I think most people have had at least one person in their life who
suddenly decides to change their name as an adult. This can be a
difficult adjustment, as one at first questions the motives behind the
personal re-branding (Attention getting? Self-hating? Psychotic?
Capricious? Sincere?), then struggles to really internalize the switch
and reprogram one’s internal Rolodex so as to not spout out the wrong
name in public, and ultimately accepts the switch and each person’s
right to control their own identity. Unless a cult or psychedelic or
something is involved, in which case it’s all a lot more
complicated.

I’ve had two rename-y friends in my life—a friend from high
school named Jon who decided he would go by his middle name, Joel, in
college, and a childhood camp friend who, upon moving to Portland,
decided his last name would be Rockstar. And now, it seems, I’m going
to have a third. 

As they announced on their MySpace page earlier this month (and as I
explore in my column Our Town Could Be Your Life in this week’s
Mercury), local dance pop band Starfucker are changing their
name from its current expletive-laden state to something new and
as-yet-determined, mined from fan suggestions submitted by email.
Because so many Portlanders seem to feel an unusual degree of
investment in Starfucker, I thought everyone—band and fans
alike—would feel a lot better about this development if the group
were given an opportunity to clearly articulate where this name change
is coming from. Our conversation, conducted via email while Starfucker
was in the van on tour in Indiana, went as follows:

MERCURY: Why are you changing your name, and why
are you doing so at this particular juncture?

STARFUCKER: We’re changing our name because it just doesn’t make
sense anymore. We never thought Starfucker would make it as far as it
has, and never had any expectations of success. At this point we need
to be able to either put more into music, or just stop doing it so we
can get nine-to-five jobs to pay our rent. Right now we’re in this
Bardo where we don’t quite make a living off music but we put so much
energy into it that we can’t put any time into a real job either. We
just need to get serious about one or the other. The name has been a
problem for us in a lot of ways. We’ve missed out on opening slots with
bands we really like, and we hope to tour Europe soon where there is
already a Starfucker. Someone booked us once thinking we were the
European Starfucker.

Is this just a name change, or is it meant to reflect some
stylistic or structural change in the group or its music?

It’s definitely just a name change. We will still be the same band
with the same philosophy. The music, of course, like anything else,
will always be evolving.

Why did you decide to come up with your new name via a fan
submission contest? Who will be picking the new name and what will your
selection criteria be?

The reason we decided to have a contest is because we always want to
keep a close connection with our fans—we started off playing
house shows, which we love—and want to keep that level of
intimacy as much as possible. So having a contest with our fans is a
way that they can participate and have a say in what we should be
called. We did a contest before with a T-shirt design and it went
really well. It gives people an opportunity to be creative and do
something they might not have a chance to do otherwise, which is rad.
In the end, the four of us have to agree on the name, and we all have
to like it.

 

How many submissions have you received so far? Have you been
looking at them as they come in? If so, any strong contenders at the
moment?

There have been hundreds of submissions so far, and we’re checking
them frequently. Being on the road makes it hard to get internet time
in, but we’ve had a lot of great conversations with people at shows
about it, so having it line up with our tour has been a great way to
talk to people in person about the change.

We’re not ready to reveal any contenders at the moment, usually we
let a name brew in our heads for a few days, or weeks.

When do you expect to make a decision and announce the new
name?

Sometime in October we’ll decide, but there isn’t a set
deadline.

Are you at all concerned that you might alienate or confuse
people who are already fans of your music?

Of course that is an issue we’re concerned with, but hopefully the
music can transcend the controversy surrounding the name change. That
is also why we’re having the contest with our fans, so as not to
alienate anyone, and let them be part of the process. We do realize
we’ll have to be “the band formally know as Starfucker” for a while,
which is fine.

Anything else about the science, art, and politics of name
changing you’d like to address?

Band names are usually always stupid at the beginning, but as you
grow with a band and its music, the name grows with it too, so it
doesn’t matter how stupid it is as long as the music can carry it. In
our case however, the name is holding the music back, which should
never be the way it is. Having to put a name to your music or art is
necessary, but shouldn’t be the focal point. The music or art should
speak for itself.

 

Aside from the name game, what are your plans for the rest of the
year and beyond?

We’re hoping to tour Europe, and spend this winter writing new
material.