I Am the World Trade Center
Encyclopedia
I Am the World Trade Center is a synth-pop duo consisting of musician Daniel Geller (co-founder of Kindercore Records
) and vocalist Amy Dykes. Geller creates almost all of the music using his laptop
, occasionally using drum machine
s, keyboard
s, or other instruments.
with Ryan Lewis in 1996 in Athens, Georgia
. Lewis, Geller, and Dykes soon moved to New York City
, and Geller and Dykes began dating in 1997. When Geller asked Dykes to provide the vocals for an instrumental track he had written, they considered starting a band. With encouragement from Lewis, they played a live performance in Austin, Texas
at the 2000 South by Southwest Festival.
Geller and Dykes had decided on the name in 1999 while living in New York City. The band's debut album, Out of the Loop, was released in 2001 on the Kindercore label and according to a 2002 interview with The Stanford Daily
, the band's name represented the dynamic of the duo's relationship: "The two towers, equal and independent, together made up one entity and came to represent the relationship that Geller and Dykes forged professionally and personally." The Tight Connection
, IATWTC's second album was also released on Kindercore in 2002. After Kindercore folded, their third album, The Cover Up
, was released on Gammon Records. Dykes and Geller were no longer involved romantically by that time, but they continue to collaborate professionally.
on the World Trade Center
, I Am the World Trade Center toured briefly under the shortened name "I Am the World...", but resumed playing under their original name.
. Dykes has undergone chemotherapy
and has faced several complications, but her cancer went into remission in late 2004. I Am the World Trade Center began touring again in March 2005.
Kindercore Records
Kindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia....
) and vocalist Amy Dykes. Geller creates almost all of the music using his laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
, occasionally using drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s, or other instruments.
History
Daniel Geller co-founded Kindercore RecordsKindercore Records
Kindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia....
with Ryan Lewis in 1996 in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
. Lewis, Geller, and Dykes soon moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Geller and Dykes began dating in 1997. When Geller asked Dykes to provide the vocals for an instrumental track he had written, they considered starting a band. With encouragement from Lewis, they played a live performance in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
at the 2000 South by Southwest Festival.
Geller and Dykes had decided on the name in 1999 while living in New York City. The band's debut album, Out of the Loop, was released in 2001 on the Kindercore label and according to a 2002 interview with The Stanford Daily
The Stanford Daily
The Stanford Daily is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. The Daily is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the University was founded in 1892.The paper publishes weekdays...
, the band's name represented the dynamic of the duo's relationship: "The two towers, equal and independent, together made up one entity and came to represent the relationship that Geller and Dykes forged professionally and personally." The Tight Connection
The Tight Connection
The Tight Connection is the second album from I Am the World Trade Center the New York City based synthpop band. The album was released in 2002 and it contains covers of The Stone Roses' "Shoot You Down" and Blondie's "Call Me."-Track listing:...
, IATWTC's second album was also released on Kindercore in 2002. After Kindercore folded, their third album, The Cover Up
The Cover Up
The Cover Up is the third album from I Am the World Trade Center the New York City based synthpop band. This is the first album released after the closure of the band's record label, Kindercore, which was co-founded by Dan Geller. Also, this is the first album conducted by Dan Geller and Amy Dykes...
, was released on Gammon Records. Dykes and Geller were no longer involved romantically by that time, but they continue to collaborate professionally.
9/11
After the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, I Am the World Trade Center toured briefly under the shortened name "I Am the World...", but resumed playing under their original name.
Health problems
In April 2004, Dykes was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphomaHodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
. Dykes has undergone chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and has faced several complications, but her cancer went into remission in late 2004. I Am the World Trade Center began touring again in March 2005.
Discography
- Out of the Loop - (2001 · Kindercore RecordsKindercore RecordsKindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia....
) - The Tight ConnectionThe Tight ConnectionThe Tight Connection is the second album from I Am the World Trade Center the New York City based synthpop band. The album was released in 2002 and it contains covers of The Stone Roses' "Shoot You Down" and Blondie's "Call Me."-Track listing:...
(2002 · Kindercore RecordsKindercore RecordsKindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia....
) - The Cover UpThe Cover UpThe Cover Up is the third album from I Am the World Trade Center the New York City based synthpop band. This is the first album released after the closure of the band's record label, Kindercore, which was co-founded by Dan Geller. Also, this is the first album conducted by Dan Geller and Amy Dykes...
(2004 · Gammon Records)
External links
- I Am the World Trade Center Official Website
- I Am the World Trade Center at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- I Am the World Trade Center at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- I Am the World Trade Center at MusicbrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...
- Lazy-i Interview: October 2003
- Interview from Punk Planet 64 (2004)