In the name of Rock

Imagine picking up the newest album from the punk sensation "Sweet Children." Doesn't have much of a ring, does it? But if the same album is from "Green Day," it just has a little more punch. A good band name can be instrumental and some try many times to clear that hurdle before landing on the perfect name.\nBig Saturday\nBig Saturday's name was a struggle for the band, and the group went through several drafts before settling on a name. "The band name Big Saturday came from a long arduous process of trying to find something that didn't sound horrible," Big Saturday guitarist Whit Conway said.\n"How can a group decide on a word or a few words that are supposed to encapsulate everything the band represents musically and personally? How we came up with Big Saturday: We were playing a show tentatively named as 'The Way' or 'The Weigh,' we couldn't agree on which, in our friend's basement on a Saturday night. We had been playing these Saturday night party shows weekly for a while. Being a house party, there were always lots of people there, but this one time we had a really good amount of people paying more attention than usual to our group. After the show a fan who'd been there for the majority of the Saturdays we had played said, 'Man, you guys, this was a really big Saturday!'" \nThe name stuck.\nColdplay\nAfter the success of albums such as "X&Y" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head," it's tough to imagine that Coldplay was ever a struggling band. Before finally finding fame, the members of Coldplay actually tried breaking into the music scene under the name Starfish. Their friends in another band were actually the ones who first began using the name Coldplay. They took this name from a book written by Philip Horky titled "Child's Reflections, Cold Play." After they decided not to use the name anymore, Starfish asked for their permission to take on the name Coldplay.\nCats Walking Backwards\nThe origin of the name of Bloomington band Cats Walking Backwards is exactly what it sounds like: it was inspired by a cat walking backward.\n"I have a black male long-haired cat, Figment, that is somewhat of a terror, what with his mischief and all. I have developed a sixth sense that lets me know when he is about to do something wrong," guitarist Alex Hall said. "As a result, I can generally quell the trouble before it happens, often a trigger for Figment to have to take a few steps backward. The sight is a particularly humorous one, and was my inspiration for submitting the idea of 'Cats Walking Backwards' to the guys as a possible band name. They approved." \nFOO Fighters\nThe Foo Fighters looked to history and science to form their band name. In World War II, American pilots reported seeing strange balls of light over Germany. People who saw the balls referred to them as Foo Fighters or "Kraut Balls" and believed they were secret weapons of the Germans. People who study UFOs and alien abductions believed that the balls of light were actually extraterrestrial, because people who had reported being abducted by aliens mentioned seeing similar balls of light. \nHogscraper\nSatanic bluegrass band Hogscraper found its inspiration through farm-supply mass mailings. \n"Back in the old hole in the ground on Dixmyth where we used to practice, we were always looking through this country goods catalogue for inspiration and ideas," band member Henry McHenry said. "When we were trying to come up with a name we said, 'Let's consult the book!' We grabbed it and opened it and the two-page spread said, 'It's Hog Killin' Time!' in big fancy letters. On the left was featured a Hogscraper and on the right was featured the Morton's Meat Pump. We had two projects at the time so we named one Hogscraper and the other Meat Pump. Meat Pump was soon to die but Hogscraper rose to form a great and furious beast that rides throughout the land spreading demon dung in its wake. If only them folks knew the beast they unleashed with their instruments of death!"\nGreen Day\nGreen Day also began their musical careers under a different band name. Originally named "Sweet Children," the punk-rock band decided to change its name to Green Day in 1990. Billie Joe wrote the song "Green Day" about his first time smoking pot, which occurred in the basement of a Berkeley University building. \nZeLienople\nSometimes, a band doesn't find the name, the name finds the band. For Chicago rockers Zelienople, a busted car and some zombies made sure they found their name.\n"Two of the members of the band, were trying to get to Boston in a car that was on its last leg. We kept breaking down, and finally decided to turn back to Chicago when it broke down again in Zelienople, Penn.," band member Matt Christensen said. "We just liked the name. I was watching the remake of "Night of the Living Dead" and there's a scene where a radio broadcast is informing residents to seek shelter in Zelienople. Being a big Romero fan, this sold me as the band name."\nThe zombie movie connection has an added bonus, Christensen said. \n"I've always imagined us fitting into the soundtrack of a horror movie nicely."\n311\nThe band 311 actually created their name after a brush with the law. In Omaha, the police code for indecent exposure is 311. Band member, P-nut was skinny-dipping in a public pool with some friends and was caught by police. He was arrested, taken home to his parents, and received a citation for indecent exposure. Finding the situation humorous, the band chose 311 for its name. Through the years, the band has jokingly credited the name to various stories on how it was chosen to represent them, but now say they appreciate having an abstract name that does not define them. \nHockey Night\nMinnesota rock band Hockey Night takes its name from federal panic. "Hockey Night is actually a distress code phrase created by the U.S. government to indicate to trans-national corporations that it can no longer contain the will of its citizens," band member Paul Sprangers said. "In other words, it is an SOS if the people begin to organize effectively against private power."\nIncubus\nFor some bands, choosing a name takes no more effort than combing the pages of a dictionary. Hours before its first show, the band Incubus was desperately trying to come up with a name. Guitarist Mike Einziger began searching a dictionary and found the word "incubus," which is a mythological, evil spirit that violates women in their sleep. The band liked the word and has since made several successful albums under the name Incubus. (From www.rocknworld.com/nameorigins/)\nBackyard Tire Fire\nBackyard Tire Fire took its inspiration from classic pop culture. \n"Fans of 'The Simpsons' know all about the infamous, always burning Springfield Tire Fire," lead singer Ed Anderson said. "We thought about calling the band that, but went with Backyard because it rolled off the tongue a little easier. Not to mention we were living deep in the hills of North Carolina, where a backyard tire fire was not uncommon"