Indie-rock trio Limber Limbs was having a bit of a Googleability problem before it switched its name from People, People.
“We realized that people couldn’t find us on the Internet,” singer and guitarist Ben Bowlware said. “There’s a million results with people in it.”
Added bassist Derek Moore, “It’s the comma that killed us.”
“There was this one guy who looked for our Facebook page for three months,” Bowlware said. “Three whole months.”
Moore said, “It was nice of him to keep looking. He’s a committed guy.”
Settling on a new name proved to be a tall task for the Oklahoma City band (by way of Stillwater), especially given the problems the first one brought.
“We’d brainstormed for two months. Everything sounded horrible,” Bowlware said. “[Limber Limbs] was the first where we thought, ‘That’s not completely terrible.’” Added Moore, “We just love alliteration so much.”
No one is more excited about the moniker modification than Moore, who also performs with another Stillwater indie-rock act: “Having to say I was in both Deerpeople and People, People was getting very annoying.”
The switch is good timing, as more than the name is changing. Limber Limbs’ songs started off each as a
magnum opus of a ballad, with challenging and complex instrumentation
that recalled the headier Beatles material or Fleet Foxes. Moving
forward, the sound won’t feel all that different, albeit more
stripped-down and easier to perform live.
“It was these huge, complex string arrangements, none of which we could really re-create live. When we started performing, we had this giant setup with quick tracks and loops so we could pull it off,” Moore said. “It was a huge hassle and would never come across the way we wanted it to.”
Said Bowlware, “We were more like a studio band. We approached this [new material] to make sure we could re-create with three people and have that be representative of our sound.”
Joined by drummer Robert Riggs, Limber Limbs are in the final stages of a new EP to help introduce fans to the new name and sound, currently recording with Mack Hawkins of The Non. “He’s making us sound pretty good so far,” Moore said.
Bowlware said the EP should be out in two months … if only they can figure out what to title it.
“Coming up with band names is hard enough,” Moore said. “Now it’s album names.”
Added Bowlware, “Maybe we can call it People, People and confuse everyone.”
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