by JOHNSON CUMMINS

If you've ever played in a band, you've probably been through the hell of picking out a band name. Nomenclature brainstorming has spawned duds like Bread, Anal Cunt, Toronto, Tokyo Rose, Harmonium and Cryptopsy. C'mon, how do four reasonably well-educated adults sit in a room together and think White Lion or Barenaked Ladies are good band names? "Dude, let's call our band Bongzilla!" True, there are great names like High on Fire, Tricky Woo, the Spaceshits, REO Speedealer, Vancouver Nights and Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but I'm sure bands like Grim Skunk didn't know they would be stuck with that horrible moniker 10 years down the road.

The reason that I am bringing this bad-band-name thing up is that tonight at Café Chaos, with the Tomahawk Carriers, is a band who had the cojones to call themselves (ugh!) Resonance. Guys, get it together - even calling your band something horrible like Australia would be a marked improvement.

On Friday night, the Diskettes will be launching their new disc Weeknights at Island View Beach at the unlikely venue of Place-des-Arts metro between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. The Diskettes sound kinda like a very stripped-down Free Design or the Association, with a little bossa nova thrown in for good measure. Also on Friday is the noisefest at Casa del Popolo with Japan's Third Organ (aka Akihiro Shimizu), who utilizes cheap guitar effects and laptop for his sonic terror. Sharing the stage with Mr. Shimizu are local noisy neighbours Dreamcatcher and Wapstan. Blues-punk duo Holy Moly launch their new CD Paper Scissors on Friday night, off the beaten path at O'Hara's Pub.

On Saturday night at Electric Tractor is Japanther, Fox the Boombox, Duchess Says and Montreal's ultimate tribute to the Indigo Girls, AIDS Wolf. Sunday night has death metal kings Suffocation back in town at Foufounes Électriques with Poland's mighty Behemoth, Misery Index and ex-Disembodied Devil Inside warming up the room. Also happening that night is another installment in Café Chaos' Spooky Boogie Nights, with a screening of the Z-grade horror flick The Creeps followed by a set from local garage rockers les Vautours. On Monday, Buddy Hackett impersonator Sam Shalabi will play at Casa with John Heward, Thierry Amar and Brian Lipson.

On Tuesday night, hardcore heroes ...And The Saga Continues and Hands of Death launch their split 7" on Contempt for Humanity with guests Jaws of Life at Balafre, and Rivers and Mountains launch their DVD with local noise artists Dreamcatcher and Dead Bush at Divan Orange. Finally, on Wednesday, don't miss the Memphis synth/garage sounds of Lost Sounds when they play at Toc-Toc with Duchess Says and Moustache.

BRINGING OUT THE ALAN ALDA IN ALL OF US, EVERY WEEK... jonathan.cummins@gmail.com

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