I Am the World Trade Center
No matter what hole-in-the-wall pit stop the duo made during their summer tour, Dan Geller and Amy Dykes dreaded the inevitable question: ''So, what's your band's name?''
''I would tell someone at a convenience store and...they would look at me like, How could you?'' recalls I Am the World Trade Center singer Dykes, 28, ''and I always say, 'But we've had the name since 1999!'''
The Athens, Ga.-based pair (who, unlike the White Stripes, admit to being a couple since '97) named themselves IATWTC after a grandiose moment inspired by the view of the towers from their building during a stint living in Brooklyn. After Sept. 11 -- and a lot of media attention -- the band abridged its name to I Am the World and debated a complete name overhaul for months until they took their cue from the world's other most unfortunately named band. ''Once Anthrax made their decision to keep their name,'' recalls IATWTC's 29-year-old musical maestro, Geller, ''it made it easier to stick with ours.'' Geller says they even approached Anthrax about IATWTC opening for the metal band. ''[Anthrax's manager] thought it would have been too much. Of course it would have been. But hey, if we got to open up for Anthrax, that would have been great.''
Nearly a year later, with the release of their second album ''The Tight Connection,'' on Kindercore, the threatening and infuriated e-mails have subsided just as interest in retro electro-pop has increased. College audiences are particularly plugged in to IATWTC. Since its July 23 debut, ''Connection'' has peaked at No. 5 on college radio charts and, according to SoundScan, already outsold the band's 2001 debut ''Out of the Loop.''
Like ''Out of the Loop,'' ''Connection'' was built on Geller's quirky, computer-composed kerplunks, Dykes' untrained dulcet tones, and British influences like the Stone Roses and New Order. ''Right now you have the Hives, the Strokes, the Pattern, the Vines, and a million more bands coming out as 'the whatevers' with shag haircuts and '60s garage sound. But IATWTC is just nice crossover indie pop,'' says Angelo De Ieso, music director of Portland State University's KPSU, explaining the band's appeal. ''And [all the publicity], positive or negative, has had a big impact.''
Though Geller agrees that people are more interested in the music now than a year ago, he has ambivalent feelings about the tragedy-laden exposure. ''People know our name now.... But it's always going to be an issue.'' That said, Geller wouldn't give up his band's controversial cognomen even for a major-label deal and the promise of mainstream success. ''If someone came up and said, 'We'll give you a million dollars if you change your name,' then that would be selling out. It would be stupid to change now.''
