A Band In My Head

I'm not very creative. Some people push back at me when I say this, but it's essentially true. I've been in bands and done creative things, but I don't write songs, poems, or anything like that. Just the past few days a sound has been coming into my head. And George gave me an electric guitar yesterday. I think I have everything I need to make a record.

I like lots of bands and sounds and types of music, and that's a big part of my problem. What would I want to do? Also, I feel like there is more good music out there than I will ever get a chance to hear. Why would I make more, especially since it probably won't be very good?

I like these two bands a lot lately:

http://www.myspace.com/televisionroom

http://www.myspace.com/amanset

Both great names. So I discovered American Analog Set back in 2005 when I made my Black Postcards mix (still listen to that thing--boy how failure inspires you!). Love that sound: soft, brushy drums, acoustic guitars, clean electrics, breathy harmonies. I love the refrain on "Aaron and Maria" when the sweet harmony goes "'Cause no one gives a fuck about us."

I've been in band with names like:

• Diatribe
• Housequake
• Trancemitter
• The Clamdiggers
• George Washington
• The Frenzy Brothers

When we were forming Diatribe, I lobbied hard for the name "Gifts and Lamps." I am glad I didn't win. I got the name from a section of the Meijer store. I also wanted to start a funk/techno band called "Real Live Band." It could have been "RLB" for short. You can see why naming the band was never left to me.

I wonder if I could think of original band names--there are more names out there than you can imagine. Lots of cool ones taken. Here's a band name maker. Brainstorm:

• Rip a name from a Brian Eno lyric (worked for A Certain Ratio)


• Rip a name from a Talking Heads song (worked for Radiohead)


• Be creative.