Band names

[GDan]

How important does everyone here think a bands name is? I was thinking today that surely most names sound bad when you first hear them and every name looks good at the headline of an arena tour?

[jonjonbolt80]

how do you think people would think if a band was named pig f#@ker

[Ex-Cowboy]

Personally i think it's the other way round, names sound good when you first here them, and if they get to the arena stage they sound bad... or maybe it's because i'm sick of them by the time they get there. Ah well, in true noisegeek style i'm making a list..

Good Names
The Jackie-O Mother****ers
Cruci****s
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
Melt Banana
Part Chimp
The Martini Henry Rifles
Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia
Sonic Youth (i still think this is a great name)
Ikara Colt
***** Galore
Chikinki
Lynyrd Skynyrd (this always makes me laugh when someone says it)
Rapeman
The Jesus Lizard

Bad Names
Nickelback
Creed
Something Corporate (a very suitable name)
One True Voice
My Morning Jacket
The Butthole Surfers
The Vines
Staind

Actually, maybe different genres encourage similar formats of name..

[phlanger]

names:

jenny jones make over

15yr old trailor park girls all doped out on meth

x-members of the band -hole

yassir arafat's lonely hearts band

donought punchers

[joeinthebox1980]

ikara colt is a great band name. they've got a pretty cool sound too.

and i personally think that a band name is incredibly important. because if you get big, you pretty much have to stay with that name. you gotta deal with that name. and i think that the name will end up reflecting you as a band.

dumb name? people will think you're a dumb band.
good name? more people will be inclined to see you.

however, i don't necessarily think that a band name has to be a huge symbol for something else. i don't think that it doesn't haven't to necessarily reflect you as a band... as long as the name is good.

[GDan]

I think its important that your name does not give away too many clues about what kind of music you play, I've been put off first listening to too bands just because they sounded like a style I dont like, Later I would hear them and realise I had It uterrly wrong.
Also some of the worst names in my opinion are those that try a bit too hard to be clever.

[jacobhimself]

i dont think it really matters...
just try not to be too trendy, like the "number bands (blink 182, sum 41, etc....) or the "the" bands (the hives, the strokes etc...).

[bellamy_rox]

names can be important, but if it means something to the band, no matter how silly, it doesn't really matter. Like for instance, the band which i am currently playing in is called cheese induced hallucinations or CIH. Either way it can sound good, so to all of our fans (friends, same difference) we are known as cheese induced hallucinations, but to people that don't know us, or people we are trying to impress we are CIH. Plus Enron was taken (dam). One more thing do not have numbers or steal battle plan names, eg. Schliefen Plan, don't know if they are a band, but its a sh#t name. Also, do not mention how many people are in your band and do not tie yourself to any group of people, eg. drug users, alcoholics, goths etc...
Your band name should represent what the band is all about, and your views on life or your humour, not how many stupid words you can get into a name.

Good names that are or were bands: Muse, Cream, The Eagles, Jimmy Eat World, Funkadelics, Rage Against the Machine

[TheWizard]

Thriftstore Apocalypse.

[Hasting]

band names come the best when you don't think about it. Just let it come to you like something you see everyday example (thursday) one of the days out of the week also the name of one of my favorite bands.

also if you do find a name i promise you will always hate it in less then a mounth I don't think there is one band that actually likes there name.

[daveyboy]

I think the coolest band name right now is Alexisonfire, a local band that's starting too get really big.

[boyecho]

a guy i talked to for a long time came up with something pretty good sounding. ' the sound of humans'. doesnt give away any sort of sound at all.. in fact i cant wait to hear them.. all i know is they have brian teasley [birdstuff] from man or astroman/servotron.

our name was elgg rivven. no one could pronounce it. but people recognised it as the name they couldnt pronounce. so we got lucky. it was crazy noisy lo-fi instrumental music.. the name fit us i think.. especially if you know what it means..

[Handsome Devil]

Originally posted by jacobhimself
i dont think it really matters...
just try not to be too trendy, like the "number bands (blink 182, sum 41, etc....) or the "the" bands (the hives, the strokes etc...).
I always thought the coolest bands had a "the" name. Lots of my favourites do( The Smiths, The Beatles, The Stone Roses, The Jam.....) and I don't think it's a trendy thing. But I agree about the "number names", they're awful.

I've always thought that bands who have a name thats appropriate to themselves were cool. Like The Smiths, using such an ordinary name as they looked quite ordinary and their songs were often about the mundaneness of ordinary life.

My band's called the Fray. I don't really know how it suits us! But kinda goes with the music if u could hear us.

[Matt]

I really don't like one syllable band names...

[The User]

one word:
SNOT

[Clayton38]

I personally think that you should pick a name that isn't "cool" or something that you really like. You just need something that you can say "eh, it's okay". You just need to tolerate it... thats it. I think that you need to pick something that sparks somebody's interest enough to stick around, but not something cool. I think bands are coming out with the worst names recently. I mean, when you listen to the new Emo band's names like "Thursday" and "Taking Back Sunday" it kind of puts them in a category of mundane subjects and throws them in the same pot. Hardcore bands like "From Autumn to Ashes" and "Throwdown" give off a juvenile image. I mean, yeah... if you want a band thats tough and serious I guess those names are good. So what happens when theres a time when you want to express a humorous side or maybe give off bizarre vibes? It's going to be harder because their name implies so much about the subjects they are currently feeding people. It's really not that important really, but I'd rather have a band name thats not really telling you anything about the music. Either way, if you have good music to give people, they'll come back to you.

[TheGrinnan]

My former band's name was "Slow Children Playing" right from the stupid road sign. The bassist from that band now has his own outfit, "Disinfranchised Youth." I don't know if he purposely went with the "kids" theme, to me it's just strange that it evolved that way.

To me, band names stereotype your band and everything involved like style, sound, etc. If I could get away with being in a band that had no name, I would.

[EviLTwiN]

my old band was "new dawn fades" which seemed reallycrap at the start, but after a couple of months we WERE new dawn fades, and it all seemed right. Now we need a new one since i fired our singer for being not great and unreliable, and replaced him with a hot girl with teh most amazing voice ever. She sounds like bjork, and the dude who was involved in signing Joy Division knows her and has been following her progress :) (well she did snog his son once). :P

[The User]

Originally posted by EviLTwiN
my old band was "new dawn fades" which seemed reallycrap at the start, but after a couple of months we WERE new dawn fades, and it all seemed right. Now we need a new one since i fired our singer for being not great and unreliable, and replaced him with a hot girl with teh most amazing voice ever. She sounds like bjork, and the dude who was involved in signing Joy Division knows her and has been following her progress :) (well she did snog his son once). :P
1.Working with girls in a band was the best move i ever made. I am the only male in the band.
2.Bjork is very very f*cking cool

[thenoize]

I think one of the best band names is "A Perfect Circle".
The "A" makes it deliciously original. And the overall name is awesome!

How about "Rotations" as the name of an alt. new metal band? What do you think?
:D

[GDan]

I like "Rotations"

I thought of a name I like today: "Drink Bleach" Thing is It sounded kind of familiar so I did a search on it to check I wasnt subconsiously ripping anyone off. I found a song called "You make me wanna drink bleach" but thats ok.

The name I loved for a while was "The Deadstars". I liked it because it was kind of a dark sounding name but the "The" took away a little of the gothyness . After rolling it around a little in my head I decided that it could sound really cool or really bad depending on which way you looked at it.

One easy way to get a name is to thinkof a song or album title you really like, plenty of bands like radiohead have got their names that way. I like:
"Protection"
"Drink Me"
"Rx queen"

[The User]

Best band names ive ever heard:
1. The Superjesus
2. Tool
3. Nirvana

[scarecrowX52]

Ok,

I have to put my band name up here, just because it actually seems to work.


MILITIA DEATHRIDGE


Sounds like a really seriously heavy band at first, (Death, Militaints)

Then you realize how much it sounds like Melissa Etheridge, and all of the sudden it's not as serious as it is funny.

Which is perfect for a fairly heavy band who trys not to take them selves too seriously, (right?)

On top of all that, it kinda stands out and gts noticed, and people actually seem to remember it......and to think our singer actually wanted to change it.

[reptilzar]

greatest name ever:

Paxil Rose.

[EviLTwiN]

thats awful!

The Incredible Whore Revolutionaries
Thats a great name, tho i wouldn't want to be in a band called that :)

[clifford]

my "band" (composed of me and a bassist.. duo just sounds 'not-quite-straight') is called "bbs." it's an acronym, that has no orignal meaning. it's completely open to interpretation.. and when we're impressin the ladies and wanna look all deep and stuff we give them some shpeel like "we feel... like life.. that bbs can stand for anything you make of it."

just hope no one thinks we're "bulletin board system"

[numchuckbitch]

Originally posted by The User
1.Working with girls in a band was the best move i ever made. I am the only male in the band.
2.Bjork is very very f*cking cool
Yea, Bjork is ****ing great! Working with girls in a band, never tried that. Although my girlfriend is gonna start drums soon, and im getting anxious.

[lucky13sp]

my and teh guitarist in my band says that our band should be called "CRIPPLED OCTOPUS!" and i'm like no way man!
i want to call us "one armed scissor" (mars volta anyone?) cause it sound cool and is politicly incorrect.

and contradicting band names are awesome:
the tall dwarfes,
the albino black sheep (that's an awesome one!)

and some other cool ones are:
Head like a hole, (this band renamed themeselves HLAH a while back.)
8 FOOT SATIVA!
the datsuns (the only "THE" band that that has a cool name)
salmonella dub (they're a DUB band)
Son of Spank
falter
filter

crappy band names:
THE CHECKS! (maybe "THE CZECHS would be better!)
carriage H
cabbage H
breathe

[industrialmg]

Bands I've been in since 1992.

Mike and The spikes (Blues)
Less Than 10 (Rock)
Option 440 (Industrial Blues)
Savior Self (Stabbing Westward Tribute)
T.M.O.D.M. (Industrial)
Abbey Court (Industrial)
Influx Cycle (Industrial)
STD (Industrial)
Subdue (Christian Pop-Punk)
Lockjaw (Satanic Hell Rock)
Suite 13 (Electro Dance Rock)
Trinity Gone (Electro Dance Rock)
Slush Cyanide (Electro Dance Industrial Rock)
M**** Machina (Industrial Synth-pop dance EBM Rock)
Eighty-D (Power-pop/Pop-punk)

As you can tell, i am quite possably the greatest human ever. <3

[guidedbyechos]

hahah 80-d thats an awesome name. if that ever gets taken just use 80 hd heheh

[industrialmg]

Actually we are getting it registered because there is a band in AZ called "80-D", and a while back there was a band called "EightyD" but then they changed there name after we...had a few "words" with them.

Yup. :D

[beerski]

my current band has had a helluva time finding a band name. we used to be called endfx, redshift, and four fields during various incarnations, and changes of members... the way i look at it is, if you have a joke-name or a name thats cliche, can you really see it being remembered 20 years later? bands like led zep, pink floyd, black sabbath, their names have lasting-power. anybody think 'rainbow buttmonkeys' could have a lasting career based on that name? jokes get old.

[industrialmg]

Originally posted by beerski
my current band has had a helluva time finding a band name. we used to be called endfx, redshift, and four fields during various incarnations, and changes of members... the way i look at it is, if you have a joke-name or a name thats cliche, can you really see it being remembered 20 years later? bands like led zep, pink floyd, black sabbath, their names have lasting-power. anybody think 'rainbow buttmonkeys' could have a lasting career based on that name? jokes get old.

*insert triumphant organ...*

NICKLEBACK!

*BOOM!*

[miscreated]

I liked the band name Alien Ant Farm

actually I bought their cd just cause the name before I ever heard them...

[lucky13sp]

the dandy warhols, that a good one,
i wonder what any warhol thinks of them, or maybe he's dead, i don't know.

the mars volta is an awesome name.
grinspoon is cool too, and there an awesome aussie band!

[nickname]

I cannot stress this enough: joy division!
Oh yes, and my band's name, Baroque Cycle - its tastefully pretentious without attempting to be

[I.Dissolution]

I don't think band names matter at all. You could be called anything, but if your music is good, no one that likes your music is gonna make fun of you or anything. Look at Limp Bizkit(even though they suck now), they were named after a masturbation game, but they still got a $h!tload of money and fans. So basically, don't worry about the name or the image, worry about the music(unless your a f***ing pop group).

[Melvin]

even though i'm quite positive that it's also the name of a million other bands, my band's name - Pokerface - does what we wanted the name to do... it says NOTHING about us... like in poker, your poker face shouldn't give anything away - whether you've got a flush or a pair... same with us. the only band i can compare us to without going into some self indulgent rant is Deftones... only with a female singer. (while on the topic: yes, having female members IS a good move :D).
we could be a ska band, a hip hop band (even though it would be spelled "POKAFAYZ" or something like that), a band like mr. bungle... anything!
every member has a different influence, bass mainly likes electronic, singer ONLY listens to suff like marilyn munroe, frank sinatra, nancy sinatra, drummer listens to pop punk (unforunately)... the only common influences are between me and the other guitarist, we dig mainly metal and noisy stuff.

i've found alot of these current screamo/hardcore/whatever band names rather cool; poison the well, funeral for a friend, a static lullably, argyle decay, i killed the prom queen etc...

i LOATHE "the" bands... oh, and i don't like naming a band "The ____'s"...
c'om... really, PUT SOME EFFORT INTO IT!

if i remember any other band names/themes to get bands names, ill post them

[fretboardmaster]

Originally posted by Ex-Cowboy
Chikinki

i'm going to see them in the middle of january. they're playing my local theatre as a double headline with kasabian. i've heard a very short snippet of one of their songs, and it sounded pretty cool.

one of my favourite bands, kingadora, named themselves after a dildo, which is a very interesting idea. i don't think however that we'll get many bands called vibratron 2000

[::charlie::]

[AcridPlacidity]

I love most industrial bands' names:
Gravity Kills
Velvet Acid Christ
Ministry

[Ryan_77uk]

My current favourite band names are...

My Bloody Valentine
Tears For Fears

[Hasting]

don't use anymore numbers in names please. Thank u

[Cupid0]

i can't stand it when bands make their name "The [fill in the blank] Conspiracy" or "The [fill in the blank] Theory".
Or if you use that as an album title.
WAY overdone.

[Rock A My Soul]

Obviously it's important, it's the first thing you see from a band. I like band names that take references that work out of context too. For instance, off-hand, They Might Be Giants is a reference to Don Juan, but it sounds cool anyway. Koufax is an obvious reference to Sandy, but it sounds good as just a band name. Wilco is radio operator's code. If it's going to be a joke, it has to be one that still sounds good after hearing it over and over, and that you won't have to explain a bajillion times.

What's wrong with putting "The" in front of a band name? It's nothing new, bands have been doing that since bands have been formed. Particularly cool when everyone takes the same last name, like the Ramones. I was in a band called The Wholesomes, because the other guitarist and drummer kept suggesting really dirty names (like "The Fluffers". come on now.) and the drummer said "Fine, since you keep shooting down my **** names, why don't we just be the Wholesomes?" and to his horror I loved it. I wanted to call another band The Village Bicycle but was vetoed. I like my current band name, A Man A Plan A Canal, and since I'm a dictatorship there's no one else to tell me it sucks.

I found a list of really good/bad band names in the back of a magazine so I put it up on the wall, I'll go get it in the morning and post a few.

[idealflaw]

Originally posted by Ryan_77uk
My current favourite band names are...

My Bloody Valentine
Tears For Fears

i like those names too. too bad tears for fears couldn't have been slightly cooler..

I thought Nine inch Nails was the coolest name in highschool, and it was an amazing 'brand' because those stickers had a perfect shape to them. what a cool logo....
I liked the band name "anything Box" which referenced some book i cant' recall. JOy Division and New ORder had an omenous feeling in those names without being overbearing. (especially considering the contexts.)

I like names of streets for bands, i like foreign words such as "depeche Mode" or "Cibbo Matto".. Those always are ambiguous as to the kind of music, and sound interesting.

I say foreign words is the way to go for me!

[grunge grl]

Band names are very important coz they say a lot about the group. The band names that suck the most exist in the pop genre... I can't stand cheesy boyband names like N'Sync or whatever "cute" crap they come up with... those names that usually have "boys" at the end like backstreet boys.. that's just a wimpy name

Cool band names as you guys mention before tend to sound ambigous... it doesn't even have anything to do with the type of music you play but it reflects your personality in some way

The coolest artist name would be those who were bron with it lke Bjork... that's a cool name, of course it is foreign

[Talent?!]

Alice in Chains (sounds like a movie I rented once.......)
Amen
Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (sounds so stupid it's cool!)
Sepulctura (however it's spelt)
Soulfly
Spinal Tap
Slayer
Iron Maiden
Raging Speedhorn
Killing Joke
great names, great bands

[Cupid0]

best band name: Sigmund Freud and the Mama's Boys

[HunterRoyal]

One of my favorate bands was from the Dallas scene called Dollybraid. They mainly had a rock/funk sound to them and could cover and Rage Against the Machine song perfect...some sounded even better. I heard the name and just had a feeling they rocked. I've always been a huge fan of the Nixons as well. They were grunge at first, but hit a little late.

I've actually refused to hear some bands if they're name sounds stupid or just bad....

Although some are the opposite and their name is cool, but they suck..I.E. - As I lay Dying

I was in a band called "Fallen to Earth." Not sure what that sounds like.

[manboy]

Originally posted by fretboardmaster:
i don't think however that we'll get many bands called vibratron 2000
what are you talking about? that's a perfect band name and now i want it.

and i also don't have a problem with "the" in front of a band names. that was going on back in the 50s. seems like a pretty long time for a fad to me.

[idealflaw]

Originally posted by Talent?!
Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (sounds so stupid it's cool!)


that band is a ****ing riot! I thought i was the only dude ever to hear of them..

[BrandoMonologue]

I always thought Overwhelming Colorfast had a cool name. The one word names don't bother me so much. Arcwelder still sounds pretty cool to me. Curve works for me too. And of course, Motorhead...

[industrialmg]

the two worst band names EVER -

Slush Cyanide and Eighty-D

Love,
Mike
From Eighty-D
and Slush Cyanide

[Talent?!]

Originally posted by idealflaw
that band is a ****ing riot! I thought i was the only dude ever to hear of them..

dude! You'ra talking about one of my favourite bands ever!
You heard the new song 'mr mental'?

[apocalypsecow]

Originally posted by beerski
my current band has had a helluva time finding a band name. we used to be called endfx, redshift, and four fields during various incarnations, and changes of members... the way i look at it is, if you have a joke-name or a name thats cliche, can you really see it being remembered 20 years later? bands like led zep, pink floyd, black sabbath, their names have lasting-power. anybody think 'rainbow buttmonkeys' could have a lasting career based on that name? jokes get old.

But, on the other side of that coin there's the Flaming Lips, who've been around since the early 80s. Quality comes before the label.

[lucky13sp]

that's an awesome name, wonder if it attracts chicks? man, or maybe they're to busy with other chicks (hence the name!)

[redlighttaxi]

I love the names of the bands I'm in (or were in).

first there was red light taxi (post hardcore, pre screamo), came to our drummer in a dream. I just like it.

then the side project, 2 O'Clock Girlfriend (noise-improviso-grind). You know that girl that you call up at 2am, when you wanna just have some fun?

then after RLT broke up I got Très Bien! (indie rock). Very Good! You'd be surprised how many people there are that know absolutley no french. it's great. Someone thought it meant "three's good" which is extra funny because we're a 4-piece.

And my newest band, The Same (post everything rock). I think it's ****ing genious. The Same. Ahh, it sounds so good to me.

oh yeah, you can hear some 2oG at quite possibly the worst website ever . :D www.2oclockgirlfriend.cjb.net (http://www.2oclockgirlfriend.cjb.net )

[jacobhimself]

best band name ever - The Hot Villians...


lol, i just realized what i posted in this thread earlier... oh well... cant please everyone:rolleyes:

[flipperbaby]

Originally posted by daveyboy
I think the coolest band name right now is Alexisonfire, a local band that's starting too get really big.

how local for you man?

[slcrock]

i was in a trashy punk/rock band called the
Christ Punchers... hahah

[maclean]

Stone Temple Pilots
Rage Against the Machine

[apocalypsecow]

Originally posted by lucky13sp
that's an awesome name, wonder if it attracts chicks? man, or maybe they're to busy with other chicks (hence the name!)

It's actually a **** reference, so you never know....

[BadHorsie]

too much reading...

but my band is called KoldBurn

its a play on words, an altered version of my last name, and painful.

so I took my last name (Colborne) and then changed it to use the german heritage spelling (Kolborn, Kolburn, Kolbourn...etc.). Kolburn looked coo and seeing as how my last name was changed by accident due to medical records being screwey back between 1880-1920 i could have any one of those names.

So having that part...I always call the burning sensation you get when you come in to a warm house after being in freezing cold air "Cold Burn"...it was just a logical and funny step to coming up with the final heavy metal result.

KoldBurn!

[PlasticSuperhro]

my bands name is plastic superhero

It has double meanings, to tired to explain. Just think about it

[kissmydisease]

How about Rusty Zipper and the Bleeding Scrotums

[thefuryiswithin]

id post my band name but i think its so killer that someone might steal it :D

[boone]

I don't think there are any set rules to a good band name. Because there are some good ones and bad ones in the same catagory.

Verb-like nouns: Weezer, good. Floater, bad.

"The" names: The Who, good. The Goo-goo Dolls, bad.

Et cetera.

My personal favorite name:
Kathleen Turner Overdrive

[NoteBOOM]

DoucheBuddha.

Not a real band, but a damn cool name.

[The Doors]

Originally posted by boone
My personal favorite name:
Kathleen Turner Overdrive

What? Don't you like "Sonic Death Monkey" or "Barry Jive and the Uptown Five"?

[jonny]

I hope this is not against the rules but there is a website greatnameforaband.com that creates some really funny names. It is going all around school. Personally, my old bands name was Big Creepy Old Guy...then we were Rusty Trombone.

[SublimeSurf]

i agree. brainstorming names is like a joke because they all sound terrible. i think a secret to a good name is a double meaning or something trippy. u just gotta remember others think more highly of it than the creators.

[flipperbaby]

eggy and the yolks?:confused:

[NoteBOOM]

The electric genitals

[mnemonic]

Massive Attack
Travis
Radiohead
Longwave
twothirtyeight
Sigur Ros
Jimmy Eat World
Incubus
Lucero
Pedro the Lion
The Black Heart Procession
American Analog Set
Brand New

... All top notch names if you ask me. I think name is extremely important, because I never want a band name that makes me think "Crappy local band."

[Coke Babies]

Rage againts the machine
Radiohead
Stone temple pilot
Alice in chains
Nirvana
Incubus
Rinocerose
Air
Massive attack

What do you think about Britney's fears? is so stupid that i liked it.
BTW its not the name of my band.

[fats]

My band's called "Mama and the Paparazzi".

I think it has a nice ring to it.

[Dan the Man]

A friend and I almost made a thrash band called Body Attack. It just reminds me of moshing.