The Name of the Dog

One of the questions we almost never get asked is how we came by our name. Undeterred by such indifference we decided to set the record straight. The name comes from the John Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men. Candy’s Dog is a smelly, hairy, old creature who has seen better days (no jokes please, it is too easy,) who the protagonists decide should be put out of its misery. Despite the reluctance of Candy the dog is led away and shot. If you want a better understanding of the significance of this to the novel, you can find countless sites where this is discussed.

Which brings us to a key controversy in the formation of Candi’s Dog; the spelling. As has been mentioned in previous posts, Candi’s Dog like a good argument. Of all of the things we have argued about, however, (such as musical direction, whether sugar should be added to tea*, whether Jennifer Aniston is the greatest screen actress of the 21^st Century**) this was by far the biggest, most ferociously contested dispute in our history.

At the risk of re-opening barely healed old wounds the argument broke down like this: Matthew felt we should be called Candy’s Dog to be more authentic to the book, Stephen and Daniel wanted Candi’s Dog so that people using search engines would be more likely to find information about the band rather than help with their English Literature homework. The argument was bitter, lasted many months with numerous atrocities committed on both sides. In the end, Matthew conceded and an uneasy peace has been in place ever since. So, if you’re bothered, and all the evidence suggests you are not, this is how we came by our name.

* Sugar in Tea? Daniel “No”, Matthew “Yes”, Stephen “No”
**Jennifer Aniston? Daniel “Yes”, Matthew “Are you serious?”, Stephen “What is wrong with you?”