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How these big Canadian bands got their names - Are you ever listening to a cool band like Arcade Fire or Walk Off the Earth and you find yourself wondering, "Man, how on Earth did they come up with such a cool band name?" Well, we've dug up the answers for you!
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Sum 41 - The band from Ajax, Ontario was previously known as Supernova. They played their first gig as a group on September 28, 1996–also known as the 41st day of sum-mer. They eventually changed their name to Sum 41.
© Getty Images
1 / 29 Fotos
Our Lady Peace - This Canadian band also went by a different name. Before they were Our Lady Peace, they were called As If. Eventually they renamed themselves after a Mark Van Doren poem.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
Alexisonfire - Did you know this Canadian band was named after American porn star Alexis Fire?
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
Bedouin Soundclash - This band from Toronto get its name from a 1996 record from the artist Badawi.
© Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
The Trews - This musical group were called One-I’d Trouser before settling on The Trews. It was actually suggested by the bassist's mom! Trews means "trousers" in Scotland. They could not use Trouser after discovering another band already went by the name.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
Billy Talent - Another band who had to change its name for legal reasons is Billy Talent. They were previously known as Pezz, but they found out that an American band already had that name so they changed it to Billy Talent—a name derived from the book 'Hard Core Logo' by Canadian author Michael Turner.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
The Tragically Hip - This iconic Canadian band got the inspiration for their name from a Michael Nesmith project, comprised of comedy skits and music videos, called 'Elephant Parts.'
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
Faber Drive - Faber Drive is named after an incident in a car. Lead singer Dave Faber was playing guitar behind the wheel when all of a sudden the light turned green. One of his band mates yelled "Faber, drive!" and the name stuck.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
Three Days Grace - This rock band's name refers to a sense of urgency.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Walk Off the Earth - Gianni “Luminati” Nicassio said in an interview with Sheknows.com that their name comes from wanting to help fans forget their troubles, meditate by listening to music, and simply want to walk off the Earth!
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Simple Plan - The famous Canadian pop-punk rockers got their name from the 1998 film 'A Simple Plan.'
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
City and Colour - Dallas Green chose his alias because he felt a little uneasy about putting out music with his own name. So he came up with the moniker City and Colour which is what his actual name is a—a city and a colour!
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Arcade Fire - Arcade Fire's name came from a childhood story about an arcade burning down and killing a bunch of kids. How sweet...
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Tokyo Police Club - According to Buzzfeed, the group picked their band name from a computer program that was made to help figure out what the most popular band name was. Smart!
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
The Sadies - This band name came from a hillbilly comic strip by Al Capp.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
Bachman–Turner Overdrive - This Canadian band name comes from the band members' last names (hyphenated) and the word "overdrive," which was inspired by the name of a trucker's magazine!
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Nickelback - The band was originally called 'The Village Idiot' before Nickelback. The name came from band member Mike Kroeger always telling customers "here's your nickel back" while at his Starbucks gig.
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
Arkells - This band is named after the street in Hamilton, Ontario where they used to practice!
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
A Tribe Called Red - According to American Indian, many people believe that their band name pays homage to another group, A Tribe Called Quest. In fact, their name derived from powwows in which drum groups would call themselves by the names of their nations.
© Reuters
19 / 29 Fotos
Metric - This band was originally called Mainstream. They even released an EP under that name. Afterwards, they changed their name to Metric, which came from a sound on a keyboard.
© Reuters
20 / 29 Fotos
Marianas Trench - The members of this Canadian punk band aren't actually fans of the name they chose for themselves! According to Gigcity.ca, the group came up with it after throwing different names around until they decided Marianas Trench was the best.
© Reuters
21 / 29 Fotos
b4-4 - Well, there were three of them so the band decided to call themselves b4-4 (as in before four is the number three).
© Reuters
22 / 29 Fotos
Barenaked Ladies - This name was actually proposed as a joke between future band mates Ed Robertson and Steven Page. But one day Robertson actually put forth that name when entering a battle of the bands concert!
© Reuters
23 / 29 Fotos
Swollen Members - Moka Only suggested this as a joke after a night of drinking and partying.
© Reuters
24 / 29 Fotos
Rush - The iconic band's name was thought up by drummer John Rutsey's brother, Bill, after he told them they needed a better name. They were previously named The Projection.
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
Zeds Dead - The electronic duo adopted the name Zeds Dead from a line in 'Pulp Fiction.'
© Reuters
26 / 29 Fotos
The Guess Who - The Canadian rock band had a couple of different names before settling on The Guess Who, including The Reflections and Chad Allan & the Expressions. They had to adopt their most recent name after DJs kept introducing the band as The Guess Who, because, in an attempt to be mysterious, that his how they labelled their music when they sent it to stations!
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
April Wine - No extravagant story behind this band name. It was chosen "simply because they were two words that sounded good together," according to the band's site.
© Reuters
28 / 29 Fotos
How these big Canadian bands got their names - Are you ever listening to a cool band like Arcade Fire or Walk Off the Earth and you find yourself wondering, "Man, how on Earth did they come up with such a cool band name?" Well, we've dug up the answers for you!
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Sum 41 - The band from Ajax, Ontario was previously known as Supernova. They played their first gig as a group on September 28, 1996–also known as the 41st day of sum-mer. They eventually changed their name to Sum 41.
© Getty Images
1 / 29 Fotos
Our Lady Peace - This Canadian band also went by a different name. Before they were Our Lady Peace, they were called As If. Eventually they renamed themselves after a Mark Van Doren poem.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
Alexisonfire - Did you know this Canadian band was named after American porn star Alexis Fire?
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
Bedouin Soundclash - This band from Toronto get its name from a 1996 record from the artist Badawi.
© Getty Images
4 / 29 Fotos
The Trews - This musical group were called One-I’d Trouser before settling on The Trews. It was actually suggested by the bassist's mom! Trews means "trousers" in Scotland. They could not use Trouser after discovering another band already went by the name.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
Billy Talent - Another band who had to change its name for legal reasons is Billy Talent. They were previously known as Pezz, but they found out that an American band already had that name so they changed it to Billy Talent—a name derived from the book 'Hard Core Logo' by Canadian author Michael Turner.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
The Tragically Hip - This iconic Canadian band got the inspiration for their name from a Michael Nesmith project, comprised of comedy skits and music videos, called 'Elephant Parts.'
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
Faber Drive - Faber Drive is named after an incident in a car. Lead singer Dave Faber was playing guitar behind the wheel when all of a sudden the light turned green. One of his band mates yelled "Faber, drive!" and the name stuck.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
Three Days Grace - This rock band's name refers to a sense of urgency.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Walk Off the Earth - Gianni “Luminati” Nicassio said in an interview with Sheknows.com that their name comes from wanting to help fans forget their troubles, meditate by listening to music, and simply want to walk off the Earth!
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Simple Plan - The famous Canadian pop-punk rockers got their name from the 1998 film 'A Simple Plan.'
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
City and Colour - Dallas Green chose his alias because he felt a little uneasy about putting out music with his own name. So he came up with the moniker City and Colour which is what his actual name is a—a city and a colour!
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Arcade Fire - Arcade Fire's name came from a childhood story about an arcade burning down and killing a bunch of kids. How sweet...
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Tokyo Police Club - According to Buzzfeed, the group picked their band name from a computer program that was made to help figure out what the most popular band name was. Smart!
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
The Sadies - This band name came from a hillbilly comic strip by Al Capp.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
Bachman–Turner Overdrive - This Canadian band name comes from the band members' last names (hyphenated) and the word "overdrive," which was inspired by the name of a trucker's magazine!
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Nickelback - The band was originally called 'The Village Idiot' before Nickelback. The name came from band member Mike Kroeger always telling customers "here's your nickel back" while at his Starbucks gig.
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
Arkells - This band is named after the street in Hamilton, Ontario where they used to practice!
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
A Tribe Called Red - According to American Indian, many people believe that their band name pays homage to another group, A Tribe Called Quest. In fact, their name derived from powwows in which drum groups would call themselves by the names of their nations.
© Reuters
19 / 29 Fotos
Metric - This band was originally called Mainstream. They even released an EP under that name. Afterwards, they changed their name to Metric, which came from a sound on a keyboard.
© Reuters
20 / 29 Fotos
Marianas Trench - The members of this Canadian punk band aren't actually fans of the name they chose for themselves! According to Gigcity.ca, the group came up with it after throwing different names around until they decided Marianas Trench was the best.
© Reuters
21 / 29 Fotos
b4-4 - Well, there were three of them so the band decided to call themselves b4-4 (as in before four is the number three).
© Reuters
22 / 29 Fotos
Barenaked Ladies - This name was actually proposed as a joke between future band mates Ed Robertson and Steven Page. But one day Robertson actually put forth that name when entering a battle of the bands concert!
© Reuters
23 / 29 Fotos
Swollen Members - Moka Only suggested this as a joke after a night of drinking and partying.
© Reuters
24 / 29 Fotos
Rush - The iconic band's name was thought up by drummer John Rutsey's brother, Bill, after he told them they needed a better name. They were previously named The Projection.
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
Zeds Dead - The electronic duo adopted the name Zeds Dead from a line in 'Pulp Fiction.'
© Reuters
26 / 29 Fotos
The Guess Who - The Canadian rock band had a couple of different names before settling on The Guess Who, including The Reflections and Chad Allan & the Expressions. They had to adopt their most recent name after DJs kept introducing the band as The Guess Who, because, in an attempt to be mysterious, that his how they labelled their music when they sent it to stations!
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
April Wine - No extravagant story behind this band name. It was chosen "simply because they were two words that sounded good together," according to the band's site.
© Reuters
28 / 29 Fotos
How these big Canadian bands got their names
Arcade Fire, Walk Off the Earth, The Tragically Hip, and more
© Getty Images
Are you ever rocking out to your favourite band, and you find yourself wondering how the group came up with their name? Well, some Canadian bands have pretty cool backstories. Click through this gallery to learn more!
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