Hi, What's Your (Band) Name?

Choosing a name is a pivotal decision for any band. A band name does so much more than fill space on a promotional poster. A name sets the tone for their music, their fan base, even their shows. For bands, choosing a name means walking a fine line between standing out with a unique name and completely alienating potential listeners with a name that’s just a little too weird.

As I’ve never actually named a band, I asked a couple of my friends (who rename their band more often than they replace their guitar strings) what they look for in a band name. One of said that he looks for “Something obscure that sounds cool, but something that everyone in the group likes. If everyone in the band likes it, who gives a f***k what anyone else thinks?" The other elaborated with “We look for something that, when you hear it for the first time, makes you think ‘what the hell does that mean?’ And it doesn’t necessarily have to fit the style of music”. So, in honor of confused musicians everywhere, I decided to try and define what makes a good band name.

There are generally two routes you could choose when coming up with a band name. First off (and recently more popular with musicians) is choosing a simple name with one or two words and as few syllables as possible. This goes as far back as rock bands do, with some notable examples being Queen, The Clash, KISS, and more recently The Arcs, BØRNS, Dreamers, and Cake. A simple name is easy to remember and rolls off the tongues of groupies when they’re crying at the barrier of their shows. On the other hand, a simple name gives the possibility of being boring and being forgotten.

The other path (and arguably the more fun one), is to choose a unique name that is impossible to forget. These names are funny, sometimes ironic or offensive, yet they’re the names brought up time and again because there’s no way anyone could actually name their band that, right? Some of my favorite weird band names are Congratulations On your Decision to Become a Pilot, The Butthole Surfers, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, !!!, and Honkytonk Homeslice. As amusing as names such as these are, they run the risk of being a little too weird and making mainstream listeners feel uncomfortable (despite the quality music they might be making).

All of this being said, the music the band plays is 150x more important than any name they come up with. A name is simply an attention grabber and a way to market themselves. As helpful as a good name might be in attracting an audience, good music and kick-ass shows are much better.