Fifty years ago, in a small village in Southern Italy, there lived a taciturn family man with the nickname "Mbrascatu"—"Dirty Face." To this day, when Andrea Algieri returns to his home village of Luzzi in Calabria, most people don't remember who he is until he reluctantly shares the nickname of his grandfather: "Oh! Mbrascatu! Andrea Mbrascatu!"

In 2007, Algieri moved to Portland and formed the Andrea Algieri Band, combining classic Italian vocals with broader world and folk influences. Soon into its existence, though, Algieri realized the band's name wasn't giving enough credit to the contributions of each musician, most of whom he met playing at open mics. One night, he and his bandmates got into a drunken conversation about childhood nicknames.

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Source: http://www.wweek.com/