Following in the footsteps of bands like Shihad, who temporarily changed their name to Pacifier after it occurred to them that having a name that rhymes with ‘jihad’ could dampen sales in a post-9/11 climate, Sydney outfit RÜFÜS have changed their name to RÜFÜS DU SOL for the US market.
According to a press release, the J Award nominated group were forced to change their name for the region after months of receiving “strongly worded letters” regarding a pre-existing US trademark on the Rufus name. They will still be known as RÜFÜS elsewhere in the world.
While members Jon, James and Tyrone were reluctant to change the name, it is a necessary evil to bring their #1 ARIA chart record, ATLAS, to North America, where it will be released by Columbia Records. RÜFÜS are now only the third Australian band to be signed to the legendary label.
“It’s pretty humbling being on the same label as so many iconic artists,” said vocalist Tyrone Lindqvist. “I still have my Fugees CD with the big Columbia stamp on it… not sure if they are gonna try to do that to ATLAS,” he added. Regarding their upcoming SXSW set, he said:
“We’ve been told all the creepy stories about not getting sound-checks and it taking an hour to carry all your gear from venue to venue on foot because of the crowds…so we’re expecting it to be like that time you fell off your skateboard bombing your local hill as a kid – it hurt a lot but all you remember is how good it felt!”
The band will be heading over to the US and Canada in March to play a fifteen-show run, which will kick off in San Francisco and journey down the West Coast through to Austin for SXSW, up to Calgary and Vancouver, before concluding in Denver in early April.
