What's the essence of a good band name?

[RichieP_MechE]

This question has been on my mind recently. The jazz group I play with has turned into more of a Motown and Soul band, and our current name (4R Jazz) doesn't really reflect the type of group we are anymore. We plan to start playing with a new name starting in January 2014. Over the next two months we'll be debating over what the new name should be.

 

As we work towards this, I am curious to what you think. What makes a band name good?

[mate stubb]

1. clever and pithy - easy to remember

2. suggests what kind of music you do

3. website for that name not already taken

4. nobody in the band hates it

[EscapeRocks]

Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters

[EscapeRocks]

1. clever and pithy - easy to remember

2. suggests what kind of music you do

3. website for that name not already taken

4. nobody in the band hates it

 

 

All good, especially number 4!!

[stoken6]

There's something about rhyme, rhythm and cadence. The Rolling Stones have a repeated (stressed) vowel, so do (first to pop into my head) Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Dead Kennedys - even Elvis Presley

 

If I was a decent writer, I could evolve this into something more interesting. I'm not, so I'll stop.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Dave Weiser]

There's something about rhyme, rhythm and cadence. The Rolling Stones have a repeated (stressed) vowel, so do (first to pop into my head) Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Dead Kennedys - even Elvis Presley

 

If I was a decent writer, I could evolve this into something more interesting. I'm not, so I'll stop.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

I agree 100% about the cadence of these names rolling off the tongue and being pleasing to the ear... just as a name like They Might Be Giants is an affront all that is decent IMHO.

(Good band though!)

 

It depends on the type of band and its mission I suppose.

 

Some of my favorite names were on the humorous side, but understandably that's not going to work for many instances.

Of these, Kathleen Turner Overdrive was my fav.

 

Here are some of the legit names (that I like) for bands in which I've played:

Three Martini Lunch - jazz combo

Sugar Daddy - original funk/rock

Clydesdale Cowboys - Nashville style honkytonk band (and not 100% serious)

The Rods - Faces tribute band

 

 

[Brettymike]

Those are all Great names for a band Dave! .

 

Brett

[DulceLabs.com]

 

 

http://www.bandnamemaker.com/

[Philip Clark]

"We have to be 'the' something. All the great sixties bands were 'The Somethings.'"

[HammondDave]

The Phlegm Tones...

[Charleston]

S & M

 

You know....soul and Motown....and it could be really interesting in who shows up in the confusion.

 

S & M: "Soul and Motown Experience"

[Steve Nathan]

Noticed you're from Pittsburgh. While playing around with that Band Name generator, I stumbled onto

Rust Belt Manifesto

For some reason, I like the way that sounds

[Mogut]

"The Juicy Centers"

[Marzzz]

"We have to be 'the' something. All the great sixties bands were 'The Somethings.'"

That's funny....I was going to suggest a name without "The"

 

The name of this band is Talking Heads

[Dave Bryce]

1. clever and pithy - easy to remember

2. suggests what kind of music you do

3. website for that name not already taken

4. nobody in the band hates it

Perfect.

 

dB

[Michael W]

http://www.bandnamemaker.com/

 

LOL, great stuff.

[Phloid]

...Kathleen Turner Overdrive was my fav.

 

Here are some of the legit names (that I like) for bands in which I've played:

Three Martini Lunch - jazz combo

Sugar Daddy - original funk/rock

Clydesdale Cowboys - Nashville style honkytonk band (and not 100% serious)

The Rods - Faces tribute band

 

At first I did not see the Bachman association and only thought of how overdrive applied to Kathleen Turner. At one time she could have been the inspiration for such a band name. I liked the name better when it was all about her.

 

The four legit names sound increasingly like porno flick titles and increasingly gay porno flicks at that.

 

 

[MuzikTeechur]

I agree - fun, easy to remember, names are best. Locally there's a band called "Big Jim and the Twins" - a little naughty, the "ih" vowel is carried throughout, easy to remember.

My band is "The SoulMate Band" which suggests nothing but sugary love songs all night, but we've managed to overcome that. (named thus because the lead singer and the bassist are 'soulmates' *yech* and it's their band).

Another local band which has ripped off George Clinton and Parliament calls themselves "Motor Booty Affair" and they're wildly successful, even though they're more backing track than live.

I think bands that name the leader are the height of ego, unless that leader is very well known (i.e. "The Harvey Milquetoast Project").

You never know: "Third Eye Blind" is named after a dog's anus, and they made money.

[hurricane hugo]

nobody in the band hates it

 

To this day, Bono still hates the name U2.

 

[RichieP_MechE]

Good thoughts here, everyone! (and some interesting names too )

 

2. suggests what kind of music you do

This is another part of the naming process we've been debating. While we are doing more motown stuff at bar gigs, we still get the occasional restaurant background music gig, where we pare down to just a quartet (sax/piano/bass/drums) and play standards. We are still going to be doing this in the future. So do try to make a name that could cover us at either type of gig, or do we have two different band names that we use depending on the gig?

 

The option that works best for this would be "Singer Name" and the "such and such", as we could play the straight up jazz gigs under the "such and such". Of course, the issue with this is naming the band after the singer, as we know that the lineup of a band is often subject to change (though our singer is incredible and if she quit we'd be totally screwed).

 

There's something about rhyme, rhythm and cadence. The Rolling Stones have a repeated (stressed) vowel, so do (first to pop into my head) Led Zeppelin, White Stripes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Dead Kennedys - even Elvis Presley

 

If I was a decent writer, I could evolve this into something more interesting. I'm not, so I'll stop.

 

Cheers, Mike.

Good insight, thanks Mike!

 

Noticed you're from Pittsburgh. While playing around with that Band Name generator, I stumbled onto

Rust Belt Manifesto

For some reason, I like the way that sounds

Ha! I like it too but it seems more fitting for a punk band.

 

 

http://www.bandnamemaker.com/

Yes! All of our problems are solved!

 

There's also this giant thread in the Bass Player forum chock full of ideas! Name my band!

[Steve Force]

I thought up some band names I liked (at the time) and proceeded to score the web domain names (just in case..)

[opdigits]

How about:

 

"Hitsville" or "Hitsville (your city/state)" - like, "Hitsville PA"

 

I think that has a nice ring to it and is apropos.

 

Or "SoulTown"

 

One of the best band names I ever came up with, because it got the most compliments/questions/comments of all the other bands I was ever in, and because it was just plain 'ol fun, was "Girl In The Middle." We were from a 3 to a 7 piece with 3 lead singers (2 guys & a girl). It rolled nicely off the tongue, had great visual utility, and people just loved it. It made them smile and think and wonder.

 

I agree with mate_stubb, except for #3, which doesn't really matter as there are always available domain name variations.

[stillplaying]

Soultown is a great suggestion.

[Dave Weiser]

...Kathleen Turner Overdrive was my fav.

 

Here are some of the legit names (that I like) for bands in which I've played:

Three Martini Lunch - jazz combo

Sugar Daddy - original funk/rock

Clydesdale Cowboys - Nashville style honkytonk band (and not 100% serious)

The Rods - Faces tribute band

 

At first I did not see the Bachman association and only thought of how overdrive applied to Kathleen Turner. At one time she could have been the inspiration for such a band name. I liked the name better when it was all about her.

 

The four legit names sound increasingly like porno flick titles and increasingly gay porno flicks at that.

 

 

All of my band names are derived from gay porno flicks.

 

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/12/01/johnny-depp-all-my-characters-are-gay/

 

 

[lightbg]

Most of you youngsters wouldn't remember this, but when Steve Allen invented the Tonight Show he did his monologue from a Baldwin grand piano center stage. There were 2 small barrels next to him: one had adjectives, the other had nouns. He announced from time to time that he would be happy to name any band free of charge just by picking out a slip of paper from both barrels I don't remember any of the names, but about once a month somebody scored.

[mikke]

we had a band many years ago called "Target Utopia" you are welcome to use it if it is not being used by any one else.

[nickd]

Some good points here. I'd also add that you need a name you won't be embarrassed to say when someone asks you what your band is called.

 

And a name that someone can write down and spell correctly when you've told them it over the phone.

[jcazzy]

A guy that works at the local pub is from a community called Doyle. He told me the name of a local band he was in once was called 'Burning Down Doyle'. I kinda like that as it's a bit catchy and I guess that's what I'm trying to imply here. Use a name that everyone can relate to including the band members.

[NoahZark]

The option that works best for this would be "Singer Name" and the "such and such", as we could play the straight up jazz gigs under the "such and such". Of course, the issue with this is naming the band after the singer, as we know that the lineup of a band is often subject to change (though our singer is incredible and if she quit we'd be totally screwed).

 

Who says you have to use the singer's real name (or that, even if you did use the singer's real name, you couldn't keep using the name even if she left and was replaced with another female singer)? One of the bands I was in came pretty close to calling ourselves "Johnny and the Cosmonauts" despite the fact that there was no one named Johnny in the band. We just liked the way it sounded.

 

Noah

[Bridog6996]

Ask Darius Rucker how calling his band "Hootie and the Blowfish" turned out. Rucker wasn't "Hootie" before, but he is now.