How Do You Find a Good Band Name?!?!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robertt8
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What's in a name?

Blue Oyster Cult, Depeche Mode, Blink 182, Deep Purple, etc.. crap names in my opinion but didn't stop these bands from getting on. The importance of a name can be overstated.

Having said that some names can instantly gain the band attention, eg The Dead Kennedys, marilyn manson, anything with 'sex' in the title is a good attention grabber...

how about "Three Song Sex" - a winner!
 
I keep a list of names that strike my fancy. They are usually just phrases that appear on tv, movies, or music. Sometimes a song title or lyric from a band that I like or an unusual word that I've come across. Here are a few examples with origins:

Reluctant Prophets - (from some Marc Maron comedy routine)
Sacred Attention - (an old Sebadoh song)
Anhedonia - (just a cool word for a sadcore band name)
Reverse Peepholes - (Seinfeld reference)
American Robot Cars - (Simpson’s reference)
Rodents of Unusual Size - (Princess Bride reference, though I think there is already a band called Rats of Unusual Size)

keep your ears open and you will be amazed at the names you will find in pop culture.

p.s. - you'd better not steal any of my names! ;)
 
Well, we've decided on "Bag of Toys" as our band name...That's our little term for being totally hammered (drunk)...as in "Man! I was a bag of toys last night." It's the only band name that at least one of us didn't despise, so that's good enough for us. Feel free to check out the new modified site at http://www.bagoftoysmusic.com .

Thanks people!
Tait
 
I found when I started, that picking a band name was maybe the hardest part. I didn't stress about it, I just kept it in the back of my mind until I heard a word or phrase that sounded like a good band name. Then research it and think if it goes with your music. Good luck, man.
 
bsanfordnyc said:
I see what you're saying.

I've got one:

SEX WAX
Click to expand...

i think that is the best suggestion so far. way better than beer garden. that name has NOTHING to do with your music. how bout 'bare naked wannabes' ;) only kidding... i think the music is really catchy and fun, even if it does remind me a little of bare naked ladies... good times... rock on... and go with sex wax...
 
.......................................................................................................................................................................................ahhh what about, nah thats rubbish..................................................................................................................................hmm, noooooo thats pure cheesy,..........................................................................got it thats brilliant!!............................three weeks later, ohh so another 50 bands already go by that name. ok back to the drawing board.
 
unless you come up with some ghetto name like booqueesha, most of the generic one word names are taken...find ridiculous names that stick in peoples heads.....like a band called "Dinner Buffet" or "Standard Shipping"
 
You can't guarantee you're the only ones with a particular name. the trick is to ensure you are the most recognised people with that name. You need to get to the stage that when most people hear that name they think of YOU, not some other band.

Making sure there's no other band with the name you choose is an obvious starting point and Google is great for checking that, but there's no way to ensure that someone else might not choose your name next week.


Here's an interesting discussion:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/startingout/namesp01.shtml

it's from the good old BBC, but the advice here applies to American bands and artists too.
 
"Bag of toys" sounds like a good name to me. I think you did well, robert.
 
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