Band names

[bannybassman]

I have a fairly newly formed band, it's going really well and we have some good songs but need a name. I've been thinking for the past few weeks, but about the best I've come up with is "Inertia" 

We are a four piece, all 16/17 years old, we play fairly heavy riff-based rock.

What I want to know is how do you guys come up with band names? And of course, if anyone has any suggestions they would be gratefully received.

Thanks 

[Gritter]

Inertia is a great name! Go with it!

Names can come from anywhere; books, quotes...anagrams (see ORH ).

I think a band and it's sound should describe or conjure the image of the name and not the other way around. That way you don't limit yourselves. And it's best to keep it simple. There's a thread on here with a ton of suggestions:

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=1051.0

Though I think Inertia is a tough one to top.

[Geir]

Though I think Inertia is a tough one to top.

... I agree .... but the thread is quite a fun read anyway

[Oldrottenhead]

seems there are quite a few bands called inertia already.

[Oldrottenhead]

oh yeah anagrams work for me.

[T.C. Elliott]

I agree with finding references. Phrases from books. Lyric fragments from songs. There were a few bands that took the name from the song title of another artist. You could be like Chubby Checker who took his name as a spin/ripoff from Fats Domino. Same with Celibate Rifles vs The Sex Pistols.

I like Inertia but if it's been used a lot that can pose a problem. Maybe try adding a descriptor to it?
Dead Inertia
Slow Inertia
Active Inertia

okay, maybe not. Well, maybe Inertia Dreams. At any rate, be creative and good luck. Naming the band is one of the hardest things about forming a band, imo.

[Bluesberry]

"Temporary Inertia" has a nice ring to it.......

I have always been partial to "Black Window" for a band name for some reason.

[FuzzFace]

How about "Squalor"?

[FuzzFace]

I heard a suggestion once:  open an atlas to a random page and point at a random place.  There is your band name.

[Ferryman]

The band name really doesn't matter that much - look at some of the ridiculous names of famous bands (like Pink Floyd!). Don't spend too long trying to come up with a "killer" band name, it's really not that important. However, a few bits of advice from my many years of being involved in bands:

- Don't pick anything too obvious. There are so many people playing in bands you need to have a unique name. Not to stand out, but to make it unlikely someone else will use the same name. I used to play in a band called The Decoys which was starting to do quite well (got a write up in the music press and a good local following) then another band in London started using the same name. We couldn't afford the legal fees to make them stop using our name so had to change our band name which kind of spelled the end of that band. So Google any potential name to see if anyone is already using it - as Jim pointed out, Inertia is taken by too many bands already.

- Pick something that is easy to say (think of a radio DJ) and that you can make a good graphic for on your posters.

- Make sure your name has no negative associations of any sort (I would not have used the name Joy Division myself, I think its back story is too unpleasant) and also that it suits the style of music you play and the image you want to create.

The kind of word association names are quite fun - pick two different words from books or films that you all like and see if they fit together for example.

Cheers,

Nigel