October 17, 2015

Vacation is winding down now, the highlight being last night's show at the Highline, with Salad Boys, Prom Queen, Ephrata, and longtime faves Red Ribbon. One of the best reasons to go hear a favorite band is the opportunity to hear two or three others that you haven't heard (or heard of) before. There was not a dud in the bunch! I can't stay out till 2 a.m. more than once in a great while, though, so much as I love the following names, they'll have to carry on without me.

Bears and Other Carnivores
Apparently I'm not the only one to notice that titles of field guides make great band names. (I would love to see a band called Squirrels of the West.) There's something a little (endearingly) off about using a name that evokes the outdoors, nature, and wilderness for a group that's probably going to mostly play in dingy urban bars. Also, I had a drink called "Bear" last night, and the interior of the Highline is like a lodge in a national park.

Isthmusia
Take a word that's awkward to sound out and transform it with two letters into a fantasy realm.

My Name Is You
Them Are Us Too
These both fall into a naming genre I call Pronoun Trouble. Both also imply, in a playful, goofy way, that we are all one. We're all in this together. Let's not screw it up.

Sardine Overdo
(I couldn't find any web presence for this band, so they must be new. The club listings had "overdose" but the event page and flyer both had "overdo," so I'm going with that.) Prelude to the best cat nap and worst morning breath ever.

October 10, 2015

There's nothing like being at the beginning of a week's vacation to put me in a good mood, even if a lot of the week will be devoted to chores and errands. Looking forward, though, to Friday's show at the Highline: Salad Boys, Prom Queen, Ephrata, and longtime faves Red Ribbon! Meanwhile, there are bands playing all week, including these five:

Casual Hex
A single letter changes a no-strings hookup into something magical that perhaps hasn't been thought through all the way.

DEERPEOPLE
Wolf Antlers
These both fall under the category of weird animal hybrids, like the Jackelope. Are deerpeople like centaurs, with a human torso on a deer body, or an antlered deer head on a human body (which I'm pretty sure freaked me out at a Halloween party once when I was really small). Wolf Antlers could possibly be a disguise to help the predator slip unnoticed into the herd, but it might throw off their leap.

Photonic Boom
I haven't looked into the science, but I like that there's a term for the visual or audible phenomenon that would occur upon surpassing the speed of light.

Stiff Spirit
A strong drink . . . or what happens when the ghost suffers rigor mortis, too.

March 15, 2014

Wow, I might actually get out to a show today -- not one but two favorite bands, Acapulco Lips and Red Ribbon, are playing an in-store at Everyday Music! 6:00 p.m. is my kind of start time. As names go, it's hard to beat Acapulco Lips, but here are some close seconds:

Endorphins Lost
What goes up must come down, alas.


Raptor Tractor
I had a tractor phobia when I was a small child (and it has already been pointed out that Tractorphobia would be a good band name). Now I'm picturing fierce dinosaurs on John Deeres. Extra credit for being on a bill with past honorees Power Skeleton and Skunk Rider.


Silent Land Time Machine
Anything with "time machine" in the name is almost guaranteed to catch my eye. What I like about this, aside from the length, is that it can be read as three modifiers with one noun; one modifier with three nouns; or two nouns with one modifier each. Mix and match!

Space Cretins
There's no stopping the cretins from launching . . .


Stranger on Mars
I imagine it will be a long time before this is not true, by definition, of anyone who gets there. But it can also be read as a comparative: "This music is strange enough on Earth, but it's ever stranger on Mars." 

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.

July 27, 2013

I turn 50 next week, and I really can't complain. I'm doing all the things I hoped for when I was 16 -- writing novels, playing in a rock band, singing in a choir, all in the midst of an entertaining, engaging, amazing family. Granted, I thought I'd do the writing and rocking in my 20s, but I'll take it. As an early birthday celebration, we're going out to dinner on Capitol Hill and then to the Vermillion Un-Block Party to hear Red Ribbon. Should be interesting just getting there, but I'm up for the adventure!

OK, here are the band names:

I Draw Slow
. . . but I draw exceeding fine.

Jeans Wilder
I've loved Gene Wilder ever since I first saw Blazing Saddles (my first R-rated movie) at the age of 10. And I wear jeans practically every day. This one's for me.

Soft White Sixties
I suspect this will be my hair in another 10 years.

This Charming Band
Self-promotion, but awfully sweet. Who can resist a band this charming?

Xanthochroid
Gotta love something so scientific sounding. Yellow something? Oh -- having light hair. A very metal way to be blond.

March 2, 2013

Coming right up: Your Mother Should Know with Canals of Venice, Dead Bars, and Red Ribbon! Tuesday, March 5 at Comet Tavern, doors open at 8 pm, music starts at 9 pm, $6 cover. Very excited about this show. YMSK has an oddly wonderful new set -- no two songs alike -- and I'm eager to hear the other bands, two of them for the first time. As usual, seeing us in the listings sort of distracted me from my blog research, but I found five worthy names to write about:

All Get Out
Folksy idiom -- "That band was noisy as all get out!" -- or emergency order -- "All get out! The bar's on fire!"? You decide.

Bacon Grenade
If this isn't the name of a hangover breakfast, it should be. Or maybe it's the thing you toss in to distract the guard dogs.

The Blank Tapes
Nostalgia trip! There was a time in the not-so-distant past when we devoted a certain part of our budget and storage space to blank tapes. We haven't bought one in ages; even the used tapes have all been ripped or are steadily being replaced. But this band name triggered memories of a well-used recording medium that was a great convenience in its day.

Paper Rout
I hope this is not just a typo in the paper, because I really like it this way but I'm not finding any web presence. Is this where the paper bag punches back? Or where you win, but only on paper? Funny the difference one letter can make.

Pollens 
Timely, considering the season. (Apologies to all hay fever sufferers). I like this because pollen is a collective noun already and making it plural is amusing overkill. But I'm sure that botanists (and hay fever sufferers) are concerned with the variety of pollens out there.

February 23, 2013

Out past 10 two weeknights in a row -- Banned Rehearsal performance last night and Your Mother Should Know practice the night before that. I don't know about this life in the fast lane. I'm feeling sleep-deprived, so I'll keep this short. Fortunately, the band names fell readily into a theme. See if you can guess it.

Excuse You
I know this line as an alternative momism to "What do you say?" When adults say it to each other, it gains a layer of sarcasm while still sounding polite.

Go Radio
It's been a long time since I did much music listening on the radio, but I love those moments when I'm switching the CD in the car and a fragment of another world comes over the airwaves. Long live radio.

Lagwagon
I think I had this car.

Sweet Talkin' Jones and the Muscletones
I try not to play favorites, but this is my favorite. It has the classic X and the Y structure, and it takes the "-tones" trope in a punning direction. And it rhymes. (Broad hint).

Town Hall Brawl
I think I'll stay away from the contentious meeting, but I'll be happy to read a detailed account the next day!

And of course, the theme is names with rhymes in them. I found Excuse You and Town Hall Brawl on the same bill early in the listings, and the rest chose themselves.

Coming Soon: Your Mother Should Know with Canals of Venice, Dead Bars, and Red Ribbon! Tuesday, March 5 at Comet Tavern, doors open at 8 pm, $6 cover.

February 2, 2013

Happy Groundhog Day! I'm very excited to go hear The Sonics and Mudhoney tonight! Musically, I missed the '60s because I was a child, and the '90s because I had children. Most kind of these two bands to do a show together for my convenience! They are among the few I've blogged about after hearing their music. Here are some I've yet to hear:

Acapulco Lips
I was sorry to miss Red Ribbon's show at the Rendezvous last week, moreso when I learned the name of the opening act. On the page, it looks like silly nonsense, but has to be read aloud to really sink in. On top of the wordplay (for me, at least), it brings to mind Walt Kelly's Pogo strip, in which "Octawocktapockers done got Albert!"

Impossible Bird
Come to think of it, everything birds do seems impossible. They fly, soar, swoop, and flock without even thinking about it; snag mosquitoes out of the air; perch on branches and power lines without losing their balance; see colors that are invisible to us; migrate incredible distances. I'll stop there. Birds are awesome.

Rose Windows
Do they transform the venue into a cathedral? This would also make a good stage name.

The Shivering Denizens
I can't believe I haven't included this one before. I'm always happy to find the word "denizens" in use, and "shivering" seems like just the right adjective.

Train Wreck
Can't look away! A spectacle even when all goes wrong. Also, I tend to notice train references, due both to my lifelong fondness for trains, and to my folk-music project, Train Case.

October 6, 2012

As I blog, I'm listening to Your Mother Should Know, live at the Blue Moon. We sound pretty good! But the best part of playing shows is still that it ensures we get out regularly to hear other people. Yeah, I'm talking about you, Andrew James Robison, Red Ribbon, and Peterman! Great show. On to Reverb Fest tonight. Meanwhile, some band names:

Brokestra
In which our heroes discover just how much money there is to be made in music.

Little Green Cars
One of my brother's high school classmates owned a little green Opel named Stewart (after a pet turtle, I believe). I've liked little green cars ever since, especially when they have names.

My Heart is an Idiot
Technically not a band, but this about sums up 98% of blues, rock and country songs.

Pink House
Across from my childhood home was a pink house, known as The Pink House. Later, it was painted white, and now it's yellow, but it will always be The Pink House to me.

Two Heads is Twice as Many Teeth
Why mess around with metaphor when you can go straight to literal, mathematical fact?

September 29, 2012

So I'm trolling through the Times club listings like I always do on Friday afternoon, looking for good blog material, when I come to the very last listing: Your Mother Should Know, Peterman, Red Ribbon, Andrew James Robison, Thursday night at the Blue Moon. It took me half a tick to go, "Hey! I know those guys! That's us!" Here's the link to the events page: http://www.facebook.com/events/526955247320118/

And I found some other good names, too:

Deerhoof
Eyeball
New Lungs
These three all appeal to me for the same reason -- odd parts out of the context. They can be regarded as gross (in your soup), sinister (giant movie monster), comical (how is one eyeball going to play all the instruments?!) or perhaps hopeful (a new set of lungs when the old ones fail). I kind of hoped to do an all body-parts theme, but I couldn't find two more.

Great Spiders
Giant spider in the third act!

The Leafy Greens
I have always maintained that rock music is good for you.