Have you ever wondered how some bands come up with their name? Here are the rumored and confirmed origins of past and present popular bands. If there are any you know of that aren't listed here. E-mail me and I'll put them up

311 - The police code for indecent exposure in some cities. One of the band members was arrested for skinny dipping when he was 16.

AQUA - Suggested by a Danish Aquarium poster that was hanging in their recording studio.

BLIND MELON - Slang for an out of work hippie. They were called that by Shannon H's dad.

BLINK 182 - Blink 182 used to be just "Blink" but was threatened by a lawsuit from a little known Irish band with the same name, so they added the 182 which is the number of times the f-word was said in one of the members favorite movies.

BON JOVI - The New Jersey bandleader Jon Bon Jovi, whose real name is John Bongiovi, Jr.

CHERRY POPPIN' DADDIES - The leader of this band, Steve Perry, says it comes from an old R&B record and that it "sounded sexy."

CHUMBAWAMBA - In a band member's dream, he didn't know which door to use in a public toilet because the signs said "Chumba" and "Wamba" instead of "Men" and "Women."

COLLECTIVE SOUL - A term used in the popular novel "The Fountainhead", by Ayn Rand.

THE CRANBERRIES - Originally called Cranberries Saw Us and changed to the shorter form later on.

EVERCLEAR - Named after the "Everclear" brand of 190 proof grain alcohol used to make alcoholic drinks.

FOO FIGHTERS - A term used by World War II pilots to describe strange flying fireballs they sometimes saw (i.e. Japanese Zeros)

GARBAGE - Lead singer Shirley Manson's father yelled down to the band at one of their basement practice sessions, "Play more quietly, you sound like garbage."

GIN BLOSSOMS - Blossom is slang for the burst blood capillaries on the face (particularly the nose) from drinking too much alcohol.

GREEN DAY - When they dropped out of school to be musicians, their principal said "It'll be a green day in hell before you make anything of yourselves."

HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH - Combined from the nicknames of two friends of singer/guitarist Darius Rucker - one with owl-like eyes (Hootie), another with the puffy "Blowfish" cheeks.

LL COOL J - For "Ladies Love Cool James."

MARCY PLAYGROUND - Frontman John Wozniak would look out the window of his third grade classroom and see that playground and wish he could play there, but he didn't because there were bullies there that would beat him up.

MISFITS - A 1961 movie starring Clarke Gable and Marilyn Monroe.

MOTHERS OF INVENTION - Frank Zappa's highly experimental band was originally just called the Mothers, their record label asked them to change it because it could be taken as an obscenity. Out of necessity they added "of Invention" since "necessity is the mother of invention."

NIRVANA - In Buddhism, it means the state of perfect blessedness attained through the annihilation of the self.

'NSYNC- Justin's mother came up with the idea of taking the last letter in each member's name. (Lance's full name Lanceton) Also, "in sync" is a term which comes from the movie industry, meaning when the picture & soundtrack are properly aligned or synchronized.

OASIS - Local British origins: a Manchester cab company, a chain of women's clothing stores, a local club, and a local Indian Restaurant.

PANTERA - Spanish for Panther.

PEARL JAM - Eddie's grandma supposedly made a peyote (hallucinogenic drug) jelly/jam, which as kids they called pearl jam.

PHISH - A play on drummer John Fishman's last name.

RADIOHEAD - Named after a Talking Heads' song called "Radio Head."

SAVAGE GARDEN - A phrase from the Anne Rice novel, "Interview With The Vampire."

SOUNDGARDEN - A garden of kinetic sculptures that makes music when wind blows through them... a sculpture in Seattle called "Sound Garden."

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS - An oddly titled type of candy.

SMASH MOUTH - Football players use this slang term in any game with a lot of blocking or tackling.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - Named after the cult film favorite starring George C. Scott.

THIRD EYE BLIND - Our third eye is the imagined one that gives us a kind of sixth sense (telepathy, ESP, etc.) and the band felt that most of us are blind in that sense.

TLC - Nicknames of band members: Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez and Rozonda "Chilli."

U2 - Three possibilities: A type of spy plane used by the United States in the 1960's. U2 as in "you too" meaning the audience and its role in the musical experience, or a U2 is an unemployment form in Ireland.

VERUCA SALT - From a character in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

WEEZER - Band member Rivers Cuomo had the nickname Weezer in school because of a breathing problem.

YO LA TENGO -Translates to "I have it" from Spanish - said to be the phrase of a Hispanic baseball player when fielding a pop fly ball