group names - why bother?

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Harold O.

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Why bother? Because our WSFVLAGMUG meets every second and fourth Sunday of the month. Yeah, that's the WSFVLAGMUG. There, you see the problem with being the West San Fernando Valley Los Angeles Guitar Merchant Ukuklele Gathering -- we don't have a naturally catchy name.

So I came up with Canogahana Players. I mixed Canoga Park (the neighborhood where we meet up) with ohana (meaning family). After bouncing it off a couple of friendly Hawaiian language speakers, we've determined that "Canogahana" doesn't accidentally translate to anything meaningful.

It was suggested we go with "Ka 'Ohana Kanoga" meaning "the Canoga Family". Then the players would be "na mea kani ka pila". But that would be too much.

With that, I'm going to start working Canogahana Players into the text with an eye toward adopting it as the official name of our uke gatherings.

How important is a group name? We're a very casual group and nobody asked. But I like the idea. How 'bout your groups?
 
I just wish I had at least one other person to play with. Of all the problems of being in a group, picking a name is one of the biggest. If everyone agrees it can unify the group, but if one person doesn't like it, then it tends to alienate them and cause discourse between them and the band.
 
Our group never really sought out a name. Somehow it became known as the "RUSG", or Rochester Ukulele Support Group (not to be confused with the "RUO", or Rochester Ukulele Orchestra)....
 
Harold O. said:
Why bother? Because our WSFVLAGMUG meets every second and fourth Sunday of the month. Yeah, that's the WSFVLAGMUG. There, you see the problem with being the West San Fernando Valley Los Angeles Guitar Merchant Ukuklele Gathering -- we don't have a naturally catchy name.

So I came up with Canogahana Players. I mixed Canoga Park (the neighborhood where we meet up) with ohana (meaning family). After bouncing it off a couple of friendly Hawaiian language speakers, we've determined that "Canogahana" doesn't accidentally translate to anything meaningful.

It was suggested we go with "Ka 'Ohana Kanoga" meaning "the Canoga Family". Then the players would be "na mea kani ka pila". But that would be too much.

With that, I'm going to start working Canogahana Players into the text with an eye toward adopting it as the official name of our uke gatherings.

How important is a group name? We're a very casual group and nobody asked. But I like the idea. How 'bout your groups?
Click to expand...


How about "The Valley Players" or something about the Valley as a whole? Also, some people are from Los Angeles and even Ventura.

I don't identify with Canoga Park but I do identify with the Valley, and since Moon Unit Zappa, so does everybody in the country.
 
clayton56 said:
How about "The Valley Players" ...

I don't identify with Canoga Park but I do identify with the Valley, and since Moon Unit Zappa, so does everybody in the country.
Click to expand...


That's part of the trouble. If we say Valley Players, it could easily be the Shenandoah Valley Players or some such thing. Working in the Canoga part helps better ID.

And, really, we're not a band. We're just a few people who enjoy getting together and playing ukulele from time ot time. And th ename is completely unofficial since we're not actually anything official anyway.

Having something to call ourselves just makes it simpler for me when someone asks about the group. "Oh yes," I say, "the Canogahana Players meet at Guitar Merchant in Canoga Park." As opposed to the generic "We have a ukulele gathering every other Sunday." I forgot to bring it up at the last meeting. It's all in fun regardless.
 
Harold O. said:
That's part of the trouble. If we say Valley Players, it could easily be the Shenandoah Valley Players or some such thing. Working in the Canoga part helps better ID.
Click to expand...

My geography sucks, but the Shenandoah Valley isn't in Southern California, correct? No one will get confused. Short and sweet is best (in my opinion). I belong to StrumMN. Guess where we're from? Minnesota. I also belong to the Twin Cities Ukulele Orchestra. Guess where we're from? The Twin Cities. That may only make sense to people in Minnesota and surrounding areas, but it works. Think easy. At some point you may want t-shirts or stickers or something. You'll want something short and sweet.
 
The ukulele group I play in plays Hawaiian music and has many Hawaiian members, its name is Kolohe, which means Rascal or mischief, depending on if you take it as a noun or a verb. I agree to try and keep it short and easy to say. Do you have a certain style you play? Do you want to keep a Hawaiian theme? Maybe you could translate "Valley Players" into Hawaiian or something?
 
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