It’s difficult to name a band. It has to be something just as memorable as a group’s sound, something with that “wow” factor. But there’s one thing that is sometimes harder than naming a band and it’s pronouncing said name.
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Since names are tough and we’re only human, here are 7 more commonly mispronounced band names and how to say them.
1. !!!
The name of the California-formed disco-rock outfit, !!!, is a head-scratcher. And no, their name is not said like “exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point.” Their name is rather pronounced like “Chk Chk Chk,” or three quick clicks. In fact, typing out “Chk Chk Chk” is the easiest way to find the band on the internet.
The band’s moniker came from the 1980 film, The Gods Must Be Crazy, in which an African tribe’s native tongue appeared as exclamation points in the subtitles.
2. Sade
Nigerian-born British soul singer Sade and her eponymous band have long purveyed a deeply emotive jazz-pop sound, but when it comes to pronouncing their name, sounds can be deceiving. While it looks like it would be said as “Sayd,” the name is actually a melodic two-syllable sound pronounced, “Shah-DAY.”
3. Alexisonfire
The name of this Canadian hardcore outfit also inspires pause among passersby. Alex is on fire? Alexis on fire? Who’s on fire? The answer is, *drumroll* … Alexis on fire.
4. Khruangbin
Named after the Thai word for airplane, the Texas-formed psych-rock trio Khruangbin have probably heard every pronunciation of their band name from “KrAWng-bin” to “KrĀng-bin,” but it is actually spoken as “KRUNG-bin.”
5. Deadmau5
Throwing numbers into your band name can get dicey, but the mouse-masked Canadian producer Joel Zimmerman welcomed the risk with his electronic project, Deadmau5. While it looks like it would be said like “dead-maw-five,” the number actually acts in place of s and e, making the name “dead mouse.”
6. Mstrkrft
Completely ditching vowels is another brow-raising way to name a band. The Canadian electronic duo disemvoweled their moniker to become Mstrkrft, but is it said like the villainous-sounding “Mister Kroft” or like an artful assembly “Muster Kraft?” It is instead pronounced like “Master Craft.”
7. Rae Sremmurd
The name of sibling hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd may make some listeners fumble as it is the backward spelling of the record label, EarDrummers Entertainment, to which they are signed. But their moniker is pronounced like “Ray SHREM-urd.”
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