Accidentally Like a Band Name

The list was compiled by Paul some time in 1986-87. The names were supplied mostly, if not all, by Paul and me. I'm not sure if Jim or Chris offered anyway, or else didn't care. Ultimately, Jim's one suggestion won.

Paul's are in yellow, mine are in green. But I don't know. It was almost 20 friggin years a go...

NAMES CONSIDERED BEFORE "THE MARTYRS"

The Wicker Men
The Horsemen
The Psychedellos
The Bandicoots
The Rogues
The Blitz Wolves
The Dewbacks
Two Micks, A Pole & A Kraut
The Mudpuppies
The Sea Merchants
Strange Sky
The Smunks
The Accidentals
The Nudgin Sabby
The Constant Smunks
The Lost Souls
Peace Punks
The Pottsicrotchie Smunks
Captain Dynamo & The Space Harps
Rotting Trash
Turquoise Lake
Infamous Garbage
Jawbone Hill
The Colorforms
Three Raucous Hours
The Rain Dogs
The Zowetz Zangdooey
Plaid Tongue
The Coyotes (2 syllables - first syllable stressed)
Blue-Tongued Skink
The Cliff Badgers
Trypholating Kashoplock
The Pit Bulls
Los Cicadas
Gilligan's Asshole
Red Bag
Dry Bones
The Hooligans
The Red Bags
Dust
The Everlasting
The Rapists
Rainbirds
The Jobopping Greebirds
Pearls for Swine
Peace Dogs
Morally Corrupt
The Journeymen
Dazed & Confused
Rigor Mortis
Will O' The Wisp
Spontaneous Combustion
Brontosaurus Stomp
The Assassins
The Bonfire
Anchored in Limbo
Cool Harbor
Unrelenting Diarrhea
The Subtle Ducks
Persistent Cough
The Grass Hoppers
The Night Sweats
The Heydays
The Rabid Armadillos
The Saving Grace
Stunned Trout
Let's Kill and Eat Emmanuel Lewis
The Little Guys
Montezuma and the Aztec Warriors
The Beach Creatures
The Zingo Conflagration
The Caravan
The Ducks
Psychadelic Feedback

Oh my God, mine are the worst! "Cool Harbor"? "Stunned Trout"? I was still coming off the media buzz of the 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love, a bandwagon I had gleefully jumped on, although I could never find a comfortable seat. Such winners as "Turquoise Lake" and "Psychadelic Feedback" emerged from this faux-nostalgic personality disorder. I wasn't even born until '69. What did I know about the hippies? I don't know why I was so interested in it at the time, but I was to pay for it in the form of much mocking and derision from the band. Once the band formed. And once we agreed on a name.

The only noteworthy, yet nevertheless useless titles came from Paul. There are a few names that sound part-Edward Gorey, part-Dr. Seuss (my favorite remains "The Jobopping Greebirds").

"The Smunks" (and its variations) referred to a creature that was half-Chipmunk, half-Smurf. I was a big fan of this choice.

I remember an early frontrunner being "Peace Punks", reflecting half our group's punk aspirations, and the other half's bullshit hippie love forest inspirations. Although, that hippie half wasn't really accurate. I certainly wasn't a hippie, although I did wear a tye-died shirt at times (I think I bought mine at Spencer's). And Chris, the other "peace" aspect of this half, probably didn't know what a hippie was; he just loved the Beatles. I mean, he loved JUST the Beatles.

Really, none of this was ever discussed outside my head. The other three Martyrs will have no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyway, we settled on The Martyrs, though I think Paul would have preferred just "Martyrs".

But really, the best name of all was "Let's Kill and Eat Emmanuel Lewis."

He was still in his heyday.

And so were we.

- Mike 9-18-05