I hesitate to release music under my own name for two reasons: (1) there is a sort of coffee shop, acoustic guitar strumming, singer-songwriter connotation to releasing music under just a name that I'm trying to keep away from, not that there's anything wrong with it, just that it's not me, and (2) if I release music under my name, then that's me. And there is something very personal and honest about using my own name for my music. I can always distance myself from music made under a band name or a different name, I feel as though any music that I release under Harrison Hsiang has to be pretty darn good and true to myself. I don't know if I'm ready for that.
Using a band name is also very appealing because it evokes a certain kind of mood or imagery. Something like Mark Oliver Everett doesn't really tell you anything, but a name like The Eels catches your attention, gives you an idea of something. (Mark Oliver Everett is actually a really cool name though now that I'm looking at it.) Band names also give you a little more freedom in your sound -- you might have one project that has a certain kind of sound, but maybe you have an interest in producing another, very different sound that might appeal to a different audience.
But choosing a band name is really tough, especially when you don't really have a band. One of my favorite bands, The Punch Brothers, got their band name from a Mark Twain poem entitled "Punch, Brothers, Punch." And it's such a good band name! I had played with using the band name "James & The Giant Peach," (see picture, my proposed album artwork) after the Roald Dahl novel, but was informed by a member of the Roald Dahl Estate that they would not permit such a band name. Bummer.
The perfect name continues to evade me, but perhaps I'll happen upon it. None of that is particularly important until I have a finished product to release anyways. Do you have an idea for a possible band name? Let me know!
Using a band name is also very appealing because it evokes a certain kind of mood or imagery. Something like Mark Oliver Everett doesn't really tell you anything, but a name like The Eels catches your attention, gives you an idea of something. (Mark Oliver Everett is actually a really cool name though now that I'm looking at it.) Band names also give you a little more freedom in your sound -- you might have one project that has a certain kind of sound, but maybe you have an interest in producing another, very different sound that might appeal to a different audience.
But choosing a band name is really tough, especially when you don't really have a band. One of my favorite bands, The Punch Brothers, got their band name from a Mark Twain poem entitled "Punch, Brothers, Punch." And it's such a good band name! I had played with using the band name "James & The Giant Peach," (see picture, my proposed album artwork) after the Roald Dahl novel, but was informed by a member of the Roald Dahl Estate that they would not permit such a band name. Bummer.
The perfect name continues to evade me, but perhaps I'll happen upon it. None of that is particularly important until I have a finished product to release anyways. Do you have an idea for a possible band name? Let me know!