Naming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Since 2010, Square Pig in a Round Hole has been rewarding 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 and The Stranger nightlife listings for abundant source material!

We’re running out of February, but the supply of band names is abundant. I am not giving them up for Lent.

If you are able, please buy these bands’ music and merch. And … hit the follow button at the lower right to never miss a post!

AP Macroeconomics
From the opposite-day school of band naming, applying something dry and rigorous and unfun to something as creative and emotional as “dance-y feel-y music.”

Bone Frau
I always like bone and skeleton names, but this one stood out for personal reasons. The antagonist in my novel Death’s Midwife is a towering, skeletal figure named Old Mother Bones, and one of my beta readers for that book lives in Germany. Now I wonder if OMB just needs to start a band in the afterlife.

Faith in Strangers
It’s good to be reminded that most people we don’t already know are not out to cause us harm, and would probably offer help if we needed it.

The Messthetics
Someone gets my design sense!

Moon Palace
The ultimate billionaire ostentation: an off-planet luxury dwelling. I imagine it would have to be below the surface to protect from radiation, though, so it would be hard to prove it was even there. (By my count, this is the 35th moon-themed band name to be featured in this blog. There will never be too many.)

Two last things before you go:

1. I run The Rage Brigade, a Facebook group for conversation about fantasy, science fiction, superheroes, and music (and the intersections thereof). If that sounds like fun, come join us here.
2. 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 archive and subscribe here for future issues. (Or just follow the blog for your weekly dose of band names.)