{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"apm_image","attrs":{"id":"d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc","url":"https://img.publicradio.org/images/20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","type":"apmImage","float":"right","width":"half","credit":"Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for Citi","credit_url":"","long_caption":"CANNES, FRANCE - JUNE 22: American Singer Dave Grohl performs on stage during the Live Nation And Citi Special Evening At Cannes Lions on June 22, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for Citi )","aspect_ratios":{"normal":{"slug":"normal","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/normal/3e9e01-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":400,"height":301},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/normal/e412d4-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":600,"height":451},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/normal/8ecc79-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1000,"height":752},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/normal/cd87eb-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1400,"height":1053},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/normal/132b23-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":2000,"height":1504}]},"square":{"slug":"square","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/square/bf8b3f-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":400,"height":400},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/square/f69bc2-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":600,"height":600},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/square/c79168-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/square/2eec09-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1400,"height":1400},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/square/358dc6-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":2000,"height":2000}]},"portrait":{"slug":"portrait","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/portrait/6a4856-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":400,"height":500},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/portrait/2cc47e-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":600,"height":750},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/portrait/20b43a-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1000,"height":1250},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/portrait/fd786b-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1400,"height":1750},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/portrait/8f467c-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1601,"height":2001}]},"thumbnail":{"slug":"thumbnail","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/thumbnail/6df3bf-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":120,"height":90},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/thumbnail/1b63cc-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":300,"height":226}]},"uncropped":{"slug":"uncropped","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/uncropped/024d26-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":400,"height":267},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/uncropped/2597b1-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":600,"height":400},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/uncropped/bff1f6-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/uncropped/7deb0d-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1400,"height":934},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/uncropped/ff8fac-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":2000,"height":1334}]},"widescreen":{"slug":"widescreen","instances":[{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/widescreen/bbeff0-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":400,"height":225},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/widescreen/834432-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":600,"height":337},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/widescreen/168ed5-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1000,"height":562},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/widescreen/f83732-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":1400,"height":786},{"url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/d04ef4d2bd63c59e7ce51cdf4ab3a21994791ccc/widescreen/3c58ca-20160705-dave-grohl.jpg","width":2000,"height":1123}]}},"short_caption":"A Special Evening With Dave Grohl","preferred_aspect_ratio_slug":"uncropped"}},{"type":"apm_custom_html","attrs":{"html":"

I'm always happy when I meet someone named Dave because I know I'll like them. I've liked several Davids I've met but I've been very fond of every Dave I've gotten to know. There's something about shedding the formality of the second syllable that cheers the name up. I've known a good number of Daves but could always use more of them. I named my dog Dave.

Recently, I wondered if the transcendent quality of the name Dave extended to music and whether I would enjoy an all-Dave band over a band of Davids. Similarly, would a band of Michaels be better than a band of Mikes? Would Williams sound better than Bills? In short, would someone who wants to sound a little more dignified and serious by keeping the full name make better music than someone who ditched the formality for the more fun nickname?

My hunch: I think so! I think people who loosened up on their own names will come out ahead and make for better bands. (I've tried to go by the name Jack but it hasn't taken because I'm likely too uptight). I found a list of most popular male names of the last 100 years as provided by the government and set out to place the nickname against the full name. The only rule is that the participant needs to be alive. Sorry, Brubeck.

NOTE: There should be many more bands with women in them. Millions more. And the ones that are out there should be listened to more in order to become more famous. The government should intervene to make this happen. But that, combined, with the wider variation of women's names, means that I'm only covering guy names here.

Let's start with variations on the number one most popular name, James.

THE JIM JIMMYS
\n Jim Kerr, Simple Minds - vocals
\n Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin - guitar
\n Jim Kale, The Guess Who - bass
\n Jim Keltner, session veteran - drums
\n Well, you got Page. And a lot of drummers I know worship Keltner. But, yeah, this sounds like kind of a disaster. Could Kerr bump up the rock? Could Page co-exist with someone not prone to singing about Hobbits?

THE JAMESES
\n James Hetfield, Metallica - vocals, guitar
\n I think that's it for James. There are drummers from Scorpions and Avenged Sevenfold who could join but let's hear him try some solo stuff.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE JIM JIMMYS

On to variants of John, the number two most popular male name of the last century.

THE JOHNNY JACKS
\n Jack White, The White Stripes - lead guitar and lead vocals
\n Jack Casady, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane - bass
\n Jack Irons, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam - drums
\n A very solid trio that would need to come to some understanding of what their sound would be. Seems like when Jack White is in a band, the sound is "The Jack White Sound."

THE JOHNS
\n John Lydon, Public Image Ltd - vocals
\n John Frusciante, Red Hot Chili Peppers - guitar
\n John Munson, Semisonic, The New Standards, The Witnesses - bass
\n John Eriksson, Peter Bjorn & John - drums
\n I really want to see Munson collaborate with Lydon. Still, I gotta go against my friend and my own name on this one.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE JOHNS

Robert is the third most popular name so let's take a look.

THE BOBBY ROB BOBS
\n Bob Dylan - co-lead vocals, guitar
\n Rob Halford, Judas Priest - co-lead vocals
\n Bob Mould, Hüsker Dü, Sugar - lead guitar, vocals
\n Bobby Dall, Poison - bass
\n Rob Hirst, Midnight Oil - drums
\n Rob Zombie - band documentarian
\n You'd be surprised how few bass players are available with the names Bob or Rob or Robby or Bobby. Still, one wouldn't pay much attention to the Poison bassist when Halford and Dylan are laying down amazing duets or possibly three-part harmonies with the guitarist.

THE ROBERTS
\n Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin - vocals
\n Robert Smith, The Cure - vocals
\n Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices - vocals
\n I'm just going to go ahead and make this a Crosby Stills & Nash style vocal trio. And I would listen to them on Spotify but probably not go out and buy a CD.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE BOBBY ROB BOBS

Moving along to Mike, the familiar form of the fourth most popular name.

THE MIKES
\n Mike Love, The Beach Boys - vocals
\n Mike Campbell, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - guitar
\n Mike McCready, Pearl Jam - guitar
\n Mike Mills, R.E.M. - bass
\n Mike Fuentes, Pierce the Veil - drummer
\n Could a band with the widely despised Love and the metal sound avalanche of Fuentes co-exist and work well together? No. This would be terrible music. But I would like to see precisely eight minutes of their first rehearsal.

THE MICHAELS
\n Michael Stipe, R.E.M. - vocals
\n Michael Nesmith, The Monkees - guitar, vocals
\n Michael Anthony, Van Halen - bass
\n Michael Shrieve, Santana - drums
\n Shrieve used to play in a band with the for real name Hagar Schon Aronson Shrieve so he knows a thing or two about supergroups. I would be legit thrilled to see this band.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE MICHAELS

William comes in at number five on the most popular names. Let's see who's in the lineups.

THE BILLYS
\n Billy Idol - vocals
\n Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top, guitar, vocals
\n Billy Bass Nelson, Parliament/Funkadelic - bass
\n Billy Ficca, Television - drums
\n Funny thing about William nicknames. The most significant and accomplished Bills that I found on vocals, bass, and drums, have all effectively left the music industry: Withers, Wyman, and Berry. But The Billys are a pretty intriguing blend of veterans I am buying concert tickets right now. Idol gets the nod over Corgan because he seems like more of a team player. Mr. Squier's application was also rejected.

THE WILLIAMSES
\n William DuVall, Alice in Chains - vocals
\n William Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records - guitar
\n William Parker, jazz musician - bass
\n William Goldsmith, Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters - drums
\n Really wanted to include Will.I.Am to this lineup but it just felt like cheating.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE BILLYS

And finally, my favorite name, Dave, battling its more formal counterpart.

THE DAVES
\n Dave Grohl, Nirvana, Foo Fighters - vocals, guitar
\n Dave Navarro Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers - lead guitar
\n Dave Davies, The Kinks - rhythm guitar
\n Dave Dreiwitz, Ween - bass
\n Dave Lombardo, Slayer - drums
\n The Daves have a solid frontman and leader in Grohl and a lot of varied experience with Navarro, who has the highly capable Davies alongside him. The rhythm section has some lesser-known names, as rhythm sections often do. Gahan just couldn't get to the mic in a competitive position.

THE DAVIDS
\n David Byrne, Talking Heads - co-lead vocal
\n David Lee Roth, Van Halen - co-lead vocal
\n David Gilmour, Pink Floyd - lead guitar
\n David Hungate, Toto - bass
\n David King, The Bad Plus - drums
\n It's not the youngest sound going but those vocals will either be amazing or a disaster. I bet disaster.
\n ADVANTAGE: THE DAVES

And with that win, the nicknames take the overall very scientific competition by a score of 4-2. I'm so happy that my thesis was proven correct through a contest I controlled and ruled over capriciously. I'll see you the next time The Daves are in town!

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John Moe's supergroup showdown: nicknames or proper names?