Bag of Donuts mixed in sound and wears

When the Joker, Gene Simmons, a masked singer and a painted-face jungle man take the stage, the audience knows it’s in for a show like no other.

The New Orleans-based Bag of Donuts have been around since the late ’80s, and though their lineup has changed, an unconventional, lively style remains. Covering artists from Steppenwolf to the Black Eyed Peas, the band’s song list offers something for everyone.

“The idea comes from us enjoying that kind of variety of music, and it seems like the people who come to see us feed off of it,” said guitarist Jonathan Hoerner, aka ‘Gene Simmons.’ “It’s something that’s been working well for us for a while, and we just keep sticking with it.”

Bassist Jerry Christopher – ‘The Joker’ – called the group’s genre “superpop,” meaning it includes popular songs of any style and from any era. “And then we ‘supe’ it up,” Hoerner added.

Drummer Kevin George is the only original band member. Christopher joined Bag of Donuts in 1989, less than a year after they formed. Hoerner followed about seven years later, and in 2011, his brother Bobby became the lead singer.

The decision to wear costumes came in the early ’90s. Hoerner and Christopher said they both tried other costumes before landing on their current getups.

“My father had made himself a Gene Simmons costume in the late ’70s. We still had it, so I said, ‘Oh, yeah. Let me go try that thing on, see if it fits me,’” Hoerner recalled. “I think the costumes found us rather than us finding the costumes.”

What started as a way to impress friends turned into a fitting representation of each member. Hoerner called frontman Bobby a “masked rock hero.” Van Halen fan George based his tribal outfit on David Lee Roth’s look for the album “Eat ’Em and Smile.” Christopher, whose Joker costume also belonged to Hoerner’s father, said his enjoyment of practical jokes matches that of his character. As for the Kiss look-alike, “Jonathan was born to be Gene. He does Gene better than Gene,” Christopher said.

In addition to the attire, the group’s performances help set it apart from other cover bands.

“One of the things we do that is a little different is we do a lot more medleys where we’ll marry a bunch of songs together,” Christopher said. “Our technology, as far as lights and stuff like that, is maybe not as elaborate, but our songs are kind of elaborate.”

He said the Bag of Donuts’ core fan base seems to have aged with the band, but the group’s gigs include high school, fraternity and sorority events as well as 50th and 60th birthday parties. Whether at a festival, club or other venue, audiences can expect high-energy, enthusiastic performances from Bag of Donuts.

“Our demographic is pretty much any and all,” Christopher said. “We give 110 percent every performance. We always get the crowd going. Sometimes it may take a few more songs to get them going, but in the end, we get the same feedback.”

Although the band sometimes goes into performances with a planned song list, that list is always subject to change.

“We just really try and feed off the crowd and see what direction the crowd wants to take us, and go along for the ride,” Hoerner said. “For shorter shows, we try to write a song list, but we still end up veering off of it and letting the crowd take us where they want to go.”

Primarily a cover band, Bag of Donuts released its original debut album, “Glazed and Confused,” in 1999. The album was filled with quirky, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic-style songs such as “12 Donuts of Christmas.”

The current lineup’s first original song, “Put ’Em Up,” a Louisiana sports anthem released in September 2012, features rapping from fellow New Orleans group The Dirtiest Players. The piano and horns in the song are reminiscent of a Mardi Gras second line.

“I was looking to write a song that could talk about where we’re from and who we are, and that came out. I tried to write something that represented us, and that was it,” Hoerner said.

Although the band members occasionally write and record songs, performing is more of a priority for them than releasing another album.

“I think we’ll continue to do what we’re doing. Hopefully we’ll add some more fairs and festivals that we’re not already playing along the Gulf Coast,” Christopher said. “There are still audiences that we haven’t appeared in front of. And we’ll continue to keep the song list fresh.”

Bag of Donuts play the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City Aug. 30.

Hoerner said he enjoys performing at festivals because they “seem like they have more energy. The crowd is really looking to have a good time. You have that outside energy that starts to really build up.”

Every performance by this eclectic set of characters makes it clear the band thrives on energy.

– bridget@gumboguide.com

Clockwise from the top left are drummer Kevin George, bassist Jerry Christopher, guitarist Jonathan Hoerner and lead singer Bobby Hoerner of the New Orleans-based cover band Bag of Donuts. The band performs Aug. 30 at the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City.

COURTESY PHOTO