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Naming your newly-formed band should not be quick or easy. You need to put some serious thought into what that name is going to say about your style, the band's sound, and your collective personality.

Listen to people and read signs and posters. Recall all of the times you've heard or seen something and thought, "That would make a great name for a band!" Consider the names of other bands what works about them, what makes them memorable, which ones would you change if you could?

Use an appropriate name. Fuzzy Kittens is not going to sell well in the metal market, and Death Brigade will not imply to listeners that you are a Bob Marley tribute band. Use a thesaurus to look up words that describe your sound or your message then play with some of the synonyms.

Remember that a long name will probably be shortened to initials. Make sure that the result is pronounceable rather than billing yourselves as TLMJ. Avoid using your own initials to create a name for your band unless you can come up with a better story afterwards. If you make it big, you'll be telling Teen Beat magazine and MTV the significance of your name for years. You not only need a killer name but a good anecdote for how you came up with it.

Have a sense of humor, but try not to be too cute. Calling your band the Bob Smith Trio when there are 5 of you will only lead to a belief that you either can't count or don't know what a trio is. Such a move will destroy your credibility - unless none of you are named Bob Smith in the first place. Again, having a good story about why you chose that name will allow you to get away with this sort of thing.

Whatever band name you come up with, make sure you all spell and pronounce it the same way. Avoid "kre8tiv" spellings and the lengthy names of obscure deities from ancient cultures. These will only serve to confuse and frustrate people who want to find your work, hopefully to buy it.

Learn more about this author, Mel Bergen.
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