Band name concerns

PLOP

Hi, 

I’ve joined/started a band with some people I met via one of the band finder sites. There’s five of us, the drummer and bassist know each other already but the rest don’t. The drummer set up the ads and everything so he’s kind of the “driver” of the thing. 

It came up yesterday that the band already has a name which I wasn’t aware of. (There’s previously been only one practice jam session, not all members were able to make it, we have no material written at all) The name that’s on the Facebook page (which I also didn’t know about!) is really not my thing at all. It’s not offensive or crude, but does have strong religious connotations. As in, there are other bands online with the same name who are praise choirs and legit church bands. The genre of our band is more along sludgey doom sounds. 

I don’t know yet if this name has been discussed with other members or not.

I really am quite strongly against the name as it stands now. 

I’m going to hold my tongue in the WhatsApp group but I will bring it up next time I see the drummer in person. I just don’t want to come across as a control freak or upset him if he’s really set on this name. I suspect there’s some sentimental attachment to the name as even though we’ve only met a couple of times, I was not getting any religious vibes at all, in fact I’d have bet the opposite. 

Has anyone been in a similar position and can offer some advice on how best to bring this up? I can think of some suggestions myself but I think that would come across like I’m issuing demands or something. 

BillDL

You really need to feel comfortable with the name of a band before you feel comfortable being part of it and presenting yourself to an audience otherwise it will feel incomplete or unsettling.  In the same way as a committed Christian might feel uneasy playing in a band named something like The Bad Samaritans, even though there's no profanities or blasphemous lyrics or imagery, a religious agnostic would probably also feel uncomfortable playing in a band named The Children of Jehovah even if the lyrics weren't religious.

A band name should never be decided without a vote by all members.  It may not have been a unilateral decision by one member and perhaps a few had their say, but everybody should have had a chance to submit names and discuss them before deciding on one.  Don't discuss things in WhatsApp or any other text based medium.  Do it in person.  It's far too easy for text to be misread or misconstrued by other people.

Jimbro66

If the drummer or other members are not overtly religious it could be that they thought using a P&W name for a sludge doom band might be intentionally controversial? The question to ask is whether the name may count against the band when seeking and promoting gigs.

Teyeplayer

Your band name is your identity, part of your brand if you like -how that can be decided in one incomplete jam is beyond me. You need to not only have a shared interest in a genre, but have also found what makes you unique. That becomes your selling point and the thing you all need to buy into. 

Let’s use this one as it loosely links with the opposite of your experience. If one was to advertise for a praise and worship, country and western band, you’d get a bunch of Christian country players apply. Easy, first box ticked. You might have a jam where you all play a three chord turnaround and a few pedal steel style licks, box two ticked -you make a passable sound. You might even jest over the sacrament that you’ll call yourselves ‘Cowboys and Crosses’, but without any songs, without getting a feel for each other’s playing, without finding what makes you fit together as a unit that is different from the next band, you are absolutely nothing. In the case of sludge doom, walk down the corridor of any given rehearsal space and you’ll find there are four other bands doing the exact same sort of thing (so P&W, C&W, might be more marketable after all). You need to find something that sets you apart.

So, in answer to your thread op, bring it up lightly in the next jam that it’s a bit early to pick a name isn’t it as you haven’t found your group identity. Let that sink in, someone else will soon chime-in with agreement.

PLOP

These are all great suggestions, thank you.

 BillDL said:

Don't discuss things in WhatsApp or any other text based medium.  Do it in person.  It's far too easy for text to be misread or misconstrued by other people.

This is what I was doing anyway, as I’ve been in a misunderstood situation from that before. 

The rest of your reply is basically just how I’m feeling but you wrote it more eloquently than I did! 

@jimbro66 - I don’t know if the name is designed to be controversial. I think it sounds too on the nose, not like Lamb of God for instance. A name that stands out on gig posters is definitely a benefit, the band Party Cannon are identifiable on festival posters a mile away and their name is against the grain for sure when it comes to extreme grindcore, but “Party Cannon” also isn’t sensitive subject-adjacent like a P&W name is.

 Teyeplayer said:

So, in answer to your thread op, bring it up lightly in the next jam that it’s a bit early to pick a name isn’t it as you haven’t found your group identity. Let that sink in, someone else will soon chime-in with agreement.

I think I’ll do this. As I said above, I’m not sure if the singer or keyboard player have met him in person even yet, but I know the bassist knows the drummer and I’ve met those two twice, so I do wonder if the others are similarly taken aback by this name topic that’s popped up in the group chat. 

flying_pie

If the group name was set in stone or already established then you should all have been made aware of that before you auditioned, never mind before you joined.

As that's not the case I think everything else in this thread is totally appropriate

PolarityMan

Is this thread a wind up? Doom has a long history of bands with religious sounding names.

Reverend

PolarityMan said:

Is this thread a wind up? Doom has a long history of bands with religious sounding names.

The best doom bands are christian.
However, choosing a name that is already used by a lot of bands is not a good idea. 

PolarityMan

I am kinda curious to know what it is.

Lebarque

PolarityMan said:

I am kinda curious to know what it is.

Jesus' Sandal

PLOP

PolarityMan said:

I am kinda curious to know what it is.

It’s nothing Christian sounding with a hint of darkness, like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Lamb of God, Paradise Lost etc. 

Its much closer to Brothers of Christ in terms of ‘tone’. 

BillDL

Brothers of the Immaculate Conception?

flying_pie

Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey?

Kittyfrisk

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?

merlin

Rubber Nuns

Kittyfrisk

Bad Habits?

Thee Holey Sees?

RocknRollDave

Ecumenical Matter

Bellycaster

Get the Monk Out?