genre article_title name background
rock , country , americana , alternative country gear daddies
 gear daddies group_or_band
gear daddies

the gear daddies are a rock band originally from austin , minnesota .
randy broughten -lrb- electric and steel guitar -rrb- , nick ciola -lrb- bass -rrb- , billy dankert -lrb- drums and vocals -rrb- , and martin zellar -lrb- guitar , harmonica and vocals -rrb- played their first shows together in 1984 .
they released singles and albums between 1986 and 1992 and became an important part of the twin cities music scene .
most songs were written by zellar , though dankert also had several of note , including crowd favorite `` time heals '' .
in 1991 , zellar and broughten played `` stupid boy '' on `` late night with david letterman '' .
ciola and dankert did not play on the show because , at the time , many bands simply sat in with the world 's most dangerous band .
zellar said of the experience : `` i was so nervous , and it happened so quick .
i could n't tell you what the hell happened .
i got done , and i was walking back and said to randy -lrb- broughten -rrb- , ` did i sing all the words ?
did i do that ? '
when i watched it that night in the hotel room i had no recollection of having lived it . ''
although their song `` zamboni '' was originally a hidden track on their album `` billy 's live bait '' , it became one of their best-known songs , as it was often played during intermissions at hockey games throughout north america .
it was later featured in the movies '' '' and `` mystery , alaska '' , as well as on television program `` malcolm in the middle '' .
after the dissolution the band , zellar began an active career of performing and recording with the band that became known as martin zellar and the hardways , taking with him long-time friend and bassist nick ciola .
electric guitarist randy broughten is currently a physical education teacher in rosemount , minnesota .
as well as being a member of the cactus blossoms , he has also been the steel guitar player for many years with minneapolis country band trailer trash , who are known for their annual christmas shows , and who also had a cameo in the mockumentary film `` dill scallion '' .
drummer james `` billy '' dankert is a professional visual artist as well as a musician .
as of the present , all four members of the gear daddies reunite several times a year to perform throughout the midwest .
the gear daddies were an influence on a number of bands that emerged in the upper midwest in the late 1980s through the 1990s , including johnny clueless , the billy 's , violet , shoot lucy , dazy head mazy , groundhouse and six mile grove .
