MusicJournoBand Names
June 8th 2006 05:36
Ah the mighty band name. Sometimes it can be a band's biggest bane, their achilles' heel if you will. Some bands never settle on a name - my housemate's band has been trying to decide a new name for two years now. Seriously - they just can't agree at all! So, if you're in a band, here are some tips or obstacles you might need to acknowledge on your way to finding a suitable name...
1. Even if you have an absolute arse-kicker of a name hanging around inside your jacket, somewhere slightly north of your sleeve, the other members of your band probably aren’t going to agree on it. So, despite your faith in the brilliance of a name like ‘The Rim Jockeys’ or 'Dollarwise’, rest assured that your so-called ‘friends’ will tell you that it sucks. And it probably does, so maybe you should listen to them.
2. Likewise, when your singer decides you should name the band after one of his favourite songs, you’ll obviously be about as enthusiastic as a hooker in a room full of syphilitic old men and their incontinent dogs.
3. It will become apparent that you will all have to agree on a name at some point, and, even though you tell the rest of the band things like ‘names don’t really matter’ and ‘a rose by any other name…’, you’ll find that they still won’t accept your suggestions instead of their own.
4. Perhaps you’re all stumped at choosing a name? Well, there are several methods you can use... you can flip open a dictionary and randomly point your finger at a word, any word, and take that as the name of the band. It’s been done, honestly, and sometimes it works for the band. Almost always, the name ends up being very boring though. Failing this, you can make a reference to one of your favourite TV shows/comics/novels/movies/comedy stand up routines, in the hope of finding like-minded individuals in your audience... EG. Rex Banner (The Simpsons, The Dead Walk (Dawn of the Dead), Frank Rizzo (The Jerky Boys), Bene Gesserit (Dune).
5. Many bands have trouble holding onto a name in their formative months/years. For example, Bodyjar originally recorded under the name of ‘Damnation’ in 1991, and later, ‘Helium’ in 1992. Mid Youth Crisis/One Inch Punch were originally called ‘Downfall’. And the Hoodoo Gurus started as 'Le Hoodoo Gurus'. Why is this? Well, it could be because a lot of these names sound crap. Or lame. Especially when the band isn’t known by anyone. It’s easier for a big band to get away with a shitty try-hardish name like ‘Metallica’ than some dinky-di local outfit who’ve been practicing in the garage for three months and are yet to play a gig bigger than their local fete. This brings us to our next, and final, point.
6. Stick to a name! There’s almost always going to be one member who doesn’t like the name of their band, and there is no possible way to please everybody (well, not with a band name anyway). Just choose a name, look around and make sure no one else has this name first (at least nobody you care about), and stick to it no matter how lame it may or may not be. You can even name your band after one of your own songs... if you're lame enough.
AUSTRALIAN BAND NAME TRIVIA…
* Cold Chisel started in 1973 as a metal band called 'Orange'.
* Unpaid Debt were originally called ‘Sucker Punch’ and even gigged under this name.
* Hunters and Collectors took their name from the lyrics of a German band called Can.
* Cosmic Psychos started under the name 'Spring Plains'.
* Radio Birdman took their name from a Stooges song, mishearing the words 'Radio Burnin'.
* The Angels were once called 'The Keystone Angels', and 'The Moonshine Jug and String Band' before that.
* The Blood Idols played for quite a while under the name 'Bantha Fodder' (a Star Wars reference).
* INXS started under the name 'The Farriss Brothers'
* Downtime are named after one of their early songs.
* The Living End are named after one of their songs, and were originally called 'The Runaway Boys' (or something like that).
* Mindsnare started under the name 'Mad Circle' but changed it after a year when they found out there was an American band by the same name.
* The Porkers were originally known as 'The Pork Hunts'.
* Stockholm Syndrome used to be 'Syndicate'.
* Midnight Oil started under the name 'Farm'.
"Yo guys, all we need now is a name!"
1. Even if you have an absolute arse-kicker of a name hanging around inside your jacket, somewhere slightly north of your sleeve, the other members of your band probably aren’t going to agree on it. So, despite your faith in the brilliance of a name like ‘The Rim Jockeys’ or 'Dollarwise’, rest assured that your so-called ‘friends’ will tell you that it sucks. And it probably does, so maybe you should listen to them.
2. Likewise, when your singer decides you should name the band after one of his favourite songs, you’ll obviously be about as enthusiastic as a hooker in a room full of syphilitic old men and their incontinent dogs.
3. It will become apparent that you will all have to agree on a name at some point, and, even though you tell the rest of the band things like ‘names don’t really matter’ and ‘a rose by any other name…’, you’ll find that they still won’t accept your suggestions instead of their own.
4. Perhaps you’re all stumped at choosing a name? Well, there are several methods you can use... you can flip open a dictionary and randomly point your finger at a word, any word, and take that as the name of the band. It’s been done, honestly, and sometimes it works for the band. Almost always, the name ends up being very boring though. Failing this, you can make a reference to one of your favourite TV shows/comics/novels/movies/comedy stand up routines, in the hope of finding like-minded individuals in your audience... EG. Rex Banner (The Simpsons, The Dead Walk (Dawn of the Dead), Frank Rizzo (The Jerky Boys), Bene Gesserit (Dune).
Bodyjar
6. Stick to a name! There’s almost always going to be one member who doesn’t like the name of their band, and there is no possible way to please everybody (well, not with a band name anyway). Just choose a name, look around and make sure no one else has this name first (at least nobody you care about), and stick to it no matter how lame it may or may not be. You can even name your band after one of your own songs... if you're lame enough.
AUSTRALIAN BAND NAME TRIVIA…
* Cold Chisel started in 1973 as a metal band called 'Orange'.
* Unpaid Debt were originally called ‘Sucker Punch’ and even gigged under this name.
* Hunters and Collectors took their name from the lyrics of a German band called Can.
* Cosmic Psychos started under the name 'Spring Plains'.
* Radio Birdman took their name from a Stooges song, mishearing the words 'Radio Burnin'.
* The Angels were once called 'The Keystone Angels', and 'The Moonshine Jug and String Band' before that.
* The Blood Idols played for quite a while under the name 'Bantha Fodder' (a Star Wars reference).
* INXS started under the name 'The Farriss Brothers'
* Downtime are named after one of their early songs.
Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil
* Mindsnare started under the name 'Mad Circle' but changed it after a year when they found out there was an American band by the same name.
* The Porkers were originally known as 'The Pork Hunts'.
* Stockholm Syndrome used to be 'Syndicate'.
* Midnight Oil started under the name 'Farm'.
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