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Thread: "Is that their real name?" department

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    "Is that their real name?" department

    From time to time I hear or read of an artist whose name seems so unlikely that I conclude it must be their real name because I cannot imagine the reasoning behind choosing it as a stage name.

    The latest one I have encountered is James Pants.

    There is very little information in the Wikipedia article, but there is no suggestion that this is an adopted name. Anybody know?

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    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    From time to time I hear or read of an artist whose name seems so unlikely that I conclude it must be their real name because I cannot imagine the reasoning behind choosing it as a stage name.

    The latest one I have encountered is James Pants.

    There is very little information in the Wikipedia article, but there is no suggestion that this is an adopted name. Anybody know?
    His real Name is James Singleton

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheH View Post
    His real Name is James Singleton
    Singlet on, then pants. Very clever.

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagnge.

    I mean, really. Biff?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagnge.

    I mean, really. Biff?
    No worse than Muff (Winwood)

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    No worse than Muff (Winwood)
    Srsly?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    Srsly?
    Srsly. Stevie's big brother.

    Of course, given names are a somewhat different case from surnames. Parents can give the children any names they want, with very few restrictions - I believe you cannot call your child "God", for example. When you see names like Dweezil and Moon Unit you might say "WTF? That can't be right", but when you know who their father was it makes perfect sense.

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Dick Butkis, real name. Go figure.

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    Member zravkapt's Avatar
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    The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    Srsly. Stevie's big brother.

    Of course, given names are a somewhat different case from surnames. Parents can give the children any names they want, with very few restrictions - I believe you cannot call your child "God", for example. When you see names like Dweezil and Moon Unit you might say "WTF? That can't be right", but when you know who their father was it makes perfect sense.
    come-on-man_o_1094311.jpg

    I intentionally picked a bizarre 3-part made-up name and chose the most normal of the 3 names into question.
    It was a joke, son. Admittedly not a very good one, but I thought it was at least obvious enough.

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    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    How the hell do you know about Biff, Dave?? (I'm guessing the KC connection he has)

    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagne (only 2 g's) is a friend of mine and has been for several years. He is the leader of The Gomers, a Madison WI institution for over 35 years, with Biff & 2 other founding members still in the band. I've sung with the band over a hundred times, at their weekly Gomeroke live band karaoke gig. They also have at least 8 or 9 albums released of original music (Zappa-Van Vliet inspired) and also play out as The Zombeatles, in full costume, with their own hilarious horror lyrics set to Mops melodies.

    He used to own Beeftone Studios here in town, and is currently on the faculty of the Madison Media Institute.

    I don't remember what his real name was before he legally changed it, but his wife Debi told me once, and it was clearly a Jewish name.

    I'm not exactly sure how Biff became friends with Fripp. Some say Belew was involved, as Biff had known the Slicks previously. He's been Fripp's guitar tech on both the North Amer. & European tours for a few years now.

    Had to toot my friend's horn once he was mentioned here.
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    I believe you cannot call your child "God", for example.
    That can't be right
    There was a basketball player named God Shammgod.

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    How the hell do you know about Biff, Dave?? (I'm guessing the KC connection he has)
    yeah, the kind of name that's hard to forget and also exceedingly difficult to look up.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    No worse than Muff (Winwood)
    The man who not only rejected Quiet Sun but did it in a very derogatory fashion. Of course, the band eventually got the last laugh, but even still, the man's attitude in the rejection letter indicates that Muff is indeed the perfect name for him.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    Srsly. Stevie's big brother.

    Of course, given names are a somewhat different case from surnames. Parents can give the children any names they want, with very few restrictions - I believe you cannot call your child "God", for example. When you see names like Dweezil and Moon Unit you might say "WTF? That can't be right", but when you know who their father was it makes perfect sense.
    Frank once said that when Gail gave birth to Dweezil, the nurse at the hospital wouldn't let him put Dweezil down on the birth certificate. So he strung together the Christian names of everyone in the band at the time. So Dweezil's birth name was actually something like "Donald Ian Buzz Bunk James Roy Zappa" or something like that. But they always called him Dweezil at home. Then when he was about 10, Dweezil found out the story, and asked that his name be changed legally to Dweezil, which apparently was deemed acceptable by whichever authority would have been in charge of such things.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Dick Butkis, real name. Go figure.
    Isn't "Dick" a diminutive of "Richard"? His parents probably named him Richard, not realizing the possibility that he might become known as "Dick", and not putting that together with the surname.

    I remember watching I think it was Jay Leno, and he said he was reading the newspaper, and there was an article on hotel room break-ins. So there's this security expert quoted in the article named Norman Bates. Jay says, "No, this can't be the guy's real name! This is a put on". So he actually had the guy on. Apparently, he was born several years before Psycho came out. Jay asked him if he ever met anyone connected from the movie. He said one time Janet Leigh was staying at a hotel he worked at, he thought about saying hello to her, but he figured she'd probably think he was a nutcase (Hello, a guy named Norman Bates introducing himself to the actress who played the most famous shower scene in cinematic history?!), so he decided to keep his distance.

    Wasn't there a folk singer named John Wesley Harding? Dude, either you were really unlucky, or you've got amazing chutzpah choosing the title of a Bob Dylan record as your stage name.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by zravkapt View Post

    I remember the whole Dick Assman thing as it unfolded on Letterman. Someone had sent into a newspaper ad for Assman's service station, which I believe was located in Regina, Saskatchewan. So Dave says, "This can't be the guy's real name" and actually calls up the gas station and asks to speak to Dick himself, who good naturedly answers. Dave invited him to NYC to be on the show, and made it his famous to make Dick Assman the most famous person in the world.

    As I recall, a few months later, it was reported in TV Guide that I can't remember if it was CBC or someone else up in Canada, but they took a poll and something like 60% of the respondents said they'd vote for Dick Assman if he stood in an election. Think about it for a second. Dick Assman could have been Canada's next PM!

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    Member -=RTFR666=-'s Avatar
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    ...always wondered about Prairie Prince...
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    I do recall that when Robert Dole was standing for US president, some people were seriously concerned because "dole" apparently means something rude in one of the Middle Eastern languages.

    One name that I always found hard to believe, and which must have led to a fair bit of ribbing, is Ron Sexsmith. Especially when you think of the meaning of "smith" as someone who makes things with their hands, as in "tinsmith", "coppersmith", "locksmith".

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagnge.

    I mean, really. Biff?
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    I intentionally picked a bizarre 3-part made-up name and chose the most normal of the 3 names into question.
    It was a joke, son. Admittedly not a very good one, but I thought it was at least obvious enough.

    I think we all knew that. I was just running with the joke.

    It calls to mind a Monty Python (?) sketch about a guy named Arthur Penis who was so embarrassed about his name and people constantly making fun of it that he changed it to Art Penis.

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    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    How the hell do you know about Biff, Dave?? (I'm guessing the KC connection he has)

    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagne (only 2 g's) is a friend of mine and has been for several years. He is the leader of The Gomers, a Madison WI institution for over 35 years, with Biff & 2 other founding members still in the band.
    I think Dave was referring to the other one. A lot of people understandably confuse the two, despite the slight difference in their name spellings. The Dave Stewarts have the same problem.

  22. #22
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    How the hell do you know about Biff, Dave?? (I'm guessing the KC connection he has)

    Biff Uranus Blumfumgagne (only 2 g's)
    I think I c+p-ed the spelling from his FB page.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    I believe you cannot call your child "God", for example..
    ...just ribbing you here... You can "Call": your kid "GOD" you just can't "NAME" your kid God.

    I think I once read that you cannot name your child "Hitler" either.

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    Wavy Gravy
    Moon Unit and Dweezle(?)
    Manfred Mann
    "Normal is just the average of extremes" - Gary Lessor

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    Quote Originally Posted by bigbassdrum View Post
    Wavy Gravy
    Moon Unit and Dweezle(?)
    Manfred Mann
    Is Wavy Gravy a person?

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