Bands like Explosions in the Sky and Burning Airlines certainly had tricky political ground to negotiate after 9/11, but New York's laptop-based electronica duo I Am The World Trade Center had the most blatantly touchy moniker issues to wrestle with. After much deliberation, IATWTC's Dan Geller and his partner Amy Dykes decided to keep the name intact, and donate partial proceeds of their last record's profits to the United Way's 9/11 fund. IATWTC plays Graceland on Thursday, June 6.
So you run a pretty successful indie label (Kindercore Records) and you also have a master's degree in biological engineering--are you actively employed as a scientist? "Yes, I was working in a lab. I just quit my job to go on tour. I would get up early and work in the lab, and then go to work at Kindercore in the afternoon."
So what exactly did you do at the lab? Grow ears on the backs of mice? [Laughs.] "Actually, I was working on an alternative diesel fuel source that was based on plant oil."
So how long did it take you to make the decision to keep your band name after September 11? "Once 2002 came around, I think we realized that people could deal with it. At that point the sentiment had changed from kind of mixed to definitely supportive."
Was this sentiment coming from your peers? Fans? Who were you asking for advice? "Well, actually we were getting tons of unsolicited e-mail from people who were either concerned or supportive. At first it was a mixed bag of opinions, but then it became almost exclusively supportive."
Wow. Why do you think people were so supportive? "I think when [9/11] first happened, people were being reflexively PC and not realizing we meant no harm. Really, the World Trade Center isn't the enemy in this situation. If people interpret the name as evil, I think they're just not looking at the situation logically. The people who lost their lives should be a symbol of good, and I don't think [the band name] should be taken negatively at all."
On a completely unrelated note, you cover Blondie's "Call Me" on your new record. Do you know if Deborah Harry's heard it? "We don't know yet, but we're getting closer to the source. There were some people who showed up at our New York show who might know her...."
Do you think she'd like it? "I'd be curious to hear. When we play it live, it definitely rocks--we're trying to keep it punk, so hopefully she'd like that."
