STARFUCKER NEEDS A new name. From radio announcers fumbling around the title to tour billing issues, the moniker has become a hindrance to the band. “There are so many people who won’t work with you,” says band founder Josh Hodges. Hodges, at 30, is the oldest member of the four-person group, whose pulsing electronic pop music is known to cause spontaneous dance parties, and he knew that naming his original solo project Starfucker could stunt the band’s potential for growth in the public eye. “The name was intentionally stupid and self-sabotaging,” he says.

Had the group not played a fun and immediately accessible style of music, the band and its name might have been contained to a local scene. But Starfucker snagged too much attention through its live shows and its two 2008 releases, a self-titled debut LP and a follow-up EP, Jupiter, to stay hidden in its hometown of Portland, Ore.

Hodges grew up in Portland around his parents’ selection of classic rock, though he recalls that he did always lean toward pop music.

As a kid, he had a small collection of music, including a Sesame Street record containing the “Rubber Ducky” song, and he remembers “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits as one of the first songs that he heard on the radio that made him think, “This song is rad.” His interest in music sparked early on because his parents had a guitar and a piano in the house, and music, unlike school, was never forced upon him. “There was never any pressure,” he says.

Hodges moved to New York City after high school and lived here off and on for about 4 years. “I got to live out my bohemian fantasy dream,” Hodges says. He played in bands in New York, the most notable being Sexton Blake, a mellow shoegaze pop outfit. The band, which eventually included Starfucker’s Ryan Biornstad, led Hodges back to Portland when it had a CD release there, and Hodges never left. Sexton Blake had Hodges writing somber songs, and, even while living in New York, Hodges says he aspired to do something more along the lines of a dance album. Starfucker started because, as Hodges explains, “The fog cleared, and I was like, ‘I want to do music that is fun.’” Starfucker began as Hodges’ solo venture.

He played shows and wrote and recorded the music himself, self-releasing the debut LP in 2008 and later releasing the Jupiter EP through Badman Recording Co. Biornstad joined the live show first, followed by Shawn Glassford.

While the other members came together on the project naturally, with the trio covering vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and mixing, the band actively sought out Kiel Corcoran to fill the void as drummer. Hodges seems so enthusiastic about Corcoran’s skills that he says he may even abdicate drumming duties on Starfucker’s next album to Corcoran, instead of playing all instruments on the next recording as the band’s founder has done in the past. “I’m a control freak when it comes to that stuff,” Hodges admits.

Starfucker only played its first show as a four-piece band at a bar in Portland this past Valentine’s Day, and since then the group has focused on touring, with no plans of recording new material any time soon. “I don’t want [the next album] to be rushed,” Hodges says. The remainder of the year will continue to focus around touring with the full band lineup while balancing day jobs and taking advantage of any downtime in Portland. And thinking of that new band name. Does Hodges have any ideas? “Hell no,” he says. “We have no idea.” Suggestions welcome.

> Starfucker

Sept. 22 at Bruar Falls, 245 Grand St. (betw. Driggs Ave. & Roebling St.), Brooklyn, 347-529-6610; 8, $TBA. Also, Sept. 23 at Santos Party House.