January 15, 2011

This week's listings had past winner Curtains For You in a sold-out show opening for up-and-comers The Head and the Heart. I don't take all the credit, but I wish good things for all my picks.

Elk and Boar
I suppose this has something to do with wild animals or game meat, but the construction evokes "Moose and Squirrel." Anything that makes me think of Rocky and Bullwinkle is OK by me.

Retribution Gospel Choir
This one gets a boost from the oxymoronic juxtaposition of "retribution" and "gospel." It's at least a little scary; maybe a lot.

Shim
This is just one of those words that's fun to say -- short and punchy and sounds funnier than its actual meaning.

Starving Art Family
This must be the result when Bohemians in a garret don't die of consumption, but survive and have a passel of kids and send them to alternative schools . . .

Subways on the Sun
A Very Bad Idea.

January 8, 2011

This is one of those weeks when every band name is from a different planet. It's amazing that there are still so many different ways to think about the same thing.

Corpus Callosum
A band named for a bundle of nerves. I appreciate the geekiness required to even know the term.

High Class Wreckage
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.


Salinger
I re-read Catcher in the Rye last week, so I couldn't very well leave this band out. There's a lot of rock & roll attitude in the book, and anyway, I always have a soft spot for literary references.

Terraform
It's hard to pass up a good sci-fi connection. I think I've mentioned before that I came to rock music and science fiction at around the same time, and I'm still into both. This name particularly strikes me now because I'm writing a piece that involves terraforming and had to learn about it recently.

Turd Helmet
This is absolutely too gross to imagine! But the name wouldn't go away, so it makes the list. Happy now?

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year! It's a beautiful day in Seattle and a great week for band names. I will mostly let them speak for themselves.

Captain Spalding
Hooray, hooray, hooray!

Haircuts That Hurt
Now that's a close shave.

Peace Mercutio
I'm just a sucker for a good literary allusion.

Same Sex Dictator 
Are you the opposite sex, or am I?

Skeletons With Flesh On Them
Aren't we all? Kind of like how, under our clothes, we're all naked, as Sam the Eagle used to say.

Bonus: Bands That Should Be On the Same Bill:
Speaker Speaker; Mutiny Mutiny; Canon Canyon

Just for fun, add Breaker Breaker, Doctor Doctor and Velella Velella!

December 24, 2010

Dear Santa,

The club listings are a little thin this week, so instead of picking favorites, I'm making another kind of list. A wish list, of band names I'd like to see. Maybe in 2011?

Greenwood Academy of Hair
The beauty school has closed, but the name could live on as a metal band -- or a venue!

Human Blood Rush
The first time I saw this on a box at the Puget Sound Blood Center, I thought, "Brutal."

Sack o' Hamsters
Just cuz.

Talents West
Another local business that could have a second life. This would also be a good name for a local record label.


White Creek Grange
The vacant and weathered grange hall, with wind turbines in the background marching off for miles in either direction, sits at the crossroads of the Old West and sci fi. I'm thinking techno-country.


I'll be watching for these in the new year.

December 18, 2010

It's not even Christmas yet, and I've already received the gift of TOO MANY GOOD BAND NAMES!!! I have bravely narrowed this week's abundance to these lucky few:

The Dead Kenny G's
This one is great on so many levels, harking back to a great old punk band name while also poking fun at a local boy. There's always room for poor taste . . .

Dirt Worshipper
The name is funny, and the band was apparently playing two gigs in the same night, which wins my attention and respect.

Nearly Dan
When perusing the club listings on Friday night, this was the first band name to catch my eye, and it just stuck with me. It cleverly references another band, and being "nearly" anyone is funny on its own.

Pickwick
Trespassers William
These two both get the nod for literary allusions to a couple of favorite books. Music and books go together like books and music.

December 11, 2010

Playing music is a creative act, but so is forming a band and naming it. I like to reward creativity where I find it. Here is what I found in this week's listings:

Afraid of Figs
My Greek's rusty -- would this be "phiggophobia"? I like this one because it has nothing obvious to do with music, and seems so unlikely. Figs are more comical than frightening, and the disconnect makes it work. That, and the repeated "f" sound.

Angry Snowmans
Nice seasonal touch, with a twist. I'm thinking of the Killer Monster Snow Goons on Calvin's front step. The incorrect plural adds a touch of childlike sweetness . . . or is it spine-tingling peril?


Felonius Funk 
I love the sly reference, as well as the implication that they're so funky, it's illegal.


Idaho Meth Project 
Apologies to the actual Idaho Meth Project non-profit. Meth isn't funny . . . but Idaho is. Thanks to EMP, any name that goes "something something Project" is automatically funny in Seattle. Idaho just pushes this over the top.


Siegfried vs. the Giant
Hooray for Norse mythology geeks! Siegfried is my favorite big dumb hero.

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.