Naming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are (usually) listed alphabetically.

Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won’t know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!

Movies always show mourners gathered in the cemetery under umbrellas in the rain. Until today I had never experienced that in real life. Unlike in the movies, the umbrellas weren’t black. In April in Seattle, even a rainy day is colorful, though more appropriate for indoor activities than out. Go hole up in a bar and hear a well-named band!

Bag of Hammers

Not to be taken internally.

I Don’t Know How but They Found Me

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m a sucker for a too-long name full of overwrought drama.

Outer Spaces

The plural form makes it seem to be about something smaller.

The Scruffs

Implies an unkempt appearance, but my mind goes to the carrying handle on cats, those most kempt of creatures.

Timeflies

You can’t; they move too quickly. (An old joke not original with me, but I couldn’t resist.)

Shameless Self Promotion: In case you didn’t know, I write about a lot more than band names! My young adult wizard fantasy novel Daughter of Magic releases May 22, 2018 from Not a Pipe Publishing. As part of the Year of Publishing Women, in 2018 Not a Pipe is publishing nine books by seven women; I’m honored to be one of them.