David Bowie agreed to take part in the film because he was a fan of director Todd Graff's previous film Camp (2003).
The band name "I can't go on, I'll go on" comes from the last line of the 1953 Samuel Beckett novel 'The Unnamable'.
The movie was released to great critical acclaim, but only took in $2.7m in the first week. The press, and marketing teams at other studios, put the blame squarely on the film's ad campaign, which presented it as the latest in a long run of "High School Musical"-style pictures for "tweens". Reportedly, this decision incensed the film-makers and led to many arguments as the film neared release, but the decision was never reversed.
Originally the film was titled "Will", then the title was changed to "Rock On", and finally to "Bandslam".
All of the vocals for this film were filmed live by each of the cast members who sang, as mentioned by director Todd Graff. One of the requirements for the film was that all actors had to be able to provide their own vocals.