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 nightlife listings for abundant source material!

(Until live music returns, I am curating retrospective posts from past material. Dates indicate when the band was originally featured.)

SQUARE PIG IN A ROUND HOLE PANDEMIC EDITION #42

New Year Greetings! I’m leery of wishing a “happy” new year after 2020, but I will offer a hope that this year is better than the last one. It’s also the Ninth Day of Christmas, and the celebration continues with more festive holiday-themed band names. As ever, wash your hands, wear your mask, and if you are able, please buy these bands’ music and merch while we wait for a better day.

Glacier Veins
(December 12, 2015) Not exactly festive, but ice and cold are seasonal (some years). You’d have to have glacier veins not to be moved by the tale of the gentle bender, or perhaps by a sentimental old carol.

Hans Gruber and the Die Hards
(January 18, 2020) Gotta respect a band that uses classic X and the Y structure to refer to a pop culture icon in a different medium. Yippee ki yay and Merry Christmas.

Sacred Signs
(December 19, 2015) The carol “Love Came Down at Christmas” includes this puzzling line: “Worship we our Jesus: But wherewith for sacred sign?” I’ve never really understood what Christina Rossetti meant by that, but it’s always a line I look forward to singing because when else do I get to say “wherewith”?

season of strangers 
(December 12, 2015) My husband was sure the sentimental old carol “Dear Little Stranger” was a favorite beloved of all. So far, we haven’t found anyone else who knows it, including me. But this is the season to welcome strangers who can’t find room at the inn.

Several Other Ghosts
(January 11, 2020) Too late to visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, they find themselves at loose ends, available for hauntings, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and children’s parties.

One last thing before you go: I share highlights from this blog in my quarterly author newsletter, The Storypunk Report, as well as news of what I’m writing and reading, upcoming events, and other goodies, including “Wizard in the Mosh Pit,” an exclusive short story just for subscribers. Click the link to check out the first eight issues and subscribe here for future issues–the next one comes out next week! (Or just follow the blog for your weekly dose of band names.)