I Am the World Trade Center

History

Geller co-founded Kindercore Records 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 duo's second album, The Tight Connection, 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.

9/11

After the September 11, 2001 attacks 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.

Health problems

In April 2004, Dykes was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dykes underwent chemotherapy and 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