Thanks to the internet, it's pretty easy these days to figure out whether another band has the same name you. It wasn't always that way, however. In the days before domain name registration, groups had to take a leap of faith and hope that no other act shared the same handle. Of course, this often went awry, and legal battles and name changes would ensue.
Even today, we're surprised to find that bands are still being forced to change their names -- come on guys, don't you have Google? Some of these battles are valid, while others are completely spurious. Whatever the case, here is Exclaim!'s list of some of the most memorable band name disputes.
Rock'n'Roll's 10 Most Memorable Band Name Disputes:
10. Dinosaur vs. Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur's 1987 sophomore album You're Living All Over Me was their breakthrough. Unfortunately, the added publicity meant that the psych rock supergroup the Dinosaurs -- composed of former members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, County Joe and the Fish, and more -- took notice and forced the J Mascis-led alt-rockers to change their handle to Dinosaur Jr. Subsequent pressings of their first two albums added "Jr." to the packaging.
9. The Pack vs. The Pack A.D.
Vancouver garage punks Becky Black and Maya Miller were originally known as the Pack, but a Sacramento rap crew of the same name (who included the BasedGod Lil B) kept having the West Coast outfit's MySpace page deleted. Fearing that legal action would follow, Black and Miller changed their name to the Pack A.D. But these ladies don't go for any of that "Anno Domini" shit -- their original website was at www.thepackafterdeath.com.
8. The Warlocks vs. Grateful Dead
Before the Grateful Dead became the world's most beloved (and reviled) jam band, the San Francisco-based outfit were known as the Warlocks. At the same time, the Velvet Underground were going by the same name on the opposite coast. Then, a third band emerged with the same name, and Jerry Garcia opted to rechristen his group the Grateful Dead after reportedly finding the phrase in a dictionary. It's probably for the best -- "Deadhead" is way catchier than "Warlockhead."
7. Bison vs. Bison B.C.
These Vancouver metalheads had already put out an EP under the name Bison before they had to rebrand themselves as Bison B.C. The band made light of the situation, and at the time issued a statement that read, "We didn't want to get sued by some limey ska band or any one of a million college football bands." In any case, we think the new name works better: not only are they from British Columbia, but this makes them sound like prehistorical metal gods.
6. Death from Above vs. Death from Above 1979
Was anybody really likely to confuse the Toronto garage rock duo Death from Above with the New York City dance label DFA Records? Apparently, James Murphy thought so, because the label threatened the band with legal action. Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler were apparently none too happy about the change, but agreed to add "1979" to their name, after Grainger's birth year.
5. The Dust Brothers vs. The Chemical Brothers
When the pioneering electronic duo now known as the Chemical Brothers formed in 1991, they named themselves after the celebrated American production team the Dust Bothers, who at that time were famous as the beat-makers behind the Beastie Boys' 1989 triumph Paul's Boutique (a few years later they helmed Beck's Odelay). Unsurprisingly, the U.S. producers took exception and threatened legal action, so in 1995, the UK band changed their name to the Chemical Brothers in reference to their own song, "Chemical Beats."
4. The Tea Set vs. Pink Floyd
"Which one's Pink?" We might never have asked this question if the iconic rock band had continued to go by their original name, the Tea Set. The story goes that in 1965, they were booked to play a show with another band, also called the Tea Set. Wishing to avoid confusion, Syd Barrett changed his group's name to the Pink Floyd Sound in reference to blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Rock history was never the same.
3. Hunter vs. Cunter
Hunter is a bit of a plain name, so we're not entirely surprised that this Alexisonfire/Moneen spinoff discovered that it was already taken. They were forced to change it, and in true hardcore punk style, rechristened themselves with the hilariously NSFW handle Cunter. As the band's bassist Kenny Bridges told Exclaim!, "If we have to change our name, let's just fucking freak people out and make some people pissed off." Mission accomplished.
2. Manitoba vs. Caribou
Maybe we're biased, but we've got to side with Dan Snaith on this one. The Canadian electronic musician originally went by the moniker Manitoba, but was forced to change it by Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (aka Richard Blum) of the Dictators. As Snaith himself commented, "It's like the Smiths suing John Smith or something." Regardless of the annoying and, in our opinion, completely unnecessary name change, Snaith went on to achieve even greater success under the name Caribou. Take that, Handsome Dick.
1. Galaxie 500 vs. Galaxie
Seriously? Had Montreal rocker Olivier Langevin really never heard of the iconic slowcore act fronted by Dean Wareham when he tried to call his band Galaxie 500? When Exclaim! asked Wareham about the similarity in a 2007 interview, he said, "We're aware of that. They have been sent a letter from a lawyer telling them to stop. It's incredible to me that they haven't changed their name yet. All you've got to do these days is Google a band name and see that the name is taken." Of course, in the case of Galaxie 500, you could probably just walk into any indie record store in the country and flip through the shelves. The Montreal band eventually shortened their name to Galaxie and earned a shortlist nomination for last year's Polaris Music Prize, but we still haven't stopped snickering about the sheer ridiculousness of trying to get away with calling the band Galaxie 500.
Even today, we're surprised to find that bands are still being forced to change their names -- come on guys, don't you have Google? Some of these battles are valid, while others are completely spurious. Whatever the case, here is Exclaim!'s list of some of the most memorable band name disputes.
Rock'n'Roll's 10 Most Memorable Band Name Disputes:
10. Dinosaur vs. Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur's 1987 sophomore album You're Living All Over Me was their breakthrough. Unfortunately, the added publicity meant that the psych rock supergroup the Dinosaurs -- composed of former members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, County Joe and the Fish, and more -- took notice and forced the J Mascis-led alt-rockers to change their handle to Dinosaur Jr. Subsequent pressings of their first two albums added "Jr." to the packaging.
9. The Pack vs. The Pack A.D.
Vancouver garage punks Becky Black and Maya Miller were originally known as the Pack, but a Sacramento rap crew of the same name (who included the BasedGod Lil B) kept having the West Coast outfit's MySpace page deleted. Fearing that legal action would follow, Black and Miller changed their name to the Pack A.D. But these ladies don't go for any of that "Anno Domini" shit -- their original website was at www.thepackafterdeath.com.
8. The Warlocks vs. Grateful Dead
Before the Grateful Dead became the world's most beloved (and reviled) jam band, the San Francisco-based outfit were known as the Warlocks. At the same time, the Velvet Underground were going by the same name on the opposite coast. Then, a third band emerged with the same name, and Jerry Garcia opted to rechristen his group the Grateful Dead after reportedly finding the phrase in a dictionary. It's probably for the best -- "Deadhead" is way catchier than "Warlockhead."
7. Bison vs. Bison B.C.
These Vancouver metalheads had already put out an EP under the name Bison before they had to rebrand themselves as Bison B.C. The band made light of the situation, and at the time issued a statement that read, "We didn't want to get sued by some limey ska band or any one of a million college football bands." In any case, we think the new name works better: not only are they from British Columbia, but this makes them sound like prehistorical metal gods.
6. Death from Above vs. Death from Above 1979
Was anybody really likely to confuse the Toronto garage rock duo Death from Above with the New York City dance label DFA Records? Apparently, James Murphy thought so, because the label threatened the band with legal action. Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler were apparently none too happy about the change, but agreed to add "1979" to their name, after Grainger's birth year.
5. The Dust Brothers vs. The Chemical Brothers
When the pioneering electronic duo now known as the Chemical Brothers formed in 1991, they named themselves after the celebrated American production team the Dust Bothers, who at that time were famous as the beat-makers behind the Beastie Boys' 1989 triumph Paul's Boutique (a few years later they helmed Beck's Odelay). Unsurprisingly, the U.S. producers took exception and threatened legal action, so in 1995, the UK band changed their name to the Chemical Brothers in reference to their own song, "Chemical Beats."
4. The Tea Set vs. Pink Floyd
"Which one's Pink?" We might never have asked this question if the iconic rock band had continued to go by their original name, the Tea Set. The story goes that in 1965, they were booked to play a show with another band, also called the Tea Set. Wishing to avoid confusion, Syd Barrett changed his group's name to the Pink Floyd Sound in reference to blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. Rock history was never the same.
3. Hunter vs. Cunter
Hunter is a bit of a plain name, so we're not entirely surprised that this Alexisonfire/Moneen spinoff discovered that it was already taken. They were forced to change it, and in true hardcore punk style, rechristened themselves with the hilariously NSFW handle Cunter. As the band's bassist Kenny Bridges told Exclaim!, "If we have to change our name, let's just fucking freak people out and make some people pissed off." Mission accomplished.
2. Manitoba vs. Caribou
Maybe we're biased, but we've got to side with Dan Snaith on this one. The Canadian electronic musician originally went by the moniker Manitoba, but was forced to change it by Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (aka Richard Blum) of the Dictators. As Snaith himself commented, "It's like the Smiths suing John Smith or something." Regardless of the annoying and, in our opinion, completely unnecessary name change, Snaith went on to achieve even greater success under the name Caribou. Take that, Handsome Dick.
1. Galaxie 500 vs. Galaxie
Seriously? Had Montreal rocker Olivier Langevin really never heard of the iconic slowcore act fronted by Dean Wareham when he tried to call his band Galaxie 500? When Exclaim! asked Wareham about the similarity in a 2007 interview, he said, "We're aware of that. They have been sent a letter from a lawyer telling them to stop. It's incredible to me that they haven't changed their name yet. All you've got to do these days is Google a band name and see that the name is taken." Of course, in the case of Galaxie 500, you could probably just walk into any indie record store in the country and flip through the shelves. The Montreal band eventually shortened their name to Galaxie and earned a shortlist nomination for last year's Polaris Music Prize, but we still haven't stopped snickering about the sheer ridiculousness of trying to get away with calling the band Galaxie 500.
