It has been a long time annoyance of mine when bands make significant changes to their line ups but do not change the band name. Why? Is the singer/front man really the sole force behind the band? Pearl Jam was rotating drummers once on what seemed like a monthly basis and it didn’t bother me. But it didn’t bother me because Pearl Jam wouldn’t be Pearl Jam without Eddie Vedder.
The biggest reason why I believe bands should have to change their name- even if in a copyright lawsuit- is simply because of the name value and the legacy that it holds. Right now it is 2010, so if someone was born in 1995, they’d be fifteen years old. Imagine if when Kurt Cobain killed himself the other members of the band decided to go on with a new front man and keep the Nirvana name. While it wouldn’t seem morally right, I would also find it funny if someone who was only fifteen years old said that they had seen Nirvana live. “No you haven’t. Kurt Cobain died a year before you were born”.
This is also true in the reverse of situations. Bands like Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine and Stone Temple Pilots prove that, in fact, the front man does make the band. Did the members of Rage Against the Machine (minus their front man) plus Chris Cornell of Soundgarden keep the Rage Against the Machine name? No, because that name left with Zach De La Rocha. Did they take the Soundgarden name when they took Chris Cornell in? No, because Chris Cornell alone does not make Soundgarden. Sure, drummers are replaceable and sometimes even a guitarist or a bassist, but not something as serious as a lead singer.
Stone Temple Pilots have had an interesting time shuffling around the board between Talk Show, Army of Anyone and Velvet Revolver. But instead of using the STP name or Filter or Guns N Roses, they knew better and just changed their name entirely.
Now imagine for me that you are in a band, and you’re fairly well known but don’t have that commercial radio success or what not. Imagine you kick out your singer because he suffers from mental illness or got thrown in jail for some reason. Once your singer is gone, and you leave that part of you behind you, leave the name behind as well.
The first time I saw somewhere that Blind Melon was playing shows again I thought, “Wait, what? Shannon Hoon isn’t dead?” When I saw Sublime reuniting with the name but obviously not Bradley I felt even sicker. Sure, Jerry Cantrell was a big part of Alice In Chains, but hey, Layne Staley was part of the band too. Now, they’re just one step away from being a cover band rather than the original.
Sometimes I think bands just don’t have the creativity to think up a new name, so I’ve taken it upon myself to rename five of the bands that I think need to change their names the most.
Blind Melon ~ Deaf Avocado (It’s clever, but yet, with a hint of the original name)
Chiodos ~ Edwood (or if they get sued over that, simply use “Edward”)
Alice In Chains ~ Alan In Shackles (I’d pick something like “Man In The Box”, but they all sound too much like tribute band names. Even “Alice Unchained” was stretching it)
Sublime ~ Long Beach Dub All-Stars (I don’t know why, but this sounds like a really good name to me for some reason. I could see it on a t-shirt)
Escape the Fate ~ Flee From Destiny (Pretty much says the same thing, but doesn’t tarnish the brief legacy of what was once a great band and somehow turned into a generic run of the mill waste of talent)
People have argued with me that all the members make up the band, not just the singers. I also heard that people would’ve wanted the band name to live on. I’m sure it may seem like that, but if I was a lead singer and didn’t even die but just got kicked out of a band I’d be like, “Change the name, bitches” It’s just about holding onto the past and something great that they once had together. But they’re not going to have it again because one of their pieces is missing. Accept it, move on and change your band name.
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