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Other music forums => Musician's Corner => Topic started by: Loco Mo on September 09, 2021, 07:02:51 PM

Title: Band Names
Post by: Loco Mo on September 09, 2021, 07:02:51 PM
So let's say you're just starting out and you need a name for your band.  How do you go about selecting a name?

First of all, I think probably all possible names are already being used by someone somewhere on the planet.  I mean how can you have a unique name among millions of bands?

I also want to add that I think it's ridiculous to randomly pick names out of a hat because that has nothing to do with the description or identity of your band.

Let's say you call yourselves "The Ducks."  What does that have to do with your style of music?  Or do you all somehow physically resemble ducks?  Maybe you appear to have beak-like faces or webbed feet or your voices sound like Donald Duck's.  If so, then I can understand and accept your chosen nomenclature.

Okay, so let's consider objects like "glasses" or "wheels" or commodities like "toothpaste."  I think that words like these are completely irrelevant to naming a band because they have nothing to do with musical connotations.

So how do you go about naming your band?
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 09, 2021, 10:22:59 PM
I guess you have to think of something a bit memorable, catchy, and unique.

I used to be in a folk band called The Oaklands, only because we got regular gigs in Oaklands Hall in England.

I always liked the name Soft Machine.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 09, 2021, 10:43:29 PM
I think the better ones just come to you. If you think too hard it can sound contrived. Some set of words pop up and you say, yeah, that’s good.

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 10, 2021, 06:04:50 AM
I don’t think you have to link it too strongly to the music.

Lots of successful bands I can’t see any link between their name and their music at all. The Police, REM, Foreigner.

But you could get incongruous results if you don’t pay it at least some attention. Calling a band Bloody Slaughter Death probably won’t work if you do laid back lounge music.

There was a successful Aussie duo called Savage Garden whose music was anything but savage. Didn’t hurt their international success though even then. But it did seem to almost be false advertising.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 11, 2021, 12:03:23 AM
Do you remember Aussie band Sebastian Hardy Moog ?

I always though, strange name for a band, but loved their music

Loco, you could just use a small formula, like the colour of your shirt and what you ate last, in my case that would be Blue Banana  ha2ha
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 11, 2021, 12:41:04 AM
Do you remember Aussie band Sebastian Hardy Moog ?

I always though, strange name for a band, but loved their music

Loco, you could just use a small formula, like the colour of your shirt and what you ate last, in my case that would be Blue Banana  ha2ha

Fawn Egg  ;yes
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 11, 2021, 01:21:09 AM
Do you remember Aussie band Sebastian Hardy Moog ?

I always though, strange name for a band, but loved their music


Oh yeah I remember them. Jon English was their lead singer. Haven’t heard their stuff for years.

I wonder if bands with those type of names get sick of being asked which ones Sebastian or whatever the first name is.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Hello Goodbye on September 11, 2021, 01:25:57 AM
Loco, you could just use a small formula, like the colour of your shirt and what you ate last, in my case that would be Blue Banana  ha2ha

Fawn Egg  ;yes

The Blue Banana and The Fawn Egg

 ;D
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 11, 2021, 01:26:05 PM
Red Salad
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Loco Mo on September 11, 2021, 06:54:38 PM
nimrod:  The Oaklands sounds really good.  I like "Soft Machine," too.  "Blue Banana" is interesting.  Unfortunately, the shirt color and last item eaten don't produce any interesting results for me or anything that I like.

Moogmodule.  I like your examples of the Police, REM, and Foreigner.  I hear those names but don't associate them with their meaning.  They just sound good.  Savage Garden somehow works, too.  "Fawn Egg" sounds really interesting.  I think that's usable.  I saw that Hello Goodbye liked that name, too, as well as Blue Banana.  So I think you've got a couple of fans already for an as yet non-existent group or groups.

I thought of two names I kind of like (not a lot):  The Phonetics and The Notations.  However, they suggest instrumental groups to me, not ones with a lead singer.  They also seem like old school types of names to me.  In my initial post, I referenced "The Ducks."  The more I think about it, the more it grows on me.  Problem is I think we'd be appealing to a rather young age group.  I don't know if a band called "The Ducks" could be taken seriously by real music aficionados.  Another name I like is "Loco Duck and his Crazy Quackers."

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 11, 2021, 10:11:07 PM
Naked Corn Flakes (sorry for TMI but it’s warm this morning. No shirt needed)

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 11, 2021, 10:13:18 PM
Red Salad

If I’d done it last night it would have been Green Chicken Liver. Yours sounds more appetising.

I can see this thread having legs. 
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 11, 2021, 10:34:01 PM
  In my initial post, I referenced "The Ducks."  The more I think about it, the more it grows on me.  Problem is I think we'd be appealing to a rather young age group.  I don't know if a band called "The Ducks" could be taken seriously by real music aficionados.


Unfortunately you’ve been beaten to it

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ducks (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ducks)

Featuring Neil Young no less

They were short lived so you might be right about the name not being taken seriously
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 12, 2021, 01:23:17 PM
Cream pumpkin
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 13, 2021, 12:27:32 AM
Cream pumpkin

Is that a supergroup with Eric Clapton and Billy Corgan?
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 13, 2021, 12:28:33 AM
Grey Sourdough Toast and the Orange Marmalades
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 13, 2021, 01:25:20 AM


^^^^^

You guys are providing some interesting insight into your gustatory and sartorial preferences.  :)
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 13, 2021, 11:56:42 AM

[l]

^^^^^

You guys are providing some interesting insight into your gustatory and sartorial preferences.  :)


Coquelicot Caviar  ;D
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 13, 2021, 11:58:05 AM
^^^^

Oh ok really it was

White Fish and Chips

But that’s not much of a band name.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 13, 2021, 06:21:08 PM
ftp://
But that’s not much of a band name.

Coquelicot Caviar does have a certain cachet. Very fancy-like.  ;)

I'm past due on two deadlines, so my only contribution to this thread would be something along the lines of "[Varicolored] Black Coffee." Which is a contradiction in terms, not to mention boring. I'll leave it to you all.

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 14, 2021, 12:19:34 AM
Black Pudding
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 14, 2021, 07:43:44 AM
Black Pudding

So if you’d been eating black pudding the band name would have been Black Black Pudding. 

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 14, 2021, 07:44:43 AM
Tangerine Leftover Pizza From Last Week

Has to be a psychedelic band.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 15, 2021, 05:27:01 AM
Slimy Green Fish Fingers
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 15, 2021, 08:56:11 AM
Slimy Green Fish Fingers

Thanks so much for that image first thing in the morning.  ;)
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: nimrod on September 15, 2021, 09:36:21 AM
Invisible Custard
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: blmeanie on September 15, 2021, 11:08:13 AM
I think the color/last thing you ate applies more to songs, here are a few I thought of:

blackbird
red red wine
orange crush (little bit of a stretch)
brown sugar
yellow submarine
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 16, 2021, 07:12:35 AM
I think the color/last thing you ate applies more to songs, here are a few I thought of:

blackbird
red red wine
orange crush (little bit of a stretch)
brown sugar
yellow submarine

Green onions
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 18, 2021, 02:20:18 AM


https://inews.co.uk/opinion/beatles-sex-pistols-band-names-music-trends-snapshot-history-1204535 (https://inews.co.uk/opinion/beatles-sex-pistols-band-names-music-trends-snapshot-history-1204535)
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 18, 2021, 02:39:07 AM

[url]https://inews.co.uk/opinion/beatles-sex-pistols-band-names-music-trends-snapshot-history-1204535[/url] ([url]https://inews.co.uk/opinion/beatles-sex-pistols-band-names-music-trends-snapshot-history-1204535[/url])


Funny article. And true. I’m just imagining a band called Bill Haley and the Sex Pistols or Buddy Holly and the Damned coming out in 1955
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 18, 2021, 02:44:34 AM
^^^^

I liked the names of the fishing flies he mentioned.

And, hey, in regard to this thread, does a dish called "Tri-Color Slaw" (shredded cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots, with a vinaigrette) count as incorporating both color and food?  ;D
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 18, 2021, 07:35:54 AM
^^^^

I liked the names of the fishing flies he mentioned.

And, hey, in regard to this thread, does a dish called "Tri-Color Slaw" (shredded cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots, with a vinaigrette) count as incorporating both color and food?  ;D

Hey if you were wearing it and eating it it counts.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 18, 2021, 09:54:04 AM
Puce Fish Cakes
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 18, 2021, 03:34:04 PM
Puce Fish Cakes

Would that be a rose-hued puce or a green-hued puce?  ;)  I realized that, although I know the term, I wasn't exactly sure what shade it represents. So I did a search and found, among other things, this appealing quote:

Puce is actually named for a different fluid entirely: it comes to us from the French couleur puce, meaning "flea-colored," probably for the dried-blood color of squished fleas.

Hey if you were wearing it and eating it it counts.

Well, in that case the band name would be Gray Tri-Color Slaw.   :P

Coquelicot Caviar

I read coquelicot and my mind went immediately to wine, not color. Hm.

Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Normandie on September 19, 2021, 01:00:00 AM
it comes to us from the French couleur puce, meaning "flea-colored," probably for the dried-blood color of squished fleas.[/color]

Actually, Squished Fleas wouldn't be a bad name for a band.  ;)  But I digress.
Title: Re: Band Names
Post by: Moogmodule on September 19, 2021, 01:26:56 AM
I didn’t know there was a green puce. Or that the colour has anything to do with squished fleas.

A band called the Squished Fleas sounds like some grumpy parody of the Beatles at the height of beatlemania.