QotD: Hello, Cleveland!

If you had a band, what would you call yourselves?
Question submitted by Zoot.

Well, I had a band called "Shadowplay" (2 members) for some time, performing in Gainesville, FL.  After moving to LA we called ourselves "Air Traffic Control" (3 members).   Now that I am planning on performing primarily alone I have been faced with just this question.

What does one call themselves when they shy away from self-aggrandizing yet require some representative moniker?

For too long the idea of a band name as a "brand" has been drilled in.  Even on the low end of an indie circuit, promoters and even your listening audience expect.. nay, require some thing to associate you with.  Preferably, you would provide many things, such as a name, an image (literal and figurative), a genre identification, a scene.  They should be able to guess the venues you will play at, estimate your success amongst your peers in contrast to popular music and identify with (and in subtle ways insinuate themselves into) the gestalt of your "brand".

Listening is a feeling!

These days, I perform as Jeremy James but only after asking everyone around me (mostly to their bemusment) what this meant.

A solo musician performing under a band-name-like pseudonym is a thematic decision.  I could perform as "Zoro" but I'd have to wear a mask and cape.. as an illustration.  As a group of musicians performing under the name of a single member such as "The Dave Mathew's Band" you might expect a faceless and changeable entourage.  The focus is obvious, intentional and in my potential case questionable.

To most people, the consideration is meaningless.  It doesn't matter what you call yourself.  It is like naming a child.  You have to do it, it does have meaning to you... but noone else really cares so long as they don't have to refer to it as "your kid" in perpetuity.

With that.. I'm promptly renaming my band "Billy".