I play synth in an Industrial/Metal band called Mouth Sown Shut. We have new music coming out that's more dancey than it is heavy. Mouth Sown Shut | Facebook
Ouch You have to at least spell "sewn" right if it's going to be your band name Call up and cancel those t-shirts quick
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=399403&id=117827311569378&ref=fbx_album you trollin' bro, if not then that is fucking hilarious
We all usually paint ourselves before we go on stage. It seems odd if you're not into the Industrial Scene, I'm sure haha. I'm not really sure on the sin thing... he just does shit like that haha
Nice try... but the logo with the mouth sewn shut makes that claim look like you're trying to get out of admitting to it being misspelled as an afterthought. That would be like naming a band Grizzly Bare, then instead of correcting it to read bear, claim that bare was intentional because bears don't wear clothes. And considering there's already a band called Mouth Sewn Shut, changing a letter doesn't make up for the lack of creativity. That also makes the name a horrible marketing decision because any word of mouth your band gets will lead people to that band if they're not illiterate. The other band ranks #1 in Google for your band's name. In fact, all of the results are for them because Google blows you off as a typo, unless you click another link to ignore the spelling correction. And when you do that, there are results on the first page that are just people spelling the word wrong. I'd scrap that name and come up with something original... and spell it right. Not to mention, since the other band seems much bigger and they're only a few states away from you, you're probably going to run into legal problems at some point for using their name. You won't be able to play dumb if that happens, since all of the search results for your name point to them.
Yeah man, how are you gonna become a corporate sellout with a name like that? Oh that's not what you're going for? Oh ok, that names fine then. If your music is good, people will listen. Unfortunately, you're music is loud, annoying, and really just awful. Personal Opinion of course.
I guess the reply I sent through my phone didn't work haha. But we've discussed the name thing with Mouth Sewn Shut and they said it's perfectly fine seeing as how we're in two totally different scenes and will most likely never cross paths. But the name and the current logo were chosen before I joined the band. At one point they wanted to change the name to Urban Assault Vehicle but I said fuck no. I'm actually working on a logo that doesn't consist of a mouth being sewn shut seeing as how that isn't the meaning of our name.
Opinion noted and respected, we're not for everyone. Our new music is less loud and more techno-ish if that matters at all haha.
So they're okay with you sending anyone that searches for your name to their site? In a way, admitting you already know about them makes the name even worse. It just really lacks creativity, which is usually an image musicians try to avoid. Also, make sure you got that in writing from them. Even if they said it because they're bigger and figure you won't go anywhere, that doesn't mean they won't change their tune if you got bigger than them. Bands seem to like the free publicity that comes along with suing someone for ripping them off. Also, if they trademark it at some point, part of maintaining a trademark is taking legal action against people that violate it. Legal issues aside... Considering how much of a band's exposure comes from the internet anymore, I can't picture a band keeping a name that directs all of their traffic to another band. You literally have to tell everyone to spell it wrong for them to be able to find you... and hope they remember to. Also, since the current logo is a mouth sewn shut, what are you claiming the meaning of the name really is? It just doesn't seem like anything that can be played off as a clever play on words. I'd come up with something new on your own and convince the band that name needs to go. Assuming anyone in the band wants fans to find them instead of the real Mouth Sewn Shut, the Google example alone should convince them. Google is literally punishing you guys for bad spelling and/or lack of originality.
I can't... my band T00L is opening for TOOL this weekend, so I'm busy. We play mostly Tool songs, but we pronounce our name with zeros to stand out.
I'll wish you the best of luck with your band It's not my type of music so I don't know what to look for or critique, but if you insist on the Cookie Monster vocals, do some more post-production on them because they sound very weak, bass-wise. And do something about the name.
I didn't know spelling really mattered to people who wouldn't probably listen to the band even if it had another name. If need be, we'll change our name when it comes that time. We're still a fledgling band, so we have plenty of time to handle any changes when and if they need to happen.
Pretend I say to you (in person, using words, not text), "Ever hear of Mouth Sewn Shut? Cool band... you can find them on MySpace, Facebook, etc... Check them out." You go home, fire up Google, then... what are you going to type in? Mouth Sewn Shut? Takes you to the other band. Let's say I told you, "... but they spell sewn with an o." So, now you'd type in Mouth Sown Shut... which will still take you to the other band. You can't deny the importance of that, or you wouldn't have pages on every possible social network site in the first place. Like I said, you're literally throwing away your word of mouth advertising. There's no real way to put a positive spin on that. In fact, if you come up with a new name, Googling it is generally step #1. Then, you could follow this logic, based on the results... Does another band use the name? Yes: Think of a new name. No: Is the name used for anything that will always outrank us for our own name? - Yes: Think of a new name, or decide if it's something that matters. - No: Success! It would still be bad, but not as bad, if you had the name of something else that still outranked you for your own name. For example, if you like the movie Half Baked, naming your band that would still be a bad idea--but at least people would instantly know they were on the wrong site because they were searching for a band, not a movie. When you share a name with a band, you lose out on every possible search phrase. Using Half Baked again, you could search for something like: Half Baked 2010 Tour Schedule By doing that, you might actually outrank the pages for the movie. But in your case, sharing the name with another band, just hands it right over to them every time. The importance of the internet isn't going to go away. I'd fix that mistake now, rather than later. If the band's just a joke that you don't really take seriously, then it's nothing to worry about. If that's not the case, the longer you wait to change it, the bigger the hassle. So... back to your band. If someone tells me to check you out, let's say I find the other band instead, listen to them and tell the guy that told me to check you out, "Those guys suck... that is definitely not my thing." Maybe they're not, but maybe you would have been--right? No big deal... just a lost potential fan that you'll never even know wanted to give your stuff a listen. Not like it's something so simple that it could just keep happening over and over again. All of your verbal advertising & word of mouth is for a band you're not even in.