History Main / AnonymousBand

* Mac Sabbath, a band who perform Music/BlackSabbath [[/SongParody song parodies]] with lyrics satirizing the fast food industry, and whose stage image is based on [=McDonald=]'s "Mcdonaldland" characters. They always perform in costume, use pseudonyms parodying said Mcdonaldland characters, and don't do interviews - manager Mike Odd speaks on their behalf. Rumor has it that Mike Odd, who fronts the similarly theatrical rock band Rosemary's Billygoat, is more directly involved than that, though there exists a promo photo of him and Mac Sabbath frontman Ronald Osbourne in the same place at the same time.

* Black Moth Super Rainbow are on the milder end of this. Not a lot of autobiographical information is known about the band. Though they don't hide their faces in promotional photos or live performances, they're always TheInvisibleBand in their music videos. Though some (but not all) of their real names are public knowledge, they're consistently credited under obvious {{stage name}}s. They've done print interviews, but their [[http://youtu.be/XZDMw1ePPwk only video interview]] is one where they had someone pretend to be a band member [[note]] The person being interviewed is an unnamed mascot/"hype man" the band was using for a 2009 tour - while Tobacco was doing the real singing in front of a laptop, the masked man would stand up front and mime, engaging the audience in a way the actual singer wasn't in a position to[[/note]].

* Similarly, their predecessors Music/{{GWAR}} were never seen out of character much of their early career (though, even the pre-internet days a dedicated fan could find out their real names, or you know, just read the credits on their home videos). They eventually dropped it and now give interviews and appearances either way (depending on what the interviewer wants ie, a "serious" interview about the band and their history, or Oderus ranting and being wacky).

* TheResidents, who appear for live performances, music videos, and promo photos in masks or other face-concealing costumes (usually four eyeballs in top hats, or more recently three eyeballs in top hats and a skull). They also don't even use specific aliases, although once the vocalist adopted the skull mask he became known as Mr. Skull. As far as autographs go, if all four members sign something, it'll read "Residents", "A Resident", "Mr. Resident" and "Mr. Skull".

* Mr. Bungle used aliases on their first album and their earliest concerts were performed in masks. Eventually they dropped the anonymity (possibly because everybody could tell the singer was MikePatton anyway).

* The Boomtown Rats experimented with this in their ''very'' early days, each member picking a different and increasingly ludicrous stage name for every club gig. They'd abandoned this practice by the time they hit the bigtime, but bassist Patrick [[PunnyName "Pete Briquette"]] Cusack and keyboardist John "Johnny Fingers" Moylett kept their StageNames throughout the band's existence.

* The Network, who are (pretty obviously) made up of GreenDay and {{Music/Devo}}. They always wear masks.

* The J-pop duo [=ClariS=] don't perform live, go by the aliases "Clara" and "Alice", and are represented through anime-type characters styled after them. They do this because both girls are in high school, and don't want to get swept into the chaotic celebrity life.

* [[Music/Jandek]]: The label, Corwood Industries, presents the music as if it were the creation of an anonymous collective. The guy who shows up to play live shows, sometimes with non-anonymous locally-recruited backing musicians, is referred to as "a representative of Corwood Industries". Actual identity: [[spoiler:All evidence points to it being Sterling Smith, who is also the sole employee of Corwood.]]

* Jandek: The label, Corwood Industries, presents the music as if it were the creation of an anonymous collective. The guy who shows up to play live shows, sometimes with non-anonymous locally-recruited backing musicians, is referred to as "a representative of Corwood Industries". Actual identity: [[spoiler:All evidence points to it being Sterling Smith, who is also the sole employee of Corwood.]]

* Major Organ and the Adding Machine is a super group containing members of the Elephant 6 Collective, led by a possibly fictional character named Major Organ. Among the suspected performers are members or former members of NeutralMilkHotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, Elf Power, and OfMontreal. Only one album, a SelfTitledAlbum, was released.

* Viral music/visual project {{Iamamiwhoami}}, although the main participant is Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee. Claes Björklund is probably also involved, and the most likely suspect for [[FanNickname "Captain Underpants"]].
* ManOrAstroman are a borderline example -- their real names were never a secret, but they never went by those names on stage or on a record. The three regular members went by the identities of Birdstuff, Starcrunch, and Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard; other guitarists they played with over the years included Dr. Deleto, Victor Vector, and Cap'n Zeno.

* {{Prince}}'s jazz-tinged side project Madhouse would have all songs credited to Madhouse itself. During live performances, Prince and members of his own band would wear large baggy clothing and sunglasses to remain anonymous.

* The Traveling Wilburys would be a "not fooling anyone" example. The liner notes list all the musicians as members of the extended Wilbury family, but due to the album photos and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8s9dmuAKvU music videos]], they're better known as "that {{Supergroup}} with [[GeorgeHarrison Harr]][[Music/TheBeatles ison]], Music/TomPetty, Music/BobDylan, Music/RoyOrbison, and [[Music/ElectricLightOrchestra Jeff Lynne]].

* {{Slipknot}}. On-stage, the members wear masks and use numerals as aliases.
* {{Lordi}}, a Finnish hard rock band who always wear masks when they appear in public and are only known by aliases.
* Similarly, their predecessors {{GWAR}} were never seen out of character much of their early career (though, even the pre-internet days a dedicated fan could find out their real names, or you know, just read the credits on their home videos). They eventually dropped it and now give interviews and appearances either way (depending on what the interviewer wants ie, a "serious" interview about the band and their history, or Oderus ranting and being wacky).

** Same with PinkFloyd, as they were one of the most famous bands that the average rock fan couldn't name or identify the members in a picture if they tried. This was aided by their show-stealing lighting and stage effects. Legendarily, the band would go into the lobby of the arena they were playing at for a drink during intermission and no one ever recognised one of them. Like Chicago, this changed in the 80's with MTV and the news talking about the lawsuit going on with RogerWaters at the time. It also changed with the fact that ''AMomentaryLapseOfReason'' was the first album to feature a picture of the band in the album booklet since 1971's ''Music/{{Meddle}}''

** Same with PinkFloyd, as they were one of the most famous bands that the average rock fan couldn't name or identify the members in a picture if they tried. This was aided by their show-stealing lighting and stage effects. Legendarily, the band would go into the lobby of the arena they were playing at for a drink during intermission and no one ever recognised one of them. Like Chicago, this changed in the 80's with MTV and the news talking about the lawsuit going on with RogerWaters at the time. It also changed with the fact that ''AMomentaryLapseOfReason'' was the first album the feature to include picture of the band in the album booklet since 1971's ''Music/{{Meddle}}''

* Jandek: The label, Corwood Industries, presents the music as if it were the creation of an anonymous collective. The guy who shows up to play live shows is referred to as "a representative of Corwood Industries". Actual identity: [[spoiler:All evidence points to it being Sterling Smith, who is also the sole employee of Corwood.]]

Compare InvisibleBand, which takes this trope to the next level. See also SecretIdentity.

See also SecretIdentity.

* The Traveling Wilburys would be a "not fooling anyone" example. The liner notes list all the musicians as members of the extended Wilbury family, but due to the album photos and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8s9dmuAKvU music videos]], they're better known as "that {{Supergroup}} with [[GeorgeHarrison Harr]][[Music/TheBeatles ison]], Music/TomPetty, Music/BobDylan, Music/RoyOrbison, and [[Music/{{ELO}} Jeff Lynne]].

* The Traveling Wilburys would be a "not fooling anyone" example. The liner notes list all the musicians as members of the extended Wilbury family, but due to the album photos and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8s9dmuAKvU music videos]], they're better known as "that {{Supergroup}} with [[GeorgeHarrison Harr]][[Music/TheBeatles ison]], [[Music/TomPetty

* {{Averted}} by the classical ''a capella'' group [[NonIndicativeName Anonymous 4]]; despite the ensemble's name, all four singers are clearly identified on their albums and promotional material. (Currently they're Susan Hellauer, Ruth Cunningham, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek and Marsha Genensky.)
** That's because the name actually refers to a 13th century music scholar, from whom we owe much of our knowledge of the development of polyphonic music in the west. Despite his importance, his name did not survive the centuries, so he's typically referred to Anonymous IV (his "name" comes from that fact that he was the fourth anonymous source quoted in a textbook centuries later). So less of a NonIndicativeName and more of a GeniusBonus

* TheB52s after Ricky Wilson's death. Even though they've had drummers, bassists and keyboardists write, record and play live with them for years, they don't count them as official members. Some of them, such as drummer Sterling Campbell and bassist Tracy Wormworth are well enough known by fans though. The only members officially counted and pictured on their cover art are the original four members Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. After Keith retired from touring, the band don't feature him on posters, and don't feature his replacement guitarist either, but he's still a member of the band because they might record new material eventually. Naturally this is a point of massive confusion for people who don't know the band's history that well.

* The Traveling Wilburys would be a "not fooling anyone" example. The liner notes list all the musicians as members of the extended Wilbury family, but due to the album photos and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8s9dmuAKvU music videos]], they're better known as "that {{Supergroup}} with [[GeorgeHarrison Harr]][[Music/TheBeatles ison]], [[Music/TomPetty Petty]], [[Music/BobDylan Dylan]], [[Music/RoyOrbison Orbison]], [[AndZoidberg and that guy from]] Music/ElectricLightOrchestra."
* The Doobie Brothers are such an anonymous band even their fans would be hard pressed to name more than one or two members. This isn't because they ever concealed their identities. Its just that most of them are faceless session musicians who only come together to do tours, and when the tour is over they go back to being faceless session musicians.

* The Network, who are (pretty obviously) made up of GreenDay and {{Devo}}. They always wear masks.

* [[Music/TISM}} (or This Is Serious Mum): An Australian band whose members all conceal their faces and perform under obvious pseudonyms.

* TISM (or This Is Serious Mum): An Australian band whose members all conceal their faces and perform under obvious pseudonyms.

* CountryMusic group Chuck Wagon and the Wheels was formed as a band with a wrestling theme; its members were purported wrestler/singers named Chuck Wagon, Carl "Cal" Pyle and Sid Sequin. In RealLife, they were respectively brothers Gordon, Shelby and Wayne Kennedy. Gordon is a country and pop songwriter (Music/EricClapton's "Change the World") and a former member of the Christian band White Heart, Bryan wrote several songs for Music/GarthBrooks and Shelby co-wrote RebaMcEntire's "I'm a Survivor".
* Trailer Choir refers to its members as Butter, Big Vinny and Crystal. Real names? Mark Fortney, Vinny Hickerson, Crystal Hoyt.

* For the longest time, the Doobie Brothers were an Anonymous Band, based on the fact that they were essentially a group of session musicians who got together to occasionally release an album or go on tour. At first they had a regularly rotating circle of about twenty musicians who each took turns, but eventually settled down into a solid lineup. Even to this day, the only Doobie Brother who anyone's ever heard of is Michael McDonald. Hell, the only reason anybody knew that they had a rotating lineup is because '''''all''''' the surviving members showed up to jam together when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

* For the longest time, the Doobey Brothers were an Anonymous Band, based on the fact that they were essentially a group of session musicians who got together to occasionally release an album or go on tour. At first they had a regularly rotating circle of about twenty musicians who each took turns, but eventually settled down into a solid lineup. Even to this day, the only Doobey Brother who anyone's ever heard of is Michael MacDonald. Hell, the only reason anybody knew that they had a rotating lineup is because '''''all''''' the surviving members showed up to jam together when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.