The Morning Benders have swapped monikers, and from now on will be going by the name POP ETC. Check out the reasons for the change, along with a link to their new (and free) mixtape, after the jump.

The name change was brought on by the unfortunate denotation of the word “bender” held by our friends across the pond. An emotional message from Christopher Chu currently dominates the group’s old webpage, explaining. He writes:

As soon as we had landed in London people started asking us about our band name. “What does ‘Bender’ mean to you?” people would ask. “Are you seriously called ‘The Morning Benders’ ?” was a common question. For those of you reading from America, you may still be confused. Well, it turns out that the word ‘bender’ in the UK and many parts of Europe is a slang term for ‘homosexual.’ We were told our band name was the equivalent of ‘The Morning Fags’ in America. We had been called The Morning Benders for 5 years, and we were just finding this out now? It was shocking. And quite sad, to say the least.

The name change decision, it seems, revolved almost entirely around this one issue. The band, through Chu, cited two reasons for the change:

1. We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick.

2. In the UK and many parts of Europe the name has simply become too distracting. The MUSIC has always been our number one focus, and we want to present that to people in as pure a way as possible

But good things can come out of bad, and the band is moving on to its new name in style – to celebrate the occasion, they’re now offering a free mixtape on their new eponymous website.