Today, Long Island band Twin Sister announced that it would be changing its name to Mr. Twin Sister. Though it's not at all uncommon for a band to change its name a couple of times when starting out (I've been in bands that went months without a name at all), once the band starts releasing music and gaining an audience, like Mr. Twin Sister, changing names becomes tricky. Here are seven artists that have also changed their names after becoming famous.
1. Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy)
Canadian violinist Owen Pallett first rose to prominence as the string arranger for Arcade Fire, and began releasing solo music in 2005 under the name Final Fantasy, a reference to the video game series. However, after two albums as Final Fantasy, Pallett decided to retire the name in order to avoid confusion with the Final Fantasy series. Since 2010, Pallett's music has been released under his own name.
2. The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims)
In music, any references to religion, however insignificant, are automatically laced with a degree of transgression, but naming your band "The Muslims" in the 21st century is practically begging for attention and controversy. After the Muslims formed in 2007 and heard all of the ignorant comments that should have been expected, the band changed its name to the far less interesting "The Soft Pack" in 2008.
3. Self Defense Family (formerly End of a Year)
Though Self Defense Family released its fourth LP Try Me in January, this was only the first LP released under the name "Self Defense Family." From 2003 to 2010, the band was known as End of a Year, and released three LP's under this name before briefly going by "End of a Year Self Defense Family," in order to ease the transition into its new name.
4. Dinosaur Jr. (formerly Dinosaur)
Though Dinosaur Jr. naming its debut album Dinosaur may seem a bit confusing (it can't accurately be referred to as a "self-titled" album), it was far less confusing when it was first released in 1985. Back then, the band was simply called "Dinosaur," and released its first two albums under that name. However, after being sued by the Dinosaurs (an '80s psych-rock supergroup), Dinosaur simply added "Jr." to its name to avoid any more trouble.
5. Animal Collective (formerly Avey Tare & Panda Bear, others)
As its name implies, Animal Collective is less of a band and more of a collective of musicians. Depending on the album, its line-up fluctuates between two and four members, but before settling on the name "Animal Collective" for every album, the band's name would change depending on the performers involved. For example, its first album is credited to just "Avey Tare & Panda Bear," while its next album was "Avey Tare, Panda Bear, & Geologist." The band was briefly known as "Campfire Songs" for an album of the same name, and finally became known as "Animal Collective" in 2003.
6. T. Rex (formerly Tyrannosaurus Rex)
There's a good reason why the term "t. rex" has caught on, and it's because "tyrannosaurus rex" is a mouthful, not to mention difficult to spell. Tyrannosaurus Rex producer Tony Visconti would write "T. Rex" on the band's tapes, and even the members of the band would refer to themselves as such, which lead the band to officially shorten its name in 1970.
7. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (formerly A Silver Mt. Zion, others)
Is it any surprise that the guy from Godspeed You! Black Emperor has a penchant for strange band names? Efrim Menuck's side project Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra has a strange enough name as it is, but has gone through at least five variations through different releases. It started as the reasonable "A Silver Mt. Zion," but morphed into "The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band," later adding "with Choir," later changing "The" to "Thee," and at one point going by "Thee Silver Mountain Reveries." The band has stuck with its current name since 2010.
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