Outside of signing formal documents and being scolded by our parents, most of us avoid using our middle name. (You’ll rarely see me include Matthew in any byline or bio.)
Yet, there are many reasons for why people – and musicians, specifically – may prioritize it over their actual first name. Perhaps it sounds cooler? Perhaps they don’t feel represented by what’s on their birth certificate?
It could be any number of things, and that’s what this list aims to uncover. Regardless of their motivation for it, here are 12 rock artists we bet you didn’t know go by their middle names.
Loudwire contributor Jordan Blum is a university English professor and author of ‘Opeth: Every Album Every Song‘, ‘Dream Theater: Every Album Every Song‘ and ‘Jethro Tull: Every Album Every Song.’