The Morning Benders are changing their name to POP ETC. It’s a pretty bold change and I hope their band survives this bit of rebranding. I’m not terribly fond of the new name, maybe it will grow on me, but I really respect their reasons for changing it..
From their website:
Well, it turns out that the word ‘bender’ in the UK and many parts of Europe is a slang term for ‘homosexual.’ We were told our band name was the equivalent of ‘The Morning Fags’ in America. We had been called The Morning Benders for 5 years, and we were just finding this out now? It was shocking. …
We are at the tail end of making our third album, and we have been given the opportunity to change our band name. We’ve decided to seize that opportunity, and here’s why—
1. We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick.
2. In the UK and many parts of Europe the name has simply become too distracting. The MUSIC has always been our number one focus, and we want to present that to people in as pure a way as possible.
Read the rest of their letter to fans here. Check out their new website here.
