[Ramshackles]

Apart from a few favourite blogs, the only way I find out about new music now is pretty much through forums and random browsing on itunes. I dont go to so many local/unsigned gigs unless I know the band - which is whole other topic by itself. I dont read many music magazines, apart from to read about bands I already like.

So while browsing music today, I became very aware of how critical a band name can be. I may only give over half an hour here and there specifically looking for music. In that short time when I'm only going by recommendations of people I barely know on forums or looking at the vast array of choices on itunes, the name of the band name is the ultimate decider on whether I will click on them/google them. That and any artwork that might be posted (another topic again).

Recent examples - I clicked on the bands 'Wintersleep' and 'The Unthanks', thankfully their music reflected what I was expecting from the names. On the other hand, The Moondoggies is a band I love the music of, but their name is awful. In fact, I first heard the name about a year ago but never bothered to look them up. It was only a chance hearing of a song by them that I actually became a fan. Without that chance hearing they could've forever missed out on picking up that extra fan, based solely on their name.

It's too late for us to change our name now and at any rate, it always felt kind of right to me. But now is the first time I'm wondering if it actually gives any sense of our music at all or even if it isn't just a naff name (a la moondoggies).

Anyone else play in a band/under an alias? How did you decide the name, or is it a continual point of arguments ?

[Schavuitje]

Hmm.

The first band I was in was when I joined a prog rock band and their name was Albion

I thought the name suited the band as we did proggy stuff that sometimes sounded a bit like

Jethro Tull, but I thought it was dull and a little behind the times, at the time.

We reformed - after splitting up of course - We called ourselves, A Clean Pair Of Heels, and we played

prog rock still but now more in the vain of everyone we ripped off haha like Steve Hillage, Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, Zappa

and the like. I thought that was a shit name too haha. I only settled on it because the guitarist wanted to call us, Free Beer and Live Sex.

He was under the misguided belief that every gig we would do would be packed... And there would be no consequences 

Then joined all my best mates in their band as a backing vocalist. They were and are still called Mr So&So. For some reason, I don't know why

but I like that name They are really good and got signed by Marrillion a few years back. Which means I get to see Steve Rothery every now and then (Marillions guitarist).

And the one time I actually spoke to him we talked about how you just can't get pies in Holland! I could kick myself sometimes

Now after years not doing anything I formed a band, two dropped out because they were husband and wife and not getting along,

and I'm back to looking for band members. We called ourselves, The Short Straws. I was talking to my missus about a name for the band

in the car and my daughter who was only 5 at the time said, The Short Straws. It immediatley seemed to fit. All band members were in their late 30's

early 40's. And although every meber was a very, very good musician, we just looked like we were all shoved into the band by being the short straw.

I know what I mean :p

The rest liked it so we chose it.

Now you have really got me thinking about it. I am biased of course.

What does that name suggest to you? What would you expect to hear?

[The Corsair]

I think it can be difficulty to come up with a terrible name and difficult to come up with a great name. It's also hard to come up with a good name and everything that's left is a bad name...

The first band I was in was originally called Archangel. We realised that resonated 'whiny emo crap' and was taken by thousands of other artists anyway so we renamed ourselves Unwritten, which I personally thought was a great name. My present (fledgling) band is called Broken Light and I'm struggling with it...


In terms of browsing for music, I'm exceptionally picky. Personally, most bands called 'The (something)' I will glide right past, there's nothing new about it. I'll only give slightly more notice to a band that is '(Something) and the (Something)'. A great example of this is the band Foster The People, which I've really loved from the moment I heard them. Originally they were called 'Foster and The People' and I realised I wouldn't have given it a moments notice if I only read that name and didn't hear anything of theirs.

Also to be considered, good names that are squandered. It's difficult to come up with a name as cool as Jefferson Airplane but it ended up being an average band (I believe they ended up going through some name changes too, such a waste).

And I'd also say the most difficult genres of music to come up with band names in are Punk and Metal. Here's why:

Punk - Because it's now blurring with Emo and Pop-punk genres, it's very difficult to come up with a Punk name that doesn't end up sounding like you're a bunch of angsty teens in skinny jeans and eyeliner and it's difficult to come up with one that doesn't sound like you're 'try-hard' (for want of a better word). For example, Greenday is a band name that manages to avoid both of the above while still identifying itself with the punk movement (the name coming from a song written about being high on weed).

Metal - The underlying theme of all metal music is that it's dark. By extension, a metal band's name should be somewhat dark to identify it with the music (nobody wants to hear a band called 'sunshine children' growling about satan). But it's difficult to get a dark sounding name that doesn't sound a bit silly and over-the-top. For example, Slipknot is a fantastic metal name, As I Lay Dying goes too far.

Also, a lot of people seem to notice a '2 syllables is best' thing, and it seems to hold for a vast number of bands, though it's far from perfectly true.


So I'd say everything's in a name. A bad name won't mean no success but a good name means memorability, and memorability with a unique 9and good) sound is a powerful combination.


Album names are just as important IMO. Take a look at an album name like Common Dreads. It's difficult for it to not catch your attention. What are the dreads? Are they really common to all of us? Are they unifying or dividing? You're left with questions and you want to listen to the album to see if it answers those questions. Even if it doesn't and the music is good, the band has successfully sold an album through a name. By comparison, Madina Lake's latest album World War III is a terrible name. Society is tired of the concept of WWIII in a lot of ways and it's far from an original name for anything, how often does the phrase WWIII get tossed around?

[Ramshackles]

Schauv - Wow! A lot of bands and names! I agree with you for most of them (there was also a band when I was at uni in liverpool called Free Beer)

The Short Straws - because it's a 'the' band, it kind of makes me think of this line of indie guitar bands that have come out since the strokes - the kooks, the libertines etc etc
But, it could equally be a more folky/acousticy based band, probably 'cause of the word 'straw'. Definitely makes me think of yellow . Of all the names there, it's my favourite anyway.

Corsair - Jefferson Airplane were not a good band?!?!?! Listen to 'White Rabbit' and 'somebody to love' again....
Agreed, Archangel is a very whiny emo namd. Unwritten could possibly be the kind of name I'd give to a boy band

Interesting points on punk and metal, although I dont really know anythign about that

The two syllables thing...hmmm...I dont know if it's such a common thing, although certainly there are bands with only 2 syllables, there are plenty with other amounts!

Not sure that an album name is as important as the band name. No doubt that a cool album name is cool, but for example, my favourite band of the last few years is easily Fleet Foxes. Their first album had no name and their 2nd album was just called after one of the songs - 'Helplessness Blues'.

Damn right, there seems to be a lot in the name. It often seems to be the first 'selling point' of a band, before listening to the music, the customer actually has to decide to click on your name to listen to it...

[The Corsair]

Schauv - Wow! A lot of bands and names! I agree with you for most of them (there was also a band when I was at uni in liverpool called Free Beer)

The Short Straws - because it's a 'the' band, it kind of makes me think of this line of indie guitar bands that have come out since the strokes - the kooks, the libertines etc etc
But, it could equally be a more folky/acousticy based band, probably 'cause of the word 'straw'. Definitely makes me think of yellow . Of all the names there, it's my favourite anyway.

Corsair - Jefferson Airplane were not a good band?!?!?! Listen to 'White Rabbit' and 'somebody to love' again....
Agreed, Archangel is a very whiny emo namd. Unwritten could possibly be the kind of name I'd give to a boy band

Interesting points on punk and metal, although I dont really know anythign about that

The two syllables thing...hmmm...I dont know if it's such a common thing, although certainly there are bands with only 2 syllables, there are plenty with other amounts!

Not sure that an album name is as important as the band name. No doubt that a cool album name is cool, but for example, my favourite band of the last few years is easily Fleet Foxes. Their first album had no name and their 2nd album was just called after one of the songs - 'Helplessness Blues'.

Damn right, there seems to be a lot in the name. It often seems to be the first 'selling point' of a band, before listening to the music, the customer actually has to decide to click on your name to listen to it...

IMO Jeffersen Airplane squandered a great name. They have some outstanding songs though, I do agree. The name changes are actually a bigger part of what ruined it I'd say. I wasn't being very clear sorry.

The two-syllables thing isn't that common so I make short work of shooting down the theory every time someone suggests it.


One thing I didn't mention was tour names. I think tour names say a lot about a band and how they view themselves. Compare and contrast the following bands and tour names:

Fall Out Boy - Believers Never Die
Disturbed - Music As A Weapon
Panic! At The Disco - Nothing Rhymes With Circus

I'd say those all reflect their band's character and originality as opposed to bands who just name tours after their most recent album. In fact the plan for Unwritten was to record and release A New Level Of Sophistication (of which more than half of the tracks were ready to go) and launch The Gentleman's Tour (not likely haha) and we actually made a point of thinking about it.

[tina m]

forget all the other insignifcant topics on this forum this is the BIG ONE! i mean band names are more important than the music!

i have bought so many albumes simply cos i loved the band name & hoped i would like the music
& ive bought great albums by bands with terrible embarressing names.... so... ive made up a cool name for them instead &made  my own cd cover for them &  pretended to my friends that was there real name
i just cant listen to bands with crap names!

when i was young & in bands we had more rows & fights over the band name than anything else
if we spent 6 months getting a band together then didviding up that time it was normaly:
writing lyrics - 5 mins
writing music  - 2 weeks
rehearsing -   6 weeks
arguing over band look/stage clothes/ hair etc - 1.5 months
arguing over band name - 3 months!

im not goood at maths so that might not add up properly
i could talk all night about this so maybe ill say more later

[tone]

I always wanted to be in a band called the new potatoes or the brand new potatoes.

Personally I find the whole band name thing boring and overly time-consuming. The Beatles was and still is a terrible name, but their music has endured. A lot of incredibly successful bands have awful names, such as U2, take that, the stone roses (I mean, seriously!) but once the music has taken a hold, nobody takes any notice of the name any more.

Having a really good name can work against you if your name is more interesting and creative than your music.

Unless you're a solo artist and your name is Ivor Sperduti (yes, that's a real name) I would say it's not terribly important what you call yourself. Ivor, if you're reading, I do apologise;)

[tina m]

Personally I find the whole band name thing boring

then you must be the sort of person who calls there band the potatoes & plays a gig in wellies & an old jumper!
 

[The Corsair]

Yes but Tone, those aren't terrible names. A name doesn't in and of itself, stop success. Good music is what makes success so if you have that and a bad name then you can still make it. If you have good music and a good name then the music will get out a bit quicker.

Also, nobody seems to have thought about solo artists in this. To be honest I could make an enormous list of artists' names I think are terrible (I'm look at you, TreySongz) but I'd rather point out the good.
Bruno Mars (Born Peter Gene Hernandez). That's a quick, short and memorable chosen name that is both not too outlandish and exotic but isn't too plain.
Billy Idol (Born William Michael Albert Broad). Rolls off the tongue nicely, again creating memorability.
Ron Sexsmith (Born Ronald Eldon Sexsmith). Ok granted he was lucky with his birth name. Sexsmith, how is that not memorable?

[Ramshackles]

Yes but Tone, those aren't terrible names. A name doesn't in and of itself, stop success. Good music is what makes success so if you have that and a bad name then you can still make it. If you have good music and a good name then the music will get out a bit quicker.

Thats a good point. I think, or at least I wistfully like to believe, that good music will always find an audience worthy of it. But maybe the name has some hand in speeding that process along?
I mentioned 3 bands in my first post - they are all equally good bands, but 2 of them I discovered/liked immediately, the 3rd one it took me a year after hearing about them to bother listening to them.

Tone has a valid point, though I wouldnt go as far as that - the music is way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way more important.
But, it surely helps to put a little thought into the name? (Nothing as wild as tinam suggests though, LOL) something that suits the music and is not overly cliched or just plain rubbish.

[The Corsair]

Song names can be important too, but to a lesser degree (in terms of making sales)

Example:
Quite a few years ago I heard the Enter Shikari song Jonny Sniper. I hated it (I was in to rap at the time). However, the name 'Jonny Sniper' stuck in my head ever since and a few months back I found myself thinking what was that song? so I went and took a look. I loved it and bought the album right there and then. Had that song bee called, for example, 'All I need to feel alive' (a line from it) it would never have stuck in my head.

[tone]

Yes but Tone, those aren't terrible names. A name doesn't in and of itself, stop success. Good music is what makes success

My point exactly.

Of course there's nothing wrong with having an interesting name. I just think making your music interesting is way (I'll just say this word once, Ramshackles ) more important.

[Kafla]

I always thought your band would have sounded better as " The Ramshackles "

Can't explain why - it just sounds better to me 

[Schavuitje]

I thought it would sound better as The Shackles of Ram  Just kidding!

The Beatles isn't I suppose the best name in the world ever but there's a certain symmetry to it. It looks good, visually.

The Stone Roses has the same impact I find, as does U2. The words, regardless of their meaning, look good somewhow.

[tina m]

some of you guys are much to serious about evrything!