The Morning Benders have spent the past few years making a name for themselves, and the buzzed-about California indie rock outfit have released two albums, in addition to a slew of stopgap releases. Well, the band are throwing some of their hard work down the drain, since they just changed their name to POP ETC.
Why the charge? Well, frontman Christopher Chu wrote a message on the band's homepage explaining that the band only recently found out that the word "bender" is a derogatory British slang word meaning homosexual. He explained that, for many British and European fans, the name "made us look hateful, or at best, ignorant."
He continued, "We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick." He also added that the name was too "distracting," and that he and his bandmates wanted to ensure that the focus was their music.
We're not sure that POP ETC is much better than the Morning Benders, but hey, the newly renamed band have a new album coming out soon, and you can hear the cuts "Everything Is Gone" and "Halfway to Heaven" below. Also download the group's new mixtape over at their official site.
Why the charge? Well, frontman Christopher Chu wrote a message on the band's homepage explaining that the band only recently found out that the word "bender" is a derogatory British slang word meaning homosexual. He explained that, for many British and European fans, the name "made us look hateful, or at best, ignorant."
He continued, "We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick." He also added that the name was too "distracting," and that he and his bandmates wanted to ensure that the focus was their music.
We're not sure that POP ETC is much better than the Morning Benders, but hey, the newly renamed band have a new album coming out soon, and you can hear the cuts "Everything Is Gone" and "Halfway to Heaven" below. Also download the group's new mixtape over at their official site.
