May 26, 2013

I'm blogging a day late because, after 27 years in Seattle, I finally went to Folklife! It turned out to be a beautiful day for it -- sunshine, grass dry enough to sit on, every variety of human in every state of dress, and a constant, undifferentiated din that morphed as we moved among buskers from jazz combo to jug band to steel drums to ukelele duo to ??? Standouts among the stage performers were Podorythmie, playing lively French-Canadian dance music; folk-popsters Song Sparrow Research (who I can't believe I haven't blogged about, because what a great name!); and beloved local singer-songwriter Shelby Earl.

But Folklife isn't the only thing happening! The club listings yielded the following harvest:

Future Fridays
Part of the appeal is that they're playing on Monday, which must wish to be Friday when it grows up.

Godzillian
Just how many is a Godzillian, and can it be applied to anything or just giant rubbery monsters?

Kung Fu Vampire
And continuing with the B-movie theme -- it doesn't get much better than this.

The Raging Maggots
Ew, gross! I think it's the repeated long a sound that makes this seem like a real thing. Then the disconnect hits: how, exactly, does a maggot rage?

We the Audience
Hall of mirrors! If the band is the audience, who is performing for them? We, the audience?

May 18, 2013

Any May 18 when a volcano does not erupt is a good day. To celebrate, go hear a band!

Aruvius Thud
I just love the way this sounds, like the name of a backwoods wizard.

Invisible Shivers
Comes into its own when spoken aloud. All those short-i and v sounds are delicious.

Man or Astro-Man?
Anything that can simultaneously bring to mind space travel, Ed Wood and Nietzsche gets my vote.
 
Shark Dentures
Ice to Eskimos, coals to Newcastle, dentures to sharks . . .

Strangled Darlings
Writers are advised, "Kill your darlings." I didn't know we were supposed to strangle them!

May 11, 2013

I had the privilege to spend the evening of Cinco de Mayo in the parking lot of Restaurante Michoacan in Crown Hill, enjoying margaritas and Mexican food, with live music by Freddie and the Screamers -- classic Northwest rock & roll by some of the original perpetrators! Great party made hilarious by the cops shutting it down at 8 p.m. because of a noise complaint. (Click the link for the song that pushed it over the top). It takes old Northwest rockers to do that! Can't imagine that Mother's Day will be anywhere near so exciting, but the band names just keep on coming:

Ark of the Covenant
A twofer -- biblical and movie reference all in one!

The Blind Photographers 
There have been deaf musicians, so why not?

Cedar and Boyer
Boyer is one of my favorite hypotenuse streets in Seattle and there's a Cedar St. not too far away, but I couldn't find this intersection on the map. Fictional Intersections would be another good band name.

Dr. Drug and the Possible Side Effects
Classic X and the Y structure + household phrase = instant party. Sounds like a high old time.

Western Red Penguins 
This goes off in a completely unexpected direction but still sounds for a moment like a real thing. A composer friend has invented birds, complete with names and calls. Wonder what she'd do with this one.

May 4, 2013

It's one of Seattle's rare perfect days -- reason enough to celebrate! The bars will sell a lot of cold beer tonight. These band names caught my eye:

Captain Ahab's Motorcycle Club
Love the goofy literary reference! Probably would have been safer than the obsessive whaling voyage.

The Drunken Guitarists
Truth in advertising, perhaps? Drummers, hold onto your hi-hats! No mic stand is safe!

Duck! District
This would be amusing even without the exclamation point -- a section of town devoted to ducks (wait, that's Green Lake) -- but with it, the absurdity multiplies. Not just a hardhat zone; it's a duck! district.

Peeping Tomboys
Equal opportunity.

Wiscon
Take the sin out of Wisconsin, and what do you get?