the name

Nice Beaver and Uncle Dirtytoes (although I personally would never consider Uncle Dirtytoes to be a prog band - folk maybe).

How is Genesis/Godspeed You... creative if it already existed elsewhere and you just took it?

Fitzcarraldo wrote: Bank of Mutual Aid (assistance), or Mutual Aid Bank. In the UK they are called mutual savings banks, a type of savings bank without shareholders in which the depositors are technically the owners of the bank.

Fitzcarraldo wrote: Ghost Rider wrote: "Premiata Forneria Marconi" means "Award-Winning Bakery Marconi" (the latter being a rather common Italian surname). If I remember correctly, it was the actual name of a bakery shop in the Northern Italian area from which the band came ("forneria" is a Northern Italian term, while here in Rome we would just say "forno").   Yep, although this would normally be said as "Award-Winning Marconi Bakery" in English.   "Forneria Marconi" was a bakery in Chiari, Brescia. The "Premiata" was added by the band to make it sound special.

Fitzcarraldo wrote: Atkingani wrote: Pits & Clouds      Wells & Clouds (POÇOS E NUVENS), surely?

Viajero Astral wrote: my favorites: King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Captain Beefheart, Premiata Forneria Marconi (I dont know what it means but sounds great) Dream Theater, Uriah Heep, Marillion, Mahavishnu Orchesta and Liquid Tension Experiment.

Italian band names are amazing, also: That Old Inn, Fate's Inn, Marconi's Awarded Bakery, Mutual Helping Bank, A Ticket To Hell, The Bronze Ballet, etc. also some Brazilian band names: Remembering Apple's Valley, Sacred Heart Of The Earth, Pits & Clouds and... Blezqi Zatsaz (which has no real meaning ). 

R o V e R wrote: Led Zeppelin pink floyd Rush Emerson Lake & Palmer Van der graf generator

Is this a joke?

1 Van der Graaf Generator - You just know it will be something dark and complex.
2 Soft Machine - Confusing in the most positive way.
3 Träd, Gras och Stenar (Trees, Grass and Rocks) - Swedish Progg. How can you not like    it?
4 Magma - Sounds great and means melted rocks, or floating lava.
5 Univers Zero -  Dark and mysterious, just like the music.

I don't know if thes qualifies as creative names in the same way as say Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. But they are some of my favorite band names. And they all make sense when you hear the music they make. I love King Crimson and Curved Air as well.

I agree with BaldFriede: Hatfield and the North is an absolutely brilliant name for an absolutely brilliant band. King Crimson is also a very beautiful, intense name, which reflects the essence of the band itself. I think most prog bands have very original names - with the exception of ELP (great band, though...), whose name is a bit of an ego trip (no surprises there). Personally, I like names which are taken from literature, such as Soft Machine or the many names inspired by Tolkien's works (I'm not talking about black metal bands, though).