Unfortunate Band Names that hold a band back from mass appeal.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by agaraffa, Nov 14, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ggergm

    ggergm another spring another baseball season

    Location:
    Minnesota
    Good Old War

    It comes from the names of the three leads in the band, which are drummer Tim Arnold, guitarist Dan Schwartz, and guitar/keyboardist Keith Goodwin. It doesn't forgive the fact that for an acoustic harmony band, Good Old War is a terrible name.
     
    BluesOvertookMe likes this.
  2. hominy

    hominy Digital Drifter

    Location:
    Seattle-ish
    Pist.On (Although Atlantic made them alter it to Piston for their excellent debut album)

    Not to mention all the bands from the grunge era who were held back from mass appeal by their names' sheer lack of distinction... or maybe most of them just sucked as bands, I dunno.
     
  3. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    The Slits...........definitely not appealing.
     
  4. Northwindblewsouth

    Northwindblewsouth Throws Right, Bats Left

    Location:
    LA
    The Carpenters
     
  5. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    There's a scene in the Simpsons, where Homer starts a biker gang that he calls the Hell's Satans, but he lets Flanders join when he offers to let them use his rumpus room as the HQ.

    So at the first meeting, Flanders says 'I vote we change the name to something less blasphemous, and Moe says 'How bout the Christ Punchers?'

    I always thought that would make a good metal band name, and I clearly wasn't alone, as there is an actual band called the Christ Punchers. It took until this decade though, even though that Simpsons episode was out in the 90s.
     
    Ryan Lux and andrewskyDE like this.
  6. Northwindblewsouth

    Northwindblewsouth Throws Right, Bats Left

    Location:
    LA
    Steve Harley & Harley Rebel
     
  7. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    Christian Death wasn't far from it.
     
    ianuaditis likes this.
  8. Northwindblewsouth

    Northwindblewsouth Throws Right, Bats Left

    Location:
    LA
    Dicky Do & the Don’ts
     
    John B Good likes this.
  9. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    Slits .............. meet Hole
     
  10. FrankenStrat

    FrankenStrat Forum Resident

    I remember reading an interview with Don Was in Hi Fi News And Record Review many years ago in which he mentioned their surname is pronounced WAZ, hence, phonetically, waz (not was). I presume that's correct, it was a respected magazine, and probably still is.
     
  11. Kiss73

    Kiss73 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Anthrax put down their lack of success on the early 00's due to the issue in America of actual anthrax attacks, which were ongoing for a period and even considered changing their name....

    Poor chaps didn't realise the lack of success was simply down to their choice of singer and poor material.
     
    DavidD and Man at C&A like this.
  12. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    now, did i say that people HERE don't know? why would you try to put words in my mouth?

    no, i did not. i was talking about grandma buying 'i'm not in love' for her grandson or mom buying 'hey nineteen' cause she likes aretha.

    i know that people here do know both stories, and debunked by whom? jonathon king and graham gouldman have both said that the 10cc story is true.

    copy and paste from the 10cc website:

    1. Where did 10cc get their name?
      10cc got their name from Jonathan King who released their first records. King had had a dream about a successful band called "10cc". However, popular belief is that they adopted the name because the average male *********** is 9cc and the band was above average with 1cc more than that!
    there is no other explanation given anywhere that i can find.
     
  13. What's there to understand? Whether or not it's true, the name makes them sound like a joke/comedy band, and not many people are interested in that sort of thing.
     
  14. True, but their name certainly cost the Dead Kennedys a few listeners. There are folks on this very forum who might be into at least some of their music but won't give them a chance because of the name.
     
  15. Koma

    Koma New Member

    Location:
    Kyoto
    Goatpenis, Goatwhore, Jack Off Jill, Rapeman, Raped Ape, Armageddon Dildos, to name a few.
     
    DavidD likes this.
  16. Ryan Lux

    Ryan Lux Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, ON, CA
    Classic scene. Thanks for the reminder.
     
    ianuaditis likes this.
  17. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    That was a very unfortunate name.
     
  18. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    There's genuinely no possibility of me ever getting excited about a band called The Mountain Goats.
     
  19. Pierino

    Pierino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canonsburg
    Butts Band. And I STILL don't know what it means...or meant.
     
  20. Dr. Mudd

    Dr. Mudd Audient

    The Beatles
     
  21. Remington Steele

    Remington Steele Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saint George, Utah
    Tupelo Chain Sex:
    Great eclectic sound with punk, blues and rockabilly but damn that name makes it hard to get friends to check the music out.
    Lesbians On Ecstasy:
    Good melodies and electronic textures but still a challenge to recommend to many.
     
    DavidD likes this.
  22. denesis

    denesis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, WA
    The millennial equivalent of having a random word followed by a random number.
     
  23. denesis

    denesis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, WA
    My exact reaction to Neutral Milk Hotel.
     
    BluesOvertookMe likes this.
  24. NapalmBrain

    NapalmBrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    I love their stuff but terrible band name, I think listening to Aeroplane was a rite of passage for working at an indie record store in 2007, all my co-workers insisted I check it out. Ended up getting the box set years later after many listens but yeah on name alone would not have thought to listen
     
  25. TheDailyBuzzherd

    TheDailyBuzzherd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast USA

    Naaah, that's a Good one!

    Not so good: "Toe Fat". "Electric Prunes".
     
    DavidD likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine