November 23, 2014

Due to a shortened holiday week, the pickings are a little slim in the club listings, so I'm taking this opportunity to do a Thanksgiving Retrospective of some favorites from the past. I have selected from Square Pig's first year in two categories: Names that are still Hands-Down Brilliant and Bands that have Been on a Bill with Your Mother Should Know. Here's what I had to say way back when:

Hands-Down Brilliant


Eighteen Individual Eyes
(from November 13, 2010) I have delighted in this name for months, so I'm thrilled they came up this week. The inclusion of "individual" makes it for me -- it's not just "eighteen eyes" but "eighteen individual eyes."  Is this an eighteen-eyed creature, each eye functioning independently? Eighteen one-eyed creatures? A nine-piece band? It's also fun to say -- all those vowels just roll off the tongue.

Out Like Pluto
(from November 20, 2010) I like Pluto. I'm sorry it got demoted from the planet club. On the other hand, it's so far out, maybe it doesn't want to be in our lame club.

High Class Wreckage
(from January 8, 2011) Yay! I've been waiting for these guys to show up. This name trips off the tongue, yet feels like an oxymoron. Full disclosure: I've seen High Class Wreckage twice. Their shows are reliably loud, dumb, full-on fun. Expect high-jinks and physical contact. (Technically, HCW was on a bill with YMSK, but before my tenure so I'm not counting it).

Garage a Trois
(from April 16, 2011) The perfect relationship in the garage-band capital. Way to pull off a foreign-language pun! (I'm also amused that the band is a four-piece).

Gazebo of Destruction
(from May 14, 2011) This one belongs to the opposing images school of band names. "Gazebo" is refined, elegant, civilized. "Destruction" is everything but. It doesn't hurt that "gazebo" figures in a couple of running family jokes.



 On a Bill with Your Mother Should Know

Ancient Warlocks
(from February 5, 2011) This appeals to my fantasy-novel side. Music and fiction are the closest to magic we can get: something out of nothing. It also evokes Spinal Tap and their tiny Stonehenge, and that makes me smile.

Black Plastic Clouds
(from November 5, 2011) As if black clouds weren't threatening enough! Any mention of black plastic reminds me of the ultimately ineffective weed barrier the previous owner of our house used in the front yard. We were digging pieces of black plastic out of the ground for years.


Curtains for You
(from December 4, 2010) Full disclosure: I'd heard of this band years before I saw them at the Columbia City Theatre (which has a stage with actual curtains), and the keyboard player has visited my house. But I think I would list them even if that weren't so. I like how the name references another era and aspect of American pop culture. (I tend to pronounce it "coitains" like the gangsters in old Bugs Bunny cartoons.) 


Pouch
(July 2, 2011) I've been hearing about these guys and liked the name from the start. Pouch is one of those words that's fun and funny to say. (I'm planning to go hear them at EMP today, so it seemed like a good time to drop them into the blog.) I hope to see more bands named for hand luggage.

November 2, 2013

Today we celebrate three years of Square Pig in a Round Hole, and bid a sad farewell to longtime fave Curtains for You, featured in the fifth post of this blog. Based on Facebook response, their "last live show ever" was shaping up to be a real love-fest. Who will be the new Curtains for You? Perhaps one of these:

Bad Motivators
I'm a sucker for an obscure Star Wars reference, especially one that implies disreputable influences. Plus, they're on a bill with two of my favorite local bands: Acapulco Lips and Red Ribbon!

Dead Animal Assembly Plant
I'm picturing a slaughterhouse in reverse, turning out reanimated livestock -- perfect for the holiday just past.

Def Leprechaun
I'm assuming tribute band here, which is often where you get the best wordplay. Or badass fiddle outfit. There's something engaging about that turn from sleek jungle cat to cereal-box sprite.

Pentagraham Crackers
Also fitting for Halloween, something dark rendered harmless by a comfort-food image.

Trivium
The only thing more trivial than trivia is a single trivium. I have only recently learned that "trivium" is part of classical academic education. I don't remember seeing the word before, so I was tickled to come across it as a band name.

December 1, 2012

Your Mother Should Know is recording a new song this afternoon, so I have to keep this brief -- only four bands instead of five. Let's get to it:

Buffalo Jones
Johnny Unicorn
I was delighted to find these two on the same bill. They use the same format -- name + animal -- but in reverse of each other, so there's balance.

The Cocktail Revisionists
This sounds serious and academic, except -- cocktails.


Swingset Showdown
I don't know how I've gone this long without mentioning this band. I know they've made the short list in the past, but somehow never got into the top 5. I love the childish aggression of it. Tickled to learn that the drummer works at my neighborhood video store, so there's a micro-local connection, too. And they sound like the goofy kid brothers of Curtains for You!

September 15, 2012

Best wishes to longtime Square Pig faves (and friends of Your Mother Should Know) Curtains for You, playing at the Paramount tonight!!! They're opening for The Head and the Heart, but I'm rooting for CFY to steal the show. As always, there are lots of creative band names out there this week, including:

Baba Ganoosh
What's not to like about a band named for a food that sounds like a person's name? I'm also a fan of garlicky eggplant dip, so there you go.

Chixdiggit
This one gets in for self-confidence and creative spelling. It looks like the name for an effects pedal. It's the one that makes an out-of-shape guitarist look like a rock god.

Fearless Lieder
Any band that can combine references to German art song and Rocky and Bullwinkle gets my vote. I see this and I hear Boris Badenov saying it. "That voice! Where have I heard that voice?"

Icky Blossoms
I like the word "icky." Then there's the apparent disconnect with "blossoms," typically a nice, non-icky concept. Are they poisonous? Stinky? Rotting and slimy? Or a gift from a loathed one? I'm intrigued.

The Wizards Sleeve
I'm always on the lookout for wizard references, and here's a new one. That it's just a sleeve, not the entire robe, amuses me. The resident gamers inform me that this is most likely a reference to an item in the game Dungeons of Dredmore. Who knew doing a blog would be so educational?

Special notice this week goes out to a hilarious misspelling: You May Die in the Dessert. I know it's bad for me, but really! (This is actually a favorite image from my childhood; I once wrote a story about an intrepid, shrunken explorer, lost in a towering banana split, all because of what the misspelling suggests.)

May 26, 2012

What a beautiful weekend for Folklife! We're skipping it, but don't stay away on my account. Square Pig faves Curtains for You, Ravenna Woods, and Shelby Earl are playing the Indie Roots stage. Meanwhile, the club listings were reliably rich:

Barons of Tang
Is this like land barons or oil barons, but with powdered space-age breakfast drink?

Is/Is
This repetition is a verbal tic I associate with computer programmers. Over the years, exasperation has turned to affectionate tolerance -- at least they're attempting to communicate.

Raygun Cowboys
I'm glad someone else noticed how the sci-fi weapon sounds like the name of the cowboy-actor-turned-President.

Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra
I like names like this that don't come into their own until you say them aloud, and then suddenly there's a literary allusion smacking you in the face.

Us on Roofs
I see this one all the time and I liked it from the first, but somehow it never made the cut before. I like the communal feel of "us", and the plural of "roof" is funny for some reason. It also can be seen as a reference to "Up on the Roof," a great pop song from the past.

February 25, 2012

The club listings were not quite as inspiring as usual this week, but that just gives me a chance to include two bands on the bill with Your Mother Should Know at the High Dive on April 6: The Tailenders and Youth Rescue Mission. (The fourth band and headliner, Curtains for You, has been featured previously, but always has my support).

Djinn and Tonic Belly Dance Revue
I love the translinguistic pun, as well as the West-meets-East idea of the drink and the dance. And then there's the whole bottle thing . . .

In Medias Res
This is where writers are advised to begin the story: in the middle of things. It's also a pretty good time to drop into a party!

PK
Long, long ago, before we were Your Mother Should Know, my brother and I were The PKs, short for Preacher's Kids. So I have to wonder -- does anyone in this group belong to that same club?

The Tailenders
This name implies a kind of loser pride, not ashamed to bring up the rear, hang off the back, sweep up the leavings -- and maybe kick off the after-party, when the real fun happens.

Youth Rescue Mission
Sing it with me: "My life was saved by rock and roll."

December 4, 2010

Although I had an embarrassment of riches to choose from, I was blessed with several automatic selections of beloved names I've been eager to see again. And not one, but two bands I've actually heard! It was difficult to exclude the runners-up, but I'm sure they will have their chance another day.

Curtains for You
Full disclosure: I'd heard of this band years before I saw them at the Columbia City Theatre (which has a stage with actual curtains), and the keyboard player has visited my house. But I think I would list them even if that weren't so. I like how the name references another era and aspect of American pop culture. (I tend to pronounce it "coitains" like the gangsters in old Bugs Bunny cartoons.) 

Jefferson Death Star
This one made the whole family laugh out loud, an automatic winner. Rock music and Star Wars came into my life at around the same time, so this kind of intersection will always get my attention.


Ocelot Omelet
I like ocelots and omelets, though not necessarily together. This one is goofy and kind of gross, with the fun of both assonance between the opening Os and alliteration between the closing Ts. An unlikely pair but made for each other.


Ravenna Woods
I saw this band on the same bill with Curtains for You and can attest that they put on a great show. They make the list for neighborhood-level local flavor. In fact, the name implies that they're my neighbors.

ThorNton Creek
Likewise. I would expect to see Thornton Creek and Ravenna Woods on the same bill at Meadowbrook Pond. This is local music at its localest.