Choosing a band name can be surprisingly challenging, much like naming a child. A good name should stick in your mind, be intriguing but easy to understand, and sound great. Crucially, it shouldn’t cause any awkward mix-ups or confusion.
By most standards, both bands, Goose and Geese, have excellent names—except for one major flaw: the potential for confusion. Just swap a couple of ‘O’s for ‘E’s, and their names become almost identical. Mix up your singulars and plurals, and you’re talking about a single bird instead of a whole flock of musicians. It seems these groups require you to be both a dedicated music lover and a grammar expert!
Adding to the potential mix-up, both bands recently dropped new albums and are currently touring. This means journalists and fans alike need to be extra careful not to confuse the two during interviews or when discussing their latest work.
Last month, Brooklyn-based quartet Geese released their third studio album, “Getting Killed,” which critics have hailed as one of the year’s best, even earning them a performance spot on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Meanwhile, in August, the Wilton, Connecticut-based quartet Goose unveiled their fifth studio album (and second this year), titled “Chain Yer Dragon.”
Logically, Goose predates Geese, having formed in 2014 compared to Geese’s 2016 origin. Both groups share ties to music education, with Goose connected to Berklee College of Music in Boston and Geese to Brooklyn’s Park Slope Rock School. It’s also important not to confuse either with the Atlanta nu-metal act, Silly Goose.
As Rolling Stone aptly put it, “Though these two outfits couldn’t be further from each other in sound and style, they’ve been inevitably conjoined by name.”
Perhaps a musical field guide is in order to properly distinguish between Goose and Geese.
What They Sound Like
Goose is best described as a jam band with indie-rock influences, often drawing comparisons to Phish. Pitchfork notes their unique ability to “put listeners in a trance, even stopping time for a little bit,” while Rolling Stone praised them as “musicians unafraid to revel in rubbery grooves, guitar and keyboard solos that threatened to never end.”
On the other hand, Geese leans into indie rock with elements of jam. Their latest album “rips open the carcasses of Radiohead, Pavement, and Swans and feasts there, looking up with a big, bloody grin,” according to GQ. Pitchfork characterized “Getting Killed” as possessing “a clattering, groove-based sound, denying the structures of traditional rock music while following the same volleys of tension and release.”
How They Got Their Names
Goose frontman Rick Mitarotonda revealed that the band’s name originated from nonsensical kitchen slang he used while working at Dam Good Tacos in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Geese’s name is a pluralization derived from guitarist Emily Green’s nickname. Curiously, this means a member of Geese is nicknamed Goose.
How to Tell Them Apart
Both bands feature four scruffy musicians who typically wear jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. However, the members of Goose are roughly a decade older and sport impressive facial hair that would make any lumberjack proud. The Geese musicians, by contrast, have a more West Coast, Silver Lake aesthetic rather than a rustic Lake Oswego vibe.
Do Goose Fans Like Geese? Do Geese Fans Like Goose?
While the bands generally appeal to different musical tastes, some notable crossovers exist. Trey Anastasio, the renowned Phish frontman, has performed with Goose on stage at Radio City Music Hall and toured with them in 2022. He has also been seen attending Geese’s live shows.
Earlier this year, Geese opened for Vampire Weekend. In a reciprocal move, Vampire Weekend’s frontman, Ezra Koenig, has also joined Goose on stage.
Has There Been a Goose-Geese Double Bill?
Not yet. However, both bands did perform at the Newport Folk Festival on the same day this year, July 25. As music site Stereogum optimistically wrote, “Hopefully they will become good friends.” Fans can only dream of such a “gaggle” of talent.