Who else hates when someone beats you to a name?

[10cc]

David and the boys

 

[Ostie]

Back in the day you could have a local or regional band, and maybe there was another band by the same name on the west coast, and nobody knew or cared. Now, with the great blessing and curse of the inter web, you come up with a great band name, search the web, and somebody in Peoria already has it.

 

[40Hz]

It's not a band. It's the pseudonym of a visual artist.

The reason I think of names that are basically ___________and the_____________, is that they are drawing all the attention to one member, when the rest of the band are regular members who just don't get mentioned. So, even though I liked Tom Petty, I disliked the naming convention that disregarded the assorted Heartbreakers.

The entertainment world is personality driven. And the music industry basically is only interested in the “creatives” (i.e. songwriters) and “faces” (frontmen/lead players) because that’s the image of the product they’re selling.

Calling a band ‘XYZ and The Rest of the Guys’ may annoy some people. But it’s the reality of the business. The songwriter and front people are considered the show. Everybody else, regardless of their contributions, are “the crew.”

 

[Phalex]

I kinda like the idea of the backing band having the band name and the front person using either a pseudonym of their actual name.

I kinda want to start a band and call it “Erectile Dysfunction”.

So we’d be “John Smith with Erectile Dysfunction”

I think it would look great on a marquee.

 

[Rabidhamster]

On the down side, the whole "You don't count." level of employment. Very much like being a McDonalds counter person hanging out with the Kroc family, if that makes sense.

That sums up my last day job perfectly.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Use the name anyway. You cannot copyright a band name, you can only trademark it. And even if you have a trademark, you still have to defend it to keep it. This is the part the lawyers never tell you about, because this is how you become a revenue stream for them. Somebody has to send those cease and desist letters, and they are not written for free.

 

[HardNHeavy]

ugh....its actually really hard to come up with a band name everyone likes...dunno how many times we've racked our brains tryng to think up something...And when you finally do think of one, make sure nobody else has claimed it and have the phone in your hand to call a lawyer and trademark offices.....because that's how quickly it will be gone if you dont

 

[DanGroove]

Hey Guys -

Basically exactly what the title says. My given name is just way too lame to use as a stage name. So back in the day I'd always be the singer/bassist/lyricist for a band and we'd go by the band name collectively.

That works as long as it's a good collective name for the band. Rush? Good. Journey? Good. Gov't Mule? Still good. anything that includes one person's name, but not everyone's? Bad. So for example: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? Fail.

You can also fail with extra credit if you come up with a perfectly good band name and then STILL include stage names for some members, like 1/3 of The Police, or 1/2 of U2. Extra credit points to the Ramones for doing that one right.

The main reason my given name sucks for this kind of situation is that my last name is a common first name. And my first name is a common last name. So for my entire fifty five years of life, well meaning idiots have corrected me when I introduced myself, like they know my name better having just met me than I do having lived with it forever.

I suppose I could use a fake band name for just me, like Uncle Banzai, or Iron and Wine. But that doesn't feel very "me".

Then it hit me, a perfectly awesome stage name that actually re-used part of my own name AND made a nice ironic statement on a black and white cover picture, because it's a mnemonic for all the colors of the spectrum. Roy G Biv.

Yeah. It's taken.

SO frustrated.

Sounds like your given name is Perfect for a stage name to me. A common trick I've used is using my last name as a first name and adding an S to my first name for my last name. It's a trick I stole from another musician I played with a while. He was Ed Jackson, but his musical name is Jackson Edwards. Using the same trick I am sometimes Garrett Daniels which just sounds more musiciany than it does the correct way around.

 

[DanGroove]

ugh....its actually really hard to come up with a band name everyone likes...dunno how many times we've racked our brains tryng to think up something...And when you finally do think of one, make sure nobody else has claimed it and have the phone in your hand to call a lawyer and trademark offices.....because that's how quickly it will be gone if you dont

Going through that now. Every name that is mutually liked is already taken.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

Hey Guys -
Basically exactly what the title says. My given name is just way too lame to use as a stage name. So back in the day I'd always be the singer/bassist/lyricist for a band and we'd go by the band name collectively.
SO frustrated.

First band I played in (Punk) was named Public Enemy but were disbanded by the time the OTHER Public Enemy showed up

 

[JRA]

My given name is just way too lame to use as a stage name.

"Never trust a man with two first names". So say's my wife of 32 years. I've lived your story and can empathize. I have the same affliction and I blame my late parents. It was probably cute in the moment but they had no clue......

yeah, what's with that parents-naming-their-children thing? i begged my parents (really lovely people in their own right) not to name me JRA, but: that was my father's name --- so they 'colluded' and began calling me JRA against my will and my better judgment. by the time i cut my first record, it was already 'out there' and i felt i had no choice but to accept it. bummer! i have used a couple of stage names to hide the embarrassment... nay, the stigma.

but if you see a bunch of hits being marketed as "JRA" just know that it isn't me --- i'm here, on TB, even though i'm the real JRA!

per the OP: my brother's name is roy g. biv = so that's already taken! better luck next time!

 

[micguy]

The main reason my given name sucks for this kind of situation is that my last name is a common first name. And my first name is a common last name.

My first name is a common last or first name. My last name is a common last or first name (my grand nephew has my last name as his first name). Fortunately, my middle name is a common first or last name. Wait...that didn't help.

So, you have to get creative - that shouldn't be difficult for a musician. ABBA was 4 letters from the member's names - everyone got into the name, without anyone being the name; hopefully the didn't argue about who was the "first A". That, something like that, or some other creative solution will work. Maybe put the names of everyone in the band into an anagram generator - there will probably be fodder for discussion from that.

 

[Timmah]

Back in the day you could have a local or regional band, and maybe there was another band by the same name on the west coast, and nobody knew or cared. Now, with the great blessing and curse of the inter web, you come up with a great band name, search the web, and somebody in Peoria already has it.

It’s always Peoria.

 

[rtslinger]

Hey Guys -

Basically exactly what the title says. My given name is just way too lame to use as a stage name. So back in the day I'd always be the singer/bassist/lyricist for a band and we'd go by the band name collectively.

That works as long as it's a good collective name for the band. Rush? Good. Journey? Good. Gov't Mule? Still good. anything that includes one person's name, but not everyone's? Bad. So for example: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? Fail.

You can also fail with extra credit if you come up with a perfectly good band name and then STILL include stage names for some members, like 1/3 of The Police, or 1/2 of U2. Extra credit points to the Ramones for doing that one right.

The main reason my given name sucks for this kind of situation is that my last name is a common first name. And my first name is a common last name. So for my entire fifty five years of life, well meaning idiots have corrected me when I introduced myself, like they know my name better having just met me than I do having lived with it forever.

I suppose I could use a fake band name for just me, like Uncle Banzai, or Iron and Wine. But that doesn't feel very "me".

Then it hit me, a perfectly awesome stage name that actually re-used part of my own name AND made a nice ironic statement on a black and white cover picture, because it's a mnemonic for all the colors of the spectrum. Roy G Biv.

Yeah. It's taken.

SO frustrated.

hmmm what about this one taken
Bard2dbone?

 

[Charlzm]

I don't think I understand this. You mean it would be bad if, say, you were fronting the Heartbreakers using your own real name?

About cool names already taken, yeah sure, that's frustrating. It must've been nice for people forming bands in the 60s when you could go with something simple like Rush.

Rush is my favorite band, but I have to admit that their band name is nothing special. I bet lots of bands tried to use that name before Rush became generally known.

I didn't know Roygbiv was a band name, but I do know it's a song title by the electronic group Boards of Canada.

I have been reading the Rush tour history book ("Wandering the Face of the Earth") and there was one gig listed with Rush, Mahogany Rush and Bullrush all on the bill. Wow.

 

[LBS-bass]

I totally get why Tom had his name out front. It just kinda seems that that would suck if you were Benmont or Mike.
.

If I remember correctly, the decision to put Tom out front and include his name was made by the record label. Tom didn't like it and wanted the band to just be the Heartbreakers. This is a recollection I have from watching a biographical video about him not long after he died, so I might be misremembering.

 

[mikewalker]

maybe try CMYK ??

 

[LBS-bass]

yeah, what's with that parents-naming-their-children thing? i begged my parents (really lovely people in their own right) not to name me JRA, but: that was my father's name --- so they 'colluded' and began calling me JRA against my will and my better judgment. by the time i cut my first record, it was already 'out there' and i felt i had no choice but to accept it. bummer! i have used a couple of stage names to hide the embarrassment... nay, the stigma.

but if you see a bunch of hits being marketed as "JRA" just know that it isn't me --- i'm here, on TB, even though i'm the real JRA!

per the OP: my brother's name is roy g. biv = so that's already taken! better luck next time!

At least you were not female and had the label stick your married name everywhere without bothering to ask you what name you'd like to use. I will forever be known in some select circles by a name I only wore for about three years.

As for _______ and the _______ names, if the bandleader has a following, do that all day long. I was in a band like that in the eighties. The BL was really popular at a regional level from solo work he'd done in that area for years. His name was the draw, didn't matter what the band was called. We made good money, so I didn't care.

 

[JRA]

At least you were not female and had the label stick your married name everywhere without bothering to ask you what name you'd like to use. I will forever be known in some select circles by a name I only wore for about three years.

you're right, of course. i was only joking --- but women have had to live up to 'expectations' on that name thing since the beginning of time... though things have changed in our lifetimes.

 

[catcauphonic]

I know it breaks your one member and the 'xxx' band name, but I have to give props to one of my besties who's name is Michael Ray Sheets (yea, he was born in the South.) He's the singer, lyricist, and lap steel player for the psychedelic country punk band called Michael Ray and the Plastic Sheets, which I think is quite genius. Also props to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, as well as Joey Tampon and the Toxic Shocks