From comic strips to keyboard screens, here are the origins of the names of Toronto’s biggest bands and musical acts from Our Lady Peace to Peaches.
One of Canada’s most popular bands ever, Our Lady Peace, led by Raine Maida, found its name in a 1943 poem, “Our Lady Peace,” by American poet Mark Van Doren. Inspired by its tone, the band adopted it after previously performing under the moniker As If.
Toronto alt-rockers The Beaches looked closer to home, naming themselves after the city’s east-end neighbourhood where several members grew up. Rebranding from Done with Dolls, they’ve since emerged as one of the country’s hottest rock bands. They are back playing the Kee to Bala, in Muskoka, on Aug. 21 and 22 this summer.
City and Colour is a literal play on founder Dallas Green’s name — Dallas is a city, green is a colour. Under that clever moniker, Green, who found fame as a member of the band Alexisonfire, has built a career on intimate, emotional songwriting.
For Metric, the name came from a song Emily Haines and bandmate Jimmy Shaw were working on in Toronto in the late ’90s. When the word “Metric” appeared on a keyboard’s LED screen, and Haines has said it felt sleek, electronic and “no bullshit.” And that vibe fit the band just fine.
The Sadies reportedly took their name from the hillbilly comic strip Li’l Abner, created by Al Capp. The reference is to Sadie Hawkins and the strip’s “Sadie Hawkins Day,” when women chased bachelors down the aisle.The Sadies became one of Canada’s most respected alt-country bands.
Max Webster wasn’t a person at all. The name of Kim Mitchell’s original band was invented by bassist Mike Tilka, who’d previously played in a band called Family at Mac’s that performed a song titled “Webster,” itself inspired by jazz saxophonist Ben Webster.
Electro-punk provocateur Peaches (a.k.a. Merrill Nisker) adopted her stage name in the mid-’90s as a nod to the final line of “Four Women” by Nina Simone. True to that punk lineage, Peaches built an international career on fearless, genre-bending performances. And she’s at the Danforth Music Hall on March 4.
And then there’s PUP, which stands for “Pathetic Use of Potential.” According to frontman Stefan Babcock, the phrase came from his mother, who warned that starting a rock band might be exactly that.
