|
Click
here to go back to the Howzat! archive
OWL BE THERE FOR YOU
Sarah from Carlton was recently moved to write a letter
to Inpress: "What's going on with the abundance of bands
currently getting around with 'owl' in their name?" she
asked. "Just this week I've read or heard about Owl City,
Owl + Moth, Owl Eyes and Breathe Owl Breathe. How does this
kind of thing happen? Enough with the owls!" As Shakespeare
asked, What's in a name? Sometimes, band names are confusing:
there's Dead Letter Chorus and Dead Letter Circus. There's
The Beautiful Few, The Beautiful Girls, The Chosen Few and
The Devoted Few. And everyone would think that Amy Meredith
was a female solo artist.
SHIT NAMES CAN BE GOOD
Howzat! loves big, simple band names - they look great on
a poster and they're easy to spell. Most people can spell
AC/DC. Jet might be the perfect name. We also love INXS
(even though a lot of people thought it was "Inks"). Asked
for his favourite band name, Neil Rogers, the host of RRR's
The Australian Mood, nominates Turd. "They were a band of
young guys based in Werribee in the early to mid '90s,"
Neil explains. "It showed a good sense of humour, given
the sewage treatment plant located nearby." Premier booking
agent Pat Delves says, "I've always loved the band name
Hot Hot Heat. It immediately catches your attention and
piques interest enough to want to at least have a curious
listen." Venue booker Neil Wedd - who's booked just about
every Australian band - loves People With Chairs Up Their
Noses ("it's silly"), This Is Serious Mum ("silly") and
British India ("sense of intrigue"). Sarah-Jane Wentzki,
who performs as Princess One Point Five, says, "As a rule,
I don't play favourites, but I do think that my top two
band names would be Broken Social Scene and Made For Chickens
By Robots. The former because with a name like that, I was
pleasantly surprised they weren't overrated. Also, it's
very evocative of a time and place. Made For Chickens is
one of the cleverest names I've heard. Why? I don't know!
And, more importantly, I don't care! I just like it, it
rolls off the tongue so easily, and robots are cool. It
makes me laugh out loud, and that's good enough, methinks.
Great music, too." As Neil Rogers adds, "Sometimes the band's
music influences your thoughts on their name. For example,
Died Pretty, Kings of The Sun, Painters and Dockers, Huxton
Creepers, The Stems, Sunnyboys … great bands and music,
hence you think the name is also good."
ROCK 'N' ROLL DAMNATION
They got death threats in Melbourne and were heckled in
Newcastle. Who would have thought a band name could cause
so much trouble? But, then, The Bon Scotts did name themselves
after an Aussie icon. And their sound is more twisted folk
than raucous rock. "It started as a joke," lead singer Damien
Sutton tells Howzat! "Every band coming out at the time
was calling themselves 'The something or others' and dressing
up like rock stars in tight branded jeans and ripped designer
shirts. Also, no one rocked like Bon Scott - when you see
his crooked smile and his eyes light up you know what music
is meant to be; we try and maintain that fun and energy."
Does it annoy the band that they have to explain they're
not an AC/DC covers band? "It doesn't annoy us, and I think
it would be a little presumptuous if it did - we did name
our band after one of music's greatest icons. Thankfully,
we're getting to the stage where we have to explain it less
and less, but we have had a few people come to our shows
expecting an AC/DC tribute band."
YOU GIVE BAND A BAD NAME
"There are so many band names that are terrible yet don't
seem to impact their career," Pat Delves says, "Live, Bush,
Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls ... We should give an honorable
mention to LA metal group Poopfist. But the worst band name
surely has to go to Train. I mean, was Car taken? How about
Truck? Bike?" Neil Rogers hates the band name The Missing
Beaumont Children. "Not funny at all. Three young Adelaide
children who disappeared in 1966 and have never been found.
Not funny to trade on someone else's misery." Sarah-Jane
suggests Vaginal Carnage. "Not because I think it's the
worst band name, but just because I want to say it. It is
what it is and, more importantly, it's a great way of getting
yourself excused from conversations you don't want to participate
in. Just blurt it out at random intervals and get yourself
ejected from almost anywhere. So I guess this, in itself,
actually makes it kind of good. Hmmm, perhaps not. Honestly,
I think the worst band names aren't necessarily the most
offensive, but the ones that just don't try. Anything starting
with 'The' is usually a sure sign of little to zero imagination
and just plain laziness." But the beauty of a band name
can be in the eye and ear of the beholder. "As far as I
can figure it, sometimes good is bad, and bad is oh so right,"
Sarah-Jane says, "and what makes a good or bad band name
is altogether as elusive and undefinable a concept as the
music itself. Now, as for that band Princess One Point Five
… I mean, who was the idiot who thought that one up? And
what does it even mean?"
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Westgarth Talking D. ROGERS
Accidentally THE LITTLE STEVIES
Shape I'm In THE RESIGNATORS
Lies SKYBOMBERS
Okay Sydney, You Beat Me NIC DALTON
Click
here to go back to the Howzat! archive
|
