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Name that Band

Posted at 12:10 PM on May 10, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (8 Comments)

A pal of mine is trying to start up a new band, and she and I spent our lunch hour last week brainstorming band names (although a lot of what came out were more like brain burps.) Yesterday, another friend mentioned that he was needing to change his musical moniker. Is it a spring thing? Clean your house, start a band ...

I don't know why folks enlist my help with this stuff, but it makes me feel good. First off, it lets me know that creative writing degree that got me $50,000 in student loan debt wasn't a complete waste. But it's also fun because it lets me live out a little fantasy: I wanna be in a band. And the truth is, I never will be. Unless someone around here starts a 37-member I'm From Barcelona-type thing and will tolerate me squeaking away in a choir robe at the back of the stage. Or someone lets me play the triangle on their next album.

It's a DJ cliche, really--this idea that people become deejays 'cause they can't play music (or art critics 'cause they can't make art, etc.) And it doesn't hold true at the Current--quite a few of our on-air folks are also musicians. But not me. I embody the cliche. Not only am I a deejay ... I was an art history major! Musically, I will never rise above my broken, beer-soaked stabs at karaoke glory. So helping real musician friends brainstorm band names is a real treat for me.

So, help me help my friends. Some suggestions for naming a band? I always thought a good place to start was with stories or books you like, or song titles (Pretty Girls Make Graves got away with it.) In an act of creative desperation, I even consulted a map, and decided Grand Marais would make a pretty cool metal band name. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, neither of my friends play metal.

Ever fantasized about being in a band? What's your fantasy band name?

Comments (8)

I think the best place to start is to look at the style of music they play and also, what are they trying to portray through their music. Are they trying to be "serious" or "arty", or is there a sense of humor that goes along with what they're doing?

Pop culture references can work, but can also become dated, although I like the names, Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre..

Avoid "The _________" band names. Too many of them.

For fun, just write down a bunch of words in 2-3 columns and just play mix-n-match to see what came up. Maybe animal names, places, verbs, people's names, household objects.

Or just play word association games.

back in Jr. High School, my friend and i used to draw giant rock stage sets, and had named the band "Grot" after the shop that sold useless items in "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin", the BBC sitcom.

Whatever your friends name the band, they can use on of my possible album titles: "Even Worms Fall In Love" if they want.

Good topic!

Posted by Frick | May 10, 2007 12:47 PM

Okay, I LOVE that you used to draw rock stage sets! That is so awesome, and makes me feel better about when I used to play "radio" with the tape recorder when I was a kid. (And by "kid," I mean when I was 29.)

Posted by Jacquie Fuller | May 10, 2007 12:56 PM

Here is a list of my fantasy band names:

Control Burn
Las Lloronas (the criers/sobbers) for girl band
Red Kettle
The Spacewalking Geniuses
Kique (pronounced KI - que)

Posted by El Tejano | May 10, 2007 1:15 PM

Oh yeah, Massive amplifiers, lighting rigs, guitars, basses, and drum kits to make even Neil Peart jealous!

I used to play "radio" too .. except I was 9... :)

Also, any band name with the word "Pants" or "Slacks" is guaranteed to get a laugh.

I just wandered around the workplace and started looking at signs that have been posted, anything could be a band name:

Cardboard Only
Erected for Education
Thrombosis Center
Eye Wash Station

Posted by Frick | May 10, 2007 1:16 PM

Let's Trade Pants!
JFKFC

Posted by zephyr | May 10, 2007 1:43 PM

"The Secret Shames" (nod to Ponce)

Posted by Auntie | May 10, 2007 2:03 PM

Ooh.. that's a good one Auntie..

I love Let's Trade Pants too... good one, zephyr!

JFKFC is brilliantly inspired!

how about the Star Spanglish Banner?

Posted by Frick | May 10, 2007 2:22 PM

Nice site. Thank you:-)
map

Posted by map | December 28, 2007 10:30 AM

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