Jimmy Eat World Warns Young Musicians to Consider the Acronym of Their Band Name

Choosing a band name is an excruciating process — you either overthink it and struggle through a seemingly endless argument, or you choose something quickly and wind up getting famous with a silly choice. Arizona emo veterans Jimmy Eat World have some crucial advice for those starting out, however — make sure you consider the acronym of your moniker.

JEW shared their advice via a cautionary tale on Twitter, pointing out that you must consider how your band name will be abbreviated on merchandise:
 

Advice for new bands: When coming up with a band name, make sure it's acronym displayed really large on your artwork or t shirts won't be complicating matters. You're welcome.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

The band went on to share exactly how they came up with their moniker, admitting that they were still pleased with their choice despite its abbreviation.
 

A little history on how we came up with the band name: We were rehearsing in my garage (Zach here) and Jim told us we got asked to play a party in the storage room of Name Brand Exchange in Mesa on Southern and Val Vista in Feb of 94. pic.twitter.com/qe5lw5X6CX

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

 

So we took a break from the garage and huddled around our kitchen island and decided to play the show but at that time, we hadn't yet sorted out a name so we needed to figure that out ASAP.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

 

Tom and Rick (who wasn't in the band quite yet) played in a band together that would change their name for every show. Me, zach, would go to a lot of those shows and I was there when they called themselves "Jimmy Eat World" and it stuck with me.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

 

So I'm not sure who threw that name out but it was brought up and we discussed it for less than 5 min, no shit, we decided to call ourselves Jimmy Eat World so we could play this dumb ass party. My memory was that it was a Valentines Day Party but not sure.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

 

So moral of the story: even seemingly small and insignificant decisions can be much bigger than you could imagine. Slow down sometimes and make sure it's right.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018

 

And I'm not saying our name is not "right" but when we have to design Merch or artwork I often wish we would have deliberated a bit more. Thanks for listening. Xoxo.

— Jimmy Eat World (@jimmyeatworld) July 27, 2018