Hooves on the Turf

Where I list some of my favorite band names, based on the aesthetics of the words, the rhythm they create and the images they furnish. Bands for whom 2008 was a notable year in the advancement of their career were considered.

#6 Holler, Wild Rose!

When I asked them what their name meant, I didn’t really get a straight answer. They told me it was the name of the winter sun rising behind Manhattan, the way warm sunlight strikes a windshield to rest on your cheeks, the way dried salt and rainwater mix to throw a pattern of shadows across your face; that it was both a declaration of joy and an emphatic imperative to the listener. Fair enough

It’s also the title of the song which they feel defined their musical identity. I like it because it’s such a wonderful way to greet anyone, really, especially if we were all inside an old movie. There’s another band with a similar name: Hello, Blue Roses, but I suppose the tone there has a little less swagger. mp3

#5 Salt & Samovar

The world of stories and warmth I associate with the word “samovar” is best alluded to in the Russian animation Yozhik v Tumane, in which our little hedgehog in the fog is on his way to meet his bear friend for a little bit of tea and stargazing (pictured above). It seems the band had a similar idea: “Our name was inspired by the rolling tides of New England, by the salt that is in the air and in the way of life there. We imagine a family gathered around a hot stove brewing tea and telling stories, stories that are like music whistling up the trunk of the enormous family tree out back.”

They’re playing an acoustic set at Zebulon on Jan 23, and then a regular show at Public Assembly Hall on the 29th. mp3

#4 French Horn Rebellion

There’re several stories behind this band name, but eventually they’re all one. Robert Perlick Molinari, who majored in French Horn, told me, “What they say is, ‘You just have to be true to yourself and have fun!’ You know, ‘Don’t let the post-Holden world get you down’ and that’s kind of what we did, because as a French Horn player, I like creating hot beats as well as playing horn.”At the same time, he says, when his horn teachers were starting out, there were a lot of opportunities for live musicians, such as playing on TV spots, film scores, and other orchestras. But now that most things are replaced by computers, one person is able to create a full symphony of sounds: “So, sadly, the French Horn player is forced to make exactly what he hates… which creates questions in my own mind as to why we’re doing what we’re doing… a lot of our lyrics are about us playing French Horn.” They do, however, bust out a French Horn, freestyle, at their live shows, and perhaps you’ll catch some of this when they play next: Jan 17 at the Delancey with Team Robespierre & Ninjasonik. mp3

#3 Fleet Foxes

Though there’s been no shortage of bands evoking wintry woods, I love the sound of these two words, “fleet” and “foxes”, and the flurry of nimble motion packed within, like you could almost hear the rustle of the leaves, even. It’s a two-word poem, really, and as an adjective “fleet” is just an awesome word. According to this article in the Independent their previous name was “Pineapple”–pretty horrendous for a band name–which they dropped after another band with the same name objected. Robin Pecknold says he settled on “Fleet Foxes” because it was “evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting”. mp3

#2 Pattern Is Movement

Here it is, a profound truth and a succulent bite of intellect strung along three words. A three-word poem!, and perhaps that’s illustrative of the word-punch that was involved in the making of the longer poem this name comes from, T.S. Eliot’s  ‘Burnt Norton‘:

The detail of the pattern is movement,
As in the figure of the ten stairs.

It’s a nice fit for the band’s dynamic sound, too. Pattern Is Movement is playing the Bellhouse on Jan 23rd, with Ponytail and These are Powers. mp3

#1 The Builders and the Butchers

I like this name more than others in the list because it’s very true to the band’s music, so it seems like a significant fragment of the whole story rather than a mere afterthought. But really, I can’t resist the proletarian might to it: the builders and the butchers, the givers of our towns, the rocks of our civilization, the dirty callused hands, and so on. According to singer Ryan Sollee, they had a list of band name options, and this one was the one nobody hated. I asked him if it was taken from anything, but it seems it wasn’t, which is probably why it feels like an extension of their music.

They were previously known as the Funeral Band, and they walked around playing unannounced shows around Portland wherever there were crowds. Catch them at Bowery Ballroom on Feb 6; they’re really fun to see live–they’ve got the spirit. mp3

Websites: Holler, Wild Rose!, Salt & Samovar, French Horn Rebellion, Fleet Foxes, Pattern Is Movement, The Builders and the Butchers