Maybe this is because I grew up in a tiny rural hamlet with no live music scene other than school band concerts and church choir, but it never ceases to amaze me that in Seattle, you can find live music of every genre at multiple venues every night of the week. More than forty venues submit listings to the Seattle Times, and that doesn't include the informal or underground venues that don't publish their shows. It seems we're always mourning the loss of some favorite dive bar or little theater, but then a new place opens up or somebody gets creative with an existing space. It might not be like it was back in the day (whenever that was) but we still have it pretty good. Although I'm too old and tired to get to as many shows as I'd like, I will continue to support the scene at least by celebrating the naming of bands. Here's what caught my eye this week:
Birdstriking
I know a birdstrike is something pilots want to avoid. In participle form, it suggests an act birds take deliberately to bring down planes. Perhaps they resent humans' intrusion in their airspace.
CHURCH
This name makes explicit the idea that hearing music with other people can (should?) be a spiritual experience. Add to that my multiple, lifelong entanglements in church life, and of course I'm going to pick this one -- it's personal.
The Copyrights
It's a literary reference -- not to the creative, inspiring, romantic side, but to the boring, bureaucratic end of things. When you set an uninteresting function off by itself as a band name, it lights up!
Least of These
This seems to fit into one of my personal favorite categories, "loser pride." Own it, and make it look like you're winning. I also have to like the Biblical reference to those Jesus calls us to serve.
Starsailor
This one hits both my literary and science buttons. My fascination with space travel began with Apollo 11 and only increased once I learned to read and discovered science fiction. It wasn't until I studied a little Greek in college that I learned what a beautiful, poetic, dare I say romantic name NASA chose for U.S. space travelers. Astronaut literally means "star sailor."
Naming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are listed alphabetically. Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won't know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!
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