When HAM radio was a craze, I wondered what inspired operators’ handles. When Email appeared, I wondered the same, but found addresses a bit more transparent. Like the guy I knew who was devastated by his recent divorce and was LostAtSea@etc.
I wonder what inspires band names. So I asked:
Williams Honor is Reagan Richards and Gordon Brown, both singer/songwriter/guitarists who have infused the Asbury Park music scene with what they call “a bridge between traditional and modern country music.” The band name honors their dads, William and Bernard, who both served extensively in the U.S. Military. The now touring Williams Honor is about holding on to tradition while still moving forward. Gordon says, “In country music, that’s a very big deal to us.”
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes is a band whose leader is steeped in blues tradition. Johnny Lyon is a great storyteller. He explained that the West African term juke had a few meanings. Here’s one: In the U.S., African-American farm hands and laborers gathered at a shack on Friday nights to drink and dance; to celebrate and have sex. The participants were called “jukes.” The shacks were called juke joints. A machine in the shack to play music was called---a juke box. Lyon named his band the Asbury Jukes in homage to blues artist Little Walter & His Jukes whose recordings he deeply appreciates, and to honor Asbury Park where his band got its start. Look for the band to play its annual July 3rd show at the Stone Pony.
The Weeklings may enjoy sustained mystique, as there are several versions of how the name was chosen. As I write this Glenn Burtnik’s newish 4-pc band inspired by the love of Beatles music is recording a new album at Abbey Road Studios, London. One story has it that the band was originally named The Weaklings; then changed to The Weeklings because another band was already using their first choice. An Internet fan blog says the band name was born of the players commitment to spend one day a week writing songs. I guess you’ll have to go see them play and ask them yourself. Then let me know.
The Ones You Forgot, a band led by singer/songwriter Jenna Bruno, a Monmouth University student, does not have the poignant and deep origin I suspected of the name. Jenna says she wrote down a bunch of words and phrases she liked; then the band members sat and looked at them. They put words together to form The Ones You Forgot. “It works,” said Jenna, “because it can be interpreted in many ways.” Make of it what you wish! Songs from their first album, “Peaks & Valleys” can be heard when they play the Brighton Bar, Long Branch, on June 25.
Isis, fronted by singer Kathy Rosner was a Menlo Park based band. The name of the Egyptian/Roman Goddess of Fertility symbolized female strength. The guys in the band chose it as a compliment to Kathy. And you know the rest. Kathy says, “We went our separate ways peacefully, and before the negative news of Isis the terrorists might have ruined us. I still have a business card as a memento. I’d probably be investigated if homeland security saw it.”
Company of Wolves was Steve & John Conte’s 4-pc band, and the name of their first album for Mercury-Polygram Records in 1990. The album hit as the national news was focused for months on the now famous case of NY’s Central Park Jogger who was attacked and raped by a gang of youths. The attackers were referred to as “pack of animals.” Central Park attacks were on the rise and city spokespeople and officials gave the attacks by roaming gangs the name “wildings.” Company of Wolves’ first single being promoted was “Call of the Wild.” I understand the power of words to form suggestions at the unconscious level. This mother groaned a lot.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
