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Picking a band name sucks

#131
I like dorky sci fi references. Like Face of Boe:

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I was going to name a band "7 Zark 7" until I found out someone had taken it.

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#132
hrodbert696 said:
It does. I'm putting a new cover band together, we have contacts we can get gigs from but I'd like to be able to at least tell them the name of the band we're asking them to book. We've been practicing together about six weeks now, starting putting nominations out there from day one. Here's the list of name ideas that came out:

Ow That Hurt (or just Ow)
Dirty Bubbles
Rock Bottom
The Ride
Bubblehead
Argyle Gargoyle
Get in the Van
Mug Shot Mary
Junk Drawer
The Kin
Long Hand
Payphones
What's Left
Ride the Beauty
The Last Call
All God's Dogs
Four Tea Thieves
Born on a Ship
Frogfeet
The Nibblers
Rider
The Third Way
The Kicks
The Easy Part
The Transients
Objects in the Mirror
The Switch

A week ago, we finally agreed to go with the Switch (three of us used to be in a band together called Switchblade Beat and it would have been a nice reference). Then I went home and googled it and found a bunch of other bands using the name. None are in our area but I'm concerned it would make it harder for anyone trying to search for us to find us. So I told the others this over email, and the singer and guitarist agreed to change it. We thought "Mug Shot Mary" sounded like a drug but modified it to Mug Shot Monday and were ready to go with that. But the drummer never bothers checking his email, so we get together for practice last night and he vetoes the name when he hears it.

Further discussion, no clear winner emerges, so we take a different approach. Pass the list of names around on a sheet of paper, everyone cross out any names that they positively do not want to use. One principle I laid down is that no one should be playing under a name they hate; I used to be in a band called Wipt (name chosen before I joined) where every single %&*@ing gig the female singer would introduce the band by saying, "Hi, we're Wipt! Well, the boys in the band are whipped, I'm the one holding the whip!" Hardy har har. So the paper goes around, everyone cuts the names they dislike, we wind up with nine candidates. Cut them into slips of paper, put them into a hat, and draw one. What comes out is... Longhand.

We're not sure how it will work as a name, so we said we'd use it for six months and not spend a lot of money on marketing with it, just a facebook page and maybe $60 for a banner to start. Then we'll review after six months and see if we want to keep using it or go with something else.

Yeesh. At least we have something to work with now. I'm itching to get gigging.
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I misread something as "Get in the Van, Mary"... Not bad!

Stephanie is the BL's wife. A suggestion came around - Saints and Sinners. Then it turned into Stephanie and the Sinners. But we decided to keep it people friendly and called ourselves Stephanie and the Saints! First gig tonight, so we will find out how the name floats...
 
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#135
Call it "Naked Ladies Tonight" or "Free Beer" and you will always get people to pull in to hear you. :)

But on the serious side, names do not matter unless it's stupid, has nothing to do with the music you play, cheesy or makes you sound like a garage band playing out for the first time.

Again on the serious side, I have played bass in cover bands under the names like:
Free Style
The Pedestrians
Silent Partner
Domestic Geoffrey
Four Below Zero
Mylkbone later changed to Thunder Grapes (my recomendation)
The Menace, prior to that it was Dennis and the Menace (Dennis the singer left the band so we shortened the name)
The Stones River Rockers
and sit in with a band called Junk Box

As you can see there are really no winners in the name of the bands but several of the bands Domestic Geoffrey, Four Below Zero, and the Thunder Grapes where booked out of Nashville from 1990-1996 and we played a boat load of gigs for great money. I thought the names Domestic Geoffrey, and Four Below Zero where cheesy but I did not mind making the money under those names.

You will know it when the right name comes up or you can accept something stupid, cheesy, just to get booked. Good Luck
 
#140
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