[Dixielandjazz] What's in a name?

[Stephen G Barbone]

Are you listening Dr. Dubious? No gigs for you and "The Agnostics" at  
Calvin College. <grin>
Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband


Sept 15, 2010 - NY Times - By David Itzkoff


Band Name Costs New Pornographers a Gig in Michigan


When the members of the New Pornographers chose their band name, they  
probably took it for granted that most listeners would understand they  
produced bouncy guitar- and synthesizer-driven indie rock for a  
living, and nothing more salacious than that. But the joke did not  
play well at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., which has canceled  
a planned concert by the New Pornographers on the basis of the group’s  
name, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
Calvin College, which describes itself on its Web site as a Christian  
liberal arts school, said in a statement that a performance by the New  
Pornographers scheduled for Oct. 15 was canceled because, “after weeks  
of discussion and consideration, the irony of the band’s name was  
impossible to explain to many.”
The statement continued, “The band’s name, to some, is mistakenly  
associated with pornography. Consequently, Calvin, to some, was  
mistakenly associated with pornography. Neither the college nor the  
band endorses pornography.”
Ken Heffner, a student activities director at Calvin College, told The  
Grand Rapids Press the cancellation was a “peaceful parting of ways”  
between the school and the band.
A press representative for the New Pornographers declined to comment  
further. But Carl Newman, a founding member and front man of the band,  
has said in interviews that the band’s name is derived from the  
Japanese movie “The Pornographers” (also known as “The Amorists”) and  
a song, also called “The Pornographers,” by his band mate Dan Bejar.