Are The Cool Kids changing their name? That’s the word on the e-streets as well as the radio after Timbuck2 dropped a joint of theirs using the new moniker, which I guess is Chuck and Mike. It’s an interesting move for a group that has amassed a ton of fans, became faces for a new sub-genre of Hip Hop, and have toured the world without a proper album. We were supposed to get When Fish Ride Bicycles in ’08, then ’09, and now the word is that Chuck and Mike have gone back to the drawing board and there’s really no mention or allusion to a street date for the LP. And that my friends is where the name games begin. It could very well be that Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks just got tired of the name, or decided that they were no long kids, but cool adults. The Cool Young Adults doesn’t exactly have a nice ring to it…
But, let’s put style aside for a minute. Remember that album I was talking about? The one that has yet to be released and is currently in TBA land? Many times the business of music gets in the way of the art, stalls release dates, and prevents artists from even doing their jobs. I know from a variety of sources that The Cool Kids have encountered their fair share of legal problems in relation to their music, and the release of their material. One way to beat The Cool Kids record limbo is to ditch the name. It’s like they’re saying to a label, “look, you own The Cool Kids’ music? Cool. We’re Chuck and Mike. The Cool Kids are done.”
Now, let’s be clear that this article is purely for speculation and sport. I could be wrong about the impetus for the name change, and really, it’s not been totally confirmed that there even is a name change. Various sources have told me it’s a go, others have said no comment. I do know that when a record label signs a group they have rights to the name.
“In addition to acquiring the exclusive right to the group’s recording services, the record company acquires the exclusive right to use the group’s name on records during the term of the agreement. If the group has recorded previously on another label, the contract may include a provision recognizing the right of the first record company to continue using the group’s name on its recordings.” From This Business of Music (Krasilovsky et al, 2007).
It may just be that the only way we’ll see some music from The Cool Kids is under a new name and new circumstances. Or, it could be that they just want to switch it up. Or, Timbuck2 called them Chuck and Mike because he knows them personally and that’s what he calls them… Either way, I hope it leads to some new music, cause they’re fans definitely deserve it.