"We spent about $580 on costumes, props and makeup," said Kevin Horko, 28, founder of the Air Supremes.
That band won the hearts of crowds at the Palms and Summerfest through hilarious yet stunningly accurate impressions of such Supremes songs as "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On."
While the Air Supremes were formed specifically for a contest, other bands had been working an act for years.
"We needed to raise money for the women's basketball team at (the University of Wisconsin at) Whitewater," said Phred Phlegm, star of Phred Phlegm and the Spit-Tunes, the contest runner-up.
"We were locally famous for having done this at parties, so we approached the College Pub in Whitewater to do a benefit. We started with an hour from 4 p.m. and ended up playing until 11:30."
The Spit-Tunes are the "air band in residence" at the College Pub, where they perform every month or two and are hosts of an air band contest for groups from UW-Whitewater.
Phlegm said the group usually performs to songs by Devo, the Romantics, the Cramps and other contemporary groups.
During the past 3 1/2 years, the Spit-Tunes have seen 19 members do at least 168 different tunes.
Despite the many changes, Phlegm, 22, remains the star. Offstage, he is a gentle man. Onstage, he becomes a Belushi-like dervish of comic rage, blustering and buffooning his audience into belly laughs.
In a recent performance, the Spit-Tunes rushed through a dazzling series of costume and character changes in a "Trip through TV Land." Opening with the "Theme from Outer Limits," they rollicked through "The Batman Theme," with costumed Batman and Robin battling villain Phred Phlegm.
They closed with a junk-rock classic, "The Crusher," as Phlegm emerged from another instant personality change, turning sinister wrestler.
