How do they get their names?

The Doors of Perception is a 1954 book by Aldous Huxley detailing his experiences when taking mescaline. This short book is considered to be one of the more profound studies of the effects of mind-expanding drugs and what they teach about how the mind works.

The title comes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell:

"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through' narrow chinks of his cavern."

Psychedelic drugs are thought to disable filters which block or suppress signals related to mundane functions from reaching the conscious mind. In this book, Huxley explores the idea that the human mind filters reality, partly because handling the details of all of the impressions and images coming in would be unbearable, partly because it has been taught to do so. He believes that psychotropic drugs can partly remove this filter, or "open these doors of perception." After taking mescaline, Huxley wrote down his "´BIGFOOT" thoughts and feelings. He observed that everyday objects lose their functionality and suddenly exist "as such." Space and dimension become irrelevant, and perceptions seem to be enlarged and at times even overwhelming. Huxley's book inspired the young Jim Morrison to name his rock and roll band The Doors. [1] Morrison himself could quote Huxley at length.

I've always wanted to know when the tradition of naming a band started. What was the first band that came up some odd name to identify themselves to the public. I understand why the Tommy Dorsey Band was called that, but when did a band become things like The Beetles, The Rolling Stones, The Who etc?

That is the most interesting explanation I've ever heard and so eloquently put thanks for that Dys, feckin brilliant

I think its spelt The Beatles.I only realised this spelling recently, Beat, meaning a musical beat.Genius.

Actually, that's how they are speeled from the very beginning.

Their first commercial record was .... done and produced in Germany ("Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers", A-side was "My Bonnie", B-side "When the Saints Go Marching In"). And the original, first record had a couple of German verses on it!

That record later was re-labelled to "... and The Beatles"... and in English only.

How they got their name, see here.

Candyflipp - another drugs reference. They were a one-hit wonder from the days of "Madchester" (cringe) who did a cover of Strawberry Fields.

The name is supposedly refers to a particularly potent acid trip.

Duran Duran - think that was after a character from the Jane Fonda film, Barberella?

Gang Called the Disciples - from the Prince lyric "bein' in a gang called the Disciples, high on crack, and totin' a machine gun" (personal fave obviously.)

The Lightening Seeds - from another Prince lyric.

x

L7 comes from the way in which an "L" and a "7," when pushed against each other, sort of form a square.

most stories claim that toad the wet sprocket got the name from this python comedy sketch, but some stories say they thought it up themselves and were surprised to here the name in the routine a few years after the bands conception

Rock Notes
Monty Python's Contractual Obligations Album (1980)
Performer/Writer: Eric Idle


Rex Stardust, lead electric triangle with Toad the Wet Sprocket has had to have an elbow removed following their recent successful worldwide tour of Finland. Flamboyant ambidextrous Rex apparently fell off the back of a motorcycle. "Fell off the back of a motorcyclist, most likely," quipped ace drummer Jumbo McCluney upon hearing of the accident. Plans are already afoot for a major tour of Iceland.

Divorced after only eight minutes, popular television singing star, Charisma, changed her mind on the way out of the registry office, when she realized she had married one of the Donkeys by mistake. The evening before in LA's glittering nightspot, the Abitoir, she had proposed to drummer Reg Abbot of Blind Drunk, after a whirlwind romance and a knee-trembler. But when the hangover lifted, it was Keith Sly of the Donkeys who was on her arm in the registry office. Keith, who was too ill to notice, remained unsteady during the short ceremony and when asked to exchange vows, began to recite names and addresses of people who also used the stuff. Charisma spotted the error as Keith was being carried into the wedding ambulance and became emotionally upset. However, the mistake was soon cleared up, and she stayed long enough to consummate their divorce.

Dead Monkeys are to split up again, according to their manager, Lefty Goldblatt. They've been in the business now ten years, nine as other groups. Originally the Dead Salmon, they became for a while, Trout. Then Fried Trout, then Poached Trout In A White Wine Sauce, and finally, Herring. Splitting up for nearly a month, the re-formed as Red Herring, which became Dead Herring for a while, and then Dead Loss, which reflected the current state of the group. Splitting up again to get their heads together, they reformed a fortnight later as Heads Together, a tight little name which lasted them through a difficult period when their drummer was suspected of suffering from death. It turned out to be only a rumor and they became Dead Together, then Dead Gear, which lead to Dead Donkeys, Lead Donkeys, and the inevitable split up. After nearly ten days, they reformed again as Sole Manier, then Dead Sole, Rock Cod, Turbot, Haddock, White Baith, the Places, Fish, Bream, Mackerel, Salmon, Poached Salmon, Poached Salmon In A White Wine Sauce, Salmon-monia, and Helen Shapiro. This last name, their favorite, had to be dropped following an injunction and they split up again. When they reformed after a recordbreaking two days, they ditched the fishy references and became Dead Monkeys, a name which they stuck with for the rest of their careers. Now, a fortnight later, they've finally split up.

That's hilarious djjd62

I collect these sort of stories.

Here's a pretty well known one.

The Yardbirds split just before a tour of Scandinavia. Jimmy Page scraped a band together called the New Yardbirds at the last minute and his friend Keith Moon (The Who's drummer) learning about the band said he thought they'd go down like a 'Lead Zepellin'.