So when Gauntlet Hair, a Lafayette-based indie outfit whose name makes us think of a clogged drain, came from out of nowhere to get coronated by Pitchfork, we got to wondering: Where do these bands come up with these names? Well, in honor of the Hair, we're finding out. Today we talk to The Foot., an act who earned a nod in this year's Best of Denver issue for as the "Best Band with the Worst Name" for its heinous moniker. But we need your help -- who else should we talk to? Let us know in the comments section after the jump.
Rejecting the idea using a full clause or long phrase for a name, The Foot. wanted something short and easy to remember. "It didn't have to have a super deep meaning," says frontman Jeff McCollister. "It's like Green Day. You don't really think about what it means."
Bearing simplicity in mind, the members of the band came up with the name during a discussion of childhood snacks, which itself was precipitated by McCollister's chewing of Big League Chew. "So Noah [Shromberg, drums] was like, 'Fruit by the Foot," and there was something emphatic about the way he annunciated 'the foot,' and we just knew that was it."
But what about that annoying, superfluous period at the end of the name? "It was just like, 'The Foot.' That's the end of the thought." McCollister concedes that you could conceivable apply that idea to any band name, offering only, "Yeah, but we did it," by way of explanation."
"It annoys a lot of publications," he admits.
Indeed. Indeed it does.
But far from the fetishized, fungally-infected imagery the name conjures, the music of The Foot. is polished, hook-heavy pop that effortlessly grooves. It's easy music to listen to. Much like The Shins (named, interestingly, for the body part just above), The Foot. plays tunes unassuming and pretty enough to immediately draw you in, and quirky enough to keep you there.
It's just, man. That period. Really?
