In these warm days, let us embrace the sweat-lodge aspect of crowded venues with no AC. That said, I'm kind of glad a show I might have been playing tonight was canceled. Plenty of other bands are making themselves heard this week, and here a few of them:
DJ Self-Administered Beatdown
This goes in the opposite direction of the expected braggadocio, while still pulling off a backhanded boast. A seven-syllable DJ name also appeals to my love of names that are just that little bit too long.
King Woman
Women rule; hear us roar.
The PBJs
Childhood's innocence contained in the ultimate comfort lunch. Probably goes well with a PBR, too, for those who have left chronological childhood behind.
Potbelly
Edibles. Just sayin' . . .
We Speak in Colors
Here we have a name that's a complete sentence, making a declaration of synesthesia, a fascinating subject on its own.
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!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
June 21, 2015
Yesterday I blew off both blogging and the solstice parade to go to Mt. Rainier. Not only was the road to Sunrise open (unusual this early in the season) but there was no snow on the trails except in two small patches, and it was warm enough to hike without a jacket. I'm a little concerned about what this means for the rest of the summer, but I was happy to welcome the season on a perfect day in the mountains.
Meanwhile, in a dark bar somewhere . . .
Abstract Friends
A step removed from imaginary friends, this implies an idea of friends separate from any actual experience of friendship. The teenage protagonist of my young-adult work-in-progress could probably relate -- she's invisible and has no real friends until she takes courage and starts a garage band. The members of this band look the right age to be her classmates, too.
Broken by Clouds
I like the metaphorical dissonance of something as ethereal as clouds doing physical damage. Just because something looks soft and immaterial doesn't mean it can't hurt you. (I happened to meet this group a few years ago at Evolution Rehearsal Studios as they were checking in and Your Mother Should Know was checking out. I was already writing this blog, so I collected their name. Finding them in the club listings this week reminded me that I hadn't blogged about them yet. Happy to rectify the oversight!)
Hostile Makeover
This was the first one to make this week's list, but that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows of my weakness for puns and all-girl bands. A single letter change takes this out of the business world and into the middle-school sleepover, where the tomboy (or geekgirl) gets made up and manicured against her will. Hmm, I might have to write that into my novel . . .
Maudlin Strangers
Why aren't they on a bill with Abstract Friends? But they are on a bill with Bad Idea, which might be a clue: guy walks into a bar with only the concept of friendship, sits next to an emotionally demonstrative stranger and quickly gets dragged into someone else's drama.
The Whateverly Brothers
The name alone implies humor and close harmonies, two of my favorite things.
Meanwhile, in a dark bar somewhere . . .
Abstract Friends
A step removed from imaginary friends, this implies an idea of friends separate from any actual experience of friendship. The teenage protagonist of my young-adult work-in-progress could probably relate -- she's invisible and has no real friends until she takes courage and starts a garage band. The members of this band look the right age to be her classmates, too.
Broken by Clouds
I like the metaphorical dissonance of something as ethereal as clouds doing physical damage. Just because something looks soft and immaterial doesn't mean it can't hurt you. (I happened to meet this group a few years ago at Evolution Rehearsal Studios as they were checking in and Your Mother Should Know was checking out. I was already writing this blog, so I collected their name. Finding them in the club listings this week reminded me that I hadn't blogged about them yet. Happy to rectify the oversight!)
Hostile Makeover
This was the first one to make this week's list, but that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows of my weakness for puns and all-girl bands. A single letter change takes this out of the business world and into the middle-school sleepover, where the tomboy (or geekgirl) gets made up and manicured against her will. Hmm, I might have to write that into my novel . . .
Maudlin Strangers
Why aren't they on a bill with Abstract Friends? But they are on a bill with Bad Idea, which might be a clue: guy walks into a bar with only the concept of friendship, sits next to an emotionally demonstrative stranger and quickly gets dragged into someone else's drama.
The Whateverly Brothers
The name alone implies humor and close harmonies, two of my favorite things.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
June 13, 2015
I have nothing to say about anything but band names, so let's get to it:
Expired Logic
Ways of thinking that used to work are no longer valid. It's time for fresh ideas! (I also like their expressed genre, sci-fi punk!)
The Little Donuts
There's an admirable goofiness in naming a band for food. (My brother and bandmate keeps trying to get someone to name their band Cupcake Time; no takers so far, so I've introduced the name into my fictional music scene.) I also have a soft spot for overtly adorable names, and what is more adorable than tiny food? The real story behind the name is appropriately sweet; read it here.
Little Sense Band
If we had more than a little sense, no musician would try to make anything of the live-music life, and the world would be a poorer place. Plus, this gives me two very different usages of "little" in one post. This also makes a nice thematic pairing with Expired Logic.
The Picturebooks
A long time ago, when I had little kids, one of my favorite activities was reading picture books with preschoolers. The key to a good picture book is, of course, the artwork, but the text is, like a good song lyric or band name, concentrated creative expression. (Happy also to discover that this is a two-piece band, like a lot of my faves!)
Shot on Site
Here we have a tidy little pun that alludes to knee-jerk violence and location camera work in three short words.
Expired Logic
Ways of thinking that used to work are no longer valid. It's time for fresh ideas! (I also like their expressed genre, sci-fi punk!)
The Little Donuts
There's an admirable goofiness in naming a band for food. (My brother and bandmate keeps trying to get someone to name their band Cupcake Time; no takers so far, so I've introduced the name into my fictional music scene.) I also have a soft spot for overtly adorable names, and what is more adorable than tiny food? The real story behind the name is appropriately sweet; read it here.
Little Sense Band
If we had more than a little sense, no musician would try to make anything of the live-music life, and the world would be a poorer place. Plus, this gives me two very different usages of "little" in one post. This also makes a nice thematic pairing with Expired Logic.
The Picturebooks
A long time ago, when I had little kids, one of my favorite activities was reading picture books with preschoolers. The key to a good picture book is, of course, the artwork, but the text is, like a good song lyric or band name, concentrated creative expression. (Happy also to discover that this is a two-piece band, like a lot of my faves!)
Shot on Site
Here we have a tidy little pun that alludes to knee-jerk violence and location camera work in three short words.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
June 6, 2015
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."
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."
Sunday, May 31, 2015
May 31, 2015
My spouse and I went out to a different kind of show last night -- a handbell concert by Emerald City Ringers at University Temple United Methodist Church (with guests Joyful Noise of UTUMC and the 5th grade handbell choirs from Bryant and Sacajawea Elementary Schools)*. In one of those There's Something You Don't See Every Day moments, ECR played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and played it well. Those 5th graders were moshing in the pews. You just never know, especially in Seattle.
Out there in bar-band land, the great names just keep coming:
36 Crazyfists
This is either a super-secret martial arts move, or a brawl with eighteen participants swinging at anything that moves.
Death Hymn Number 9
A dark twist on hymnals and hymn singing, both of which are close to my heart. I actually own a copy of something called "Old School Hymnal #9." I'm not sure whether it includes any death hymns, but you never know.
Ecstatic Cosmic Union
The proverbial match made in heaven, and a nice balance to the previous band name.
Toothgrinder
A dental problem that happens to sound really metal and also kind of silly at the same time.
Wood Knot
I'm a sucker for a good pun, especially one that doesn't reveal itself until spoken aloud.
*Full disclosure: my spouse and I are members of UTUMC, parents of two Sacajawea alumni, and sat in on percussion for one of ECR's pieces.
Out there in bar-band land, the great names just keep coming:
36 Crazyfists
This is either a super-secret martial arts move, or a brawl with eighteen participants swinging at anything that moves.
Death Hymn Number 9
A dark twist on hymnals and hymn singing, both of which are close to my heart. I actually own a copy of something called "Old School Hymnal #9." I'm not sure whether it includes any death hymns, but you never know.
Ecstatic Cosmic Union
The proverbial match made in heaven, and a nice balance to the previous band name.
Toothgrinder
A dental problem that happens to sound really metal and also kind of silly at the same time.
Wood Knot
I'm a sucker for a good pun, especially one that doesn't reveal itself until spoken aloud.
*Full disclosure: my spouse and I are members of UTUMC, parents of two Sacajawea alumni, and sat in on percussion for one of ECR's pieces.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
May 23, 2015
Happy Folklife, known elsewhere as Memorial Day Weekend. I might head down to the festival on Monday, and if I do, I'll be sure to look for Mikey Mike the Rad Scientist (Mike Gervais to those in the know), 2:45 p.m. at the Discovery Zone Stage. Delightful science and nature songs for all ages! If you're bringing kids (or even if you're not), be sure to check him out.
Meanwhile, away from Folklife:
Mild High Club
The sly wordplay makes this a more accessible club for late-life beginners who dislike air travel, especially if you live in the land of legal weed.
The Parade Schedule
Festivity requires organization. All the clowns and marching bands have to respect the person with the clipboard.
Rather Dashing
With a name this posh and well mannered, I expect a mess of noise (and am not disappointed).
Shy Girls
My story "St. Rage" is the tale of a formerly invisible girl who decides to start a garage band and ends up with superpowers. Shy girls can do anything when they decide not to give a shit what other people think.
Stubbily Mug
In an appropriate coincidence, only a stub of the name appeared in the paper, so I thought I would be writing about Stubbily. The actual name is even more charmingly weird, and a whole lot of fun to say aloud.
Meanwhile, away from Folklife:
Mild High Club
The sly wordplay makes this a more accessible club for late-life beginners who dislike air travel, especially if you live in the land of legal weed.
The Parade Schedule
Festivity requires organization. All the clowns and marching bands have to respect the person with the clipboard.
Rather Dashing
With a name this posh and well mannered, I expect a mess of noise (and am not disappointed).
Shy Girls
My story "St. Rage" is the tale of a formerly invisible girl who decides to start a garage band and ends up with superpowers. Shy girls can do anything when they decide not to give a shit what other people think.
Stubbily Mug
In an appropriate coincidence, only a stub of the name appeared in the paper, so I thought I would be writing about Stubbily. The actual name is even more charmingly weird, and a whole lot of fun to say aloud.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
May 16, 2015
I had a hard time picking names to write about, not because there weren't a lot to choose from but because I'd done so many of them before and it was hard to see past those old favorites. Then I read the listings out loud and ended up with too many! I finally narrowed it down to these five:
BelRed
I always like to celebrate a band name with obvious local flavor. They're not the first and won't be the last to name themselves for a well known thoroughfare. (Hey, it worked for Sleater-Kinney!) I am amused that a band listing their hometown as Seattle chose an obvious Eastside reference. How many members grew up in the suburbs and escaped to Seattle at the first opportunity?
Feather Pluckers
So perfect that these guys were playing at The Little Red Hen! The name not only conveys a rural good humor, appropriate for this high-energy country band, but is also a term for their style of guitar.
Ghost Pains
In another case of an appropriate band name for the venue, Ghost Pains appeared at the ostensibly haunted Rendezvous. I hope the ghost left them alone and didn't steal any kick-drum feet (it got two of mine).
Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds
It's so great when somebody takes the classic X and the Y structure way over the top. Band and bandleader both have improbable cartoonish names that would be good on their own but are completely awesome together.
Pity Kiss
Sweet and sad at once, and feels like another aspect of Northwest loser pride. Even a pity kiss is still a kiss; we'll take what we can get.
BelRed
I always like to celebrate a band name with obvious local flavor. They're not the first and won't be the last to name themselves for a well known thoroughfare. (Hey, it worked for Sleater-Kinney!) I am amused that a band listing their hometown as Seattle chose an obvious Eastside reference. How many members grew up in the suburbs and escaped to Seattle at the first opportunity?
Feather Pluckers
So perfect that these guys were playing at The Little Red Hen! The name not only conveys a rural good humor, appropriate for this high-energy country band, but is also a term for their style of guitar.
Ghost Pains
In another case of an appropriate band name for the venue, Ghost Pains appeared at the ostensibly haunted Rendezvous. I hope the ghost left them alone and didn't steal any kick-drum feet (it got two of mine).
Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds
It's so great when somebody takes the classic X and the Y structure way over the top. Band and bandleader both have improbable cartoonish names that would be good on their own but are completely awesome together.
Pity Kiss
Sweet and sad at once, and feels like another aspect of Northwest loser pride. Even a pity kiss is still a kiss; we'll take what we can get.
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