the best lines of the series after the band butt heads at practice: “Rock ’n’ roll don’t come from your brain, it comes from your crotch.”
Lustra featuring Matt Damon (EuroTrip)
While Lustra is indeed a real band, one of the most iconic scenes of mid-2000s teen movies appeared in 2004’s EuroTrip as a pierced and tatted Matt Damon stood in for frontman Chris Baird. Lustra wrote “Scotty Doesn’t Know” for the film, later releasing it on their second full-length, 2006’s Left For Dead.
School Of Rock (School Of Rock)
Desperate to pay rent after getting kicked out of his own band, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) poses as his roommate in order to snag his substitute teacher gig at a local prep school. One thing leads to another, and he forms a band consisting of the preteen class, entering them in the Battle of the Bands. The cast reunited in 2013, 10 years after the movie’s premiere, for one live gig playing tracks from the film.
Dingoes Ate My Baby (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
When he wasn’t too busy wolfing out, Seth Green’s recurring character Oz played guitar in Dingoes Ate My Baby. The band often appeared at the town’s popular nightclub, The Bronze, while California’s Four Star Mary recorded the actual music. The band’s track “Pain”appeared on the 1999 soundtrack Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album.
Sex Bomb-Omb (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)
Based on a series of graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World stars Michael Cera as Pilgrim, the bassist of indie rock act Sex Bomb-Omb. Pilgrim balances band life (whose music was composed by Beck) with his pursuit of Ramona Flowers while traversing the world of her exes and his own (including Brie Larson as the Clash At Demonhead frontwoman Natalie “Envy” Adams).
