We Were the Numbskulls

"We were the Numbskulls from 1994 to 2000," said Skillet, lead singer of the Oceanside punk band now called Wanted Dead. "We figured we had the rights [to the name] when we put out the album, but there was a Numbskulls in Hawaii, and there was a promoter in Orange County called Eddie Numbskull Presents. So we changed our name."

As Wanted Dead (www.wanteddead.com), the band played most dates on the 2001 and 2002 Warped Tours. They played seven Warped dates last year.

Now another local band may face a similar challenge.

"We came up with the idea for the name when we were nine," said Cameron Wilson, singer/bassist with Numskul, a La Mesa--based trio of high school freshmen. "We've been playing together for four years. Our first show was at a fifth grade talent show."

Wilson said he believes the name is legally protected.

"We searched on the Internet for a long time [for bands with the same name]. "All we found were some rappers. We figured that would be the end of the issue.... Our dads take care of a lot of the legal stuff."

Numskul (www.numskul.com) released their first CD, No More Secrets, in December on Fajz Records, a label created by the fathers of both Wilson and drummer Ryan Miller. (Rutger Rosenberg plays guitar.)

"We won the 2003 all-county Battle of the Bands at 'Canes. We were the youngest band to get a first place."