Spice Pistols — what people really, really want?

The point of the Spice Pistols — a bunch of middle-aged rocker dudes who sing Spice Girls songs as if they were played by the Sex Pistols — is not just about gender-bending camp.

”It’s called ‘lighten-the-fuck-up,’” says bassist Sppike Mike Muellenberg, who conceived of the glam-rock/punk-rock/Spice Girls casserole. “We all need to be entertained without being so stiff that we can’t laugh at ourselves.”

Muellenberg, aka Hairy Scary Spice, says he came up with the Spice Pistols out of frustration.

“I was becoming dissatisfied with the attendance at League of Liars shows,” says Muellenberg about his more traditional original band. “I noticed that the part of the show people responded to the most was the gimmick where the lead singer would sing into a telephone. I realize what was missing was the visual aspect of a live show.... I did the whole glam thing in an Orange County metal band in the late ’70s and early ’80s, where you would empty a can of Aquanet in your hair and rat it to the ceiling and wear muscle zebra T’s and striped spandex pants.”

Muellenberg says the one local band that gets the importance of a live show is the wildly frenetic Schizophonics. “They put on a hell of a show. But I’m too old and beat up and have had too many beers. My body can’t take all the thrashing they go through. I knew we had to figure something else out.”

A Spice Pistols set involves skits and props. “We all have heavy British accents since both bands we emulate are British.” They’ve had ten shows so far. “Every show I noticed everybody had their phones out videoing it.”

Each member spent years playing in other bands, such as Captain Viejo, League of Liars, Sex Stains, Konvix, the Accessories, and True Stories.

“To date we’ve only had two people with actual negative responses. One guy from Argentina asked why we had to dress up like clowns...that we should be pure musicians. Someone else called us ‘fags.’”

Their debut album, Life’s a Drag, is due out in January.

The Spice Pistols appear November 18 with the Schizophonics, Pony Death Ride, Pinkeye, and Captain Viejo at the Bancroft in Spring Valley.