Not Cool

Not Cool

23 July, 2010
by: Domzig

What's in a name...

Choosing a name is probably the most important first step any band can take on the road to fame and riches. It basically sets the tone for how a band relates to their audience. OK, so NOFX and The Arctic Monkeys are the exceptions that prove the rule, but do you imagine Minor Threat would have been half as iconic as they’ve turned out to be if they were called Fun Times In Happysville, and would you still listen to Slayer if they were called Rotary Death Squad? Yeah me too, probably, but you wouldn’t like them as much.

The jury is out on whether Not Cool is a good name or not. I think it sounds like one of those tough-guy hardcore bands like Scared Straight or Throw Down, but others just roll their eyes and say, “oh, not one of those angular-haired Shoreditch poser bands again...” Then again, having a borderline name doesn’t really matter when you make ball-breaking indie-turned-noise pop as good as these guys. Sounding like Pavement partying with The Boredoms, they've already released an amazing 7” on Sleep All Day records, and are cementing themselves as one of our favourite bands to see live. Just goes to show that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.

Not Cool - Hideous Men by Brattwell Recordings

On your Last FM you’re described as gutter pop – what’s that?

Eh, gutter pop? I don’t know. I guess it’s sort of a punk, dirty version of pop music. It’s just something we made up because we kept being asked what we sound like and couldn’t really put our finger on it ourselves.

So gutter pop is basically not cool?

Yeah.

Anyone taken the name a bit too literally?

Oh yeah, loads of times. When we first started some people kept saying “you can’t play as you have a really rubbish name”. Once a guy even said he couldn’t book us because our name isn’t even Googleable. If that’s even a word....

You’ll have to change the name to something with better SEO.

Yeah, maybe Google Not Cool, or Not Cool Britney Spears Boobs.  Then again, I like our name – it looks good on flyers.

I hate it when bands have to change their name when they move to the States, like when that band Kato moved to the US and had to change their name to Kato UK or something. It sounds stupid.

Talking about stupid – what’s the knarliest thing that has ever happened at a Not Cool show?

I knocked the roof down at the Macbeth. I was acting like a dickhead and I accidentally hit one of the sound things with my guitar.  It looked like it was alright, but later on it ended up falling on my head.

That’s kind of crazy, but not all that. Has anyone ever flashed their boobs at you?

No, nothing like that’s ever happened.

Not Cool release their mini-album ‘Rugged Raw’ on Sleep All Day Records in August 2010. They're also appearing at the 1234 Shoreditch Festival on the 24th of July and support KASMs and Betty and the Werewolves at the Lexington on the 28th.

Domzig