What band names do you think have the most interesting stories behind them?

Question

This question that John M asked a little while ago inspired this. I had no idea about either of these explanations for Green Day's name:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvI3NgH1n0TiICn3Gu3g7t6v.Bd.;_ylv=3?qid=20071026091828AA4QEph

Honestly I know very few stories of where band names are derived from. Do you know any interesting ones?

80's MAN - I don't know...who?!?

annarborisatramp - are you serious?!? That's hilarious, even if it isn't. :)

James M - that's true. Some stories should probably remain a mystery. :)

Master C - wow! I especially like The Adicts playing on children's TV...could you imagine?!?

Fonzie - LOL...you rock! :)

lovnrckets - oh, that Maynard! :')

helpnout - maggots? Ewww...

sarah c - great minds (and names) think alike! :)

huevo - that's awesome...thanks!

Answer 1

Misfits is from the Marilyn Monroe movie.

Blink 182 was originally Blink, but had to change it because it was already taken. 182 is said to be how many times the f-word is used in Scarface (myth), but actually means nothing.

Operation Ivy came from the nuclear tests.

Black Flag came about because it means anarchy.

The Adicts, briefly changed their name to ADX and Fun Adicts, for Children's TV appearances.

There is another one that's driving me up the wall right now. A band named after a character from a book. I'll let you know when it hits me.
BILLY TALENT! A guitarist in the book Hard Core Logo by Michael Turner. It was driving me nuts...

Oh yeah:
Flogging Molly used to play at a place called Molly Malones. A huge crown would show up, and they were said to be "Flogging" the place.

Dropkick Murphys is named after a rehab center I think.

The Tossers - a tosser is a slang term for "one who masturbates." Sort of like wanker.


SOOKIE: I would love to see it, but never found it anywhere. If any of the youtube pro's out there want to help me out!

Answer 2

Led Zeppelin - The story goes that Jimmy Page had completed a Scandinavian tour with the New Yardbirds - an impromptu band that was formed from the popular rapidly disintegrating Yardbirds. Keith Moon, drummer for 'The Who', is reputed to have said the new band would go down like a lead balloon - some reports say go over like a lead balloon (or zeppelin). Moon is said to have borrowed the term from John Entwistle, who had previously used it to describe bad gigs. Moon and Entwistle, both being English, would have been more likely to have used the English 'go down' version. The details of this are difficult to verify as the anecdotal comment wasn't recorded or put into print at the time and as Moon and Entwistle are deceased. Jimmy Page has confirmed the essence of the story in several subsequent interviews.

Answer 3

Metallica - Brian Slagel, who is the head of Metal Blade, was putting together a fanzine in the early 80's. He had a list of names for the fanzine and asked Lars Ulrich to help him pick one. Lars loved the name Metallica and told Brian it was the worst one of the bunch.

Megadeth - After being booted by Lars and James, Dave was sent back home to California via a long bus ride from New York. He saw in a newspaper/magazine/flyer (can't remember exactly) the word megadeath and decided to use that as his new bands name, dropped the "a" and had "Megadeth."

Anthrax - Scott Ian learned about it in high school biology and thought it was a cool name for a band.

Aerosmith - originally thought up by Joey Kramer, it was rejected by the rest of the band because they thought it was "arrow smith."

Amon Amarth - named after Mt Mordor in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Ramones - All the original Ramones were big Beatles fans and decided to name the band after the name Paul McCartney used as an alias at hotels (Paul Ramone).

Motley Crue - in the band's early days (before known as Motley Crue) they were all sitting around and someone commented "what a motley crew this is." The band decided to change the way "crew" was spelled and put umlauts over the "O" and "U" because they were drinking Lowenbrau at the time and thought it looked cool.

Motorhead - was English slang for speed (drug) freaks, which Lemmy was.

Answer 4

Cop Shoot Cop - Gotta love this name. Allegedly comes from the members having a common hatred of police officers.

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Was supposed to be the name of a movie by the main members detailing their real life "adventures." They never got around to finishing it but formed a band instead.

A Perfect Circle - Maynard said this name was chosen because all the members of the group represented "a perfect circle of friendship." Isn't that beautiful? Perhaps a subtle swipe at Tool and Smashing Pumpkins.

Answer 5

I like the story behind the name of the girl I love. She named her band The Falling Zone, after a spot on a couch that they all fell off of. BQ: I took a long time to listen to Porcupine Tree. Big mistake on my part. BBQ: *yummy!* Foo & the Pwnzors BBBQ: Lots of obscure rappers and techno.

Answer 6

The Butthole Surfers ..In their early days would change their name before each gig they played and never once got paid. Until just before a gig one night they were asked what they called themselves and being the smartasses they are they replied we're The Butthole Surfers. After the gig they got paid $ 50 and decided that was the name to keep. ...For Master C's earlier response the 182 in Blink 182 I believe has something to do with the amount a human eye blinks..I may very well be wrong

Answer 7

Black Sabbath-They originally wanted to call themselves Earth. But when Butler joined band with an idea for a song inspired by a disturbing figure at the foot of his bed. He was a fan of horror films and the black magic-themed novels of Dennis Wheatley, and flirted briefly with the black arts. But when he saw what he believed to be a figure from the dark side at the foot of his bed one night, he ceased his dabbling in the goth world. With lyrics by Ozzy, the group composed a song about the visitation, entitling it “Black Sabbath” (after the 1963 Boris Karloff film). It provoked a reaction in audiences unlike anything else in their repertoire, and they knew they’d stumbled onto something powerful and unique. Forced to change their name because there was already another band named Earth, they made an obvious choice: Black Sabbath.

Mars0627-you totally misunderstood the question

Answer 8

Chunga beat me to it for Led Zeppelin!

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac :~

Peter Green was a member of John Mayall's Blues Breakers. The bassist at the time was John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood very briefly passed through playing drums.
Peter got them into the studio and recorded a piece they were playing. He took the tape reel away with him, labeling it 'Fleetwood Mac'.

When he later got the two of them to form a band with him, he already had the perfect name.

Even now, Fleetwood and McVie are respected as one of the best rhythm sections in Rock.

Answer 9

How about the band GWAR (an acronym for God What an Awful Racket) Gory, sexually perverse, and scatological in the extreme, GWAR was formed at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA as an experiment in marketing strategy by several musicians, art students, and dancers. They have been around now for about 21 years, pretty good for starting out as an experiment!!

The group performs in bizarre costumes made of latex and papier-mache, and their stage show features fake pagan rituals, corpses spewing washable bodily fluids on the audience, and sometimes a mechanical giant maggot.

The group claims to consist of all-powerful interplanetary warriors, descended from aliens stranded in Antarctica and initially created from the lowest filth in the universe, who have come to Earth to sexually enslave and/or slaughter the human race.

Epic Tale of Gwar
(there's a more detailed story at their website, cannot be posted here due to the vulgar and content)

Eons ago, there existed an elite group of chaos warriors who ravaged the galaxy with a boundless hatred of all things alive. They were called the Scumdogs of the Universe, and they grew in might and fury, the greatest weapon in the arsenal of their cosmic Master.

But they became too powerful, and too defiant, and for their cosmic crimes were banished to the most insignificant planet in the universe...the seething mudball known as Earth.

Millions of years passed, and they slumbered, until the pollution of your world de-thawed these creatures from their ageless coma...and now they stride the Earth, living gods, dedicated to one goal, the destruction of the human race, and the eradication of existence itself


All members perform under aliases; the main group consists of :
Oderus Urungus (vocals, born David Brockie)
Balsac the Jaws of Death (guitar, born Steve Douglas)
Flattus Maximus (guitar, born Peter Lee)
Beefcake the Mighty (bass, born Michael Bishop)
Jizmak the Gusher (drums, born Brad Roberts)

Auxiliary characters include:
Techno-Destructo (occasional vocals, born Hunter Jackson)
Slymenstra Hymen (born Danyelle Stampe)
The Sexecutioner (born Charles Varga)
Sleazy P. Martini (manager, born Don Drakulich).

Answer 10

Pink Floyd was actually named after 2 of Sid Barrett's favorite blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Alice Cooper 's name also has many stories behind it. One has to do with a Ouija board. Another has to do with Archies comic books. Betty's mommas name is Alice and their last name ironically is Cooper. Alice aka "Vince Furnier" said he just pulled the name out of thin air, thinking of a witch girl hiding an axe behind her, but who knows. Old rockers never die, their legends always live on.