Despite the misleading NFL connotation, the folks in the Miami Dolphins seldom think about their name.
Though the Minneapolis band’s rollicking rock ‘n’ roll swirl bears no relation to the Florida football team, the musicians have received a spectrum of reactions from fans — from receiving Dan Marino jerseys as gifts to a plethora of internet rage.
“When we got written up on [music blog] Brooklyn Vegan, everyone hated the name,” guitarist Patrick Larkin said. “I like that it’s polarizing.”
Drummer Joe Scott said while receiving the NFL Miami Dolphins memorabilia is nice, he’s disassociated from the name’s original context.
“A lot of people know more about the Miami Dolphins [team] than we do,” Scott said. “The thing about band names is once you’ve heard it a few times, it just becomes abstracted from what it actually is, and you just associate it with the band.”
Scott, Larkin, and singer Beth Bambery used a confusion-as-delight approach while recording last year’s “Becky,” the band’s first proper album.
Though fans can catch the Miami Dolphins’ sugary art-punk on Wednesday at the Triple Rock for $5 a ticket, it’s more difficult to buy the album: “Becky” goes for $777 on its Bandcamp website.
“I think humor is a big part of the band,” Larkin said. “We take the performance and the writing seriously, but then the actual thing that we’re making doesn’t have to be super serious itself.”
The Miami Dolphins’ jokey online presence doesn’t end there. In lieu of taking new band photos after bassist Zack Warpinski joined, the group changed its Facebook profile to photos of furniture — a move that confused Warpinski himself.
“I was wondering what that was,” Warpinski said.
And the band’s shows are just as random. At one of its “worst shows ever,” according to Larkin, a Houston venue projected the movie, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” — a film featuring former Miami Dolphins quarterback Marino — onstage as the band performed.
Considering the band’s 4-year history, Bambery said the songs on “Becky,” including the feverish, jagged “Pucker Upper,” reflect the musicians’ growth.
“It sounds more free to me, more whimsical,” Bambery said.
Despite the progression, the band has kept its surf-y, no-wave sound throughout its catalogue, which also contains three cassette tape-only releases.
For Scott, the band’s spontaneity makes it engaging to play and compose with.
“When I listen to music, I listen to a lot of songs that are ABAB standard pop,” Scott said. “But then it’s also boring for me to play songs like that, so I gravitate toward not [doing that].”
What: Gay Witch Abortion with the Miami Dolphins
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Triple Rock Social Club, 629 S. Cedar Ave., Minneapolis
Cost: $5
Age: 18+
