Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

Bands come in many shapes and forms. They could be friends, family, a group of musically like-minded strangers. As it relates to the latter, social media has made it easier than ever before to find those who might share your musical muse.

Paul O’Sullivan of Baltimore, Maryland, however, was inspired by chance to take this one step further. Not only did he use the power of social to media to form a band with talented musicians, they all happen to share the exact same name.

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Baltimore Paul with his “domestic” band Woodbine Hotline (drummer Benn Breeden). Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

From four separate cities on three continents, Paul O’Sullivans conceptualize, compose, and record individual parts for master recordings, and even managed to record a music video for YouTube!

“It started way back in 2014,” said Maryland Paul. “I had a friend of mine who found his name twin on Facebook and even had dinner together. That got the wheels turning. So, out of curiosity, I started looking at Facebook and looking for my own name group.

At first I was just adding indiscriminately. But then, as they start showing up on my news feed and I got to know them, I thought, ‘Wait a minute — they’re musicians!’”

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
altimore Paul found his “namesake” street sign in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

Before he knew it, not only did he find several Paul O’Sullivan name twins, he found a singer, bass player, and drummer. Combined with his guitar work, the band was fully rounded off.

“It started off as kind-of a joke, a supergroup of Paul O’Sullivans,” said Maryland Paul, “but after it got going, we were just like ‘Okay, let’s see if there’s really anything here.’”

The logistics have been and continue to be a challenge. With Maryland Paul in Baltimore on guitar and vocals, the drummer in San Diego, the bass player in Manchester, and the second guitarist and lyricist in the Netherlands, getting a full track together takes time.

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Manchester Band in the studio with his domestic band Ash Mountain. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.
Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Pennsylvania Paul with an antique acoustic guitar. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

“I’ll get a really good song idea sometimes at 10:00 at night,” said Maryland Paul, and then I have to remember it’s like 4 am in the Netherlands! It’s a little tricky, but thankfully, the content itself comes really naturally.”

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Rotterdam Paul rocking out on an acoustic guitar. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

Early on, the project was almost derailed due to a health scare. “Around the time it first started, I had some pretty substantial health problems,” said Maryland Paul.

“It got so bad I couldn’t even eat whole foods. I couldn’t even walk at one point. And then, around 2016 I had kind-of a nervous breakdown because I didn’t trust doctors anymore. At one point I was seeing two different therapists and pretty much locked myself in a room for a year.”

Getting out of his rough patch required Maryland Paul to change his perspective a little.

“I had this wonderful moment with one of my therapists, Greg. He always talked about the power of balance, and one day he said, ‘If life has been as unbelievably bad as it has been for you lately, than I have to believe it could be unbelievably good, too.’”

Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video
Four strangers who have the exact same name and are also musicians start a band and make a music video. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

Lately, life has indeed been unbelievably good to Maryland Paul, and this new endeavor has been an incredibly valuable creative outlet for him.

“I’m in regular band here at home, and sometimes I’ll have a song idea that doesn’t really fit for them so I’ll send it to Paul in the Netherlands, and the next day he’ll send me a Word document full of lyrics!” he said.

Their first single, “Namesake,” is a direct reference to their unorthodox makeup, but the song has a wider appeal, as well. “I wanted early on for the song to be about long-distance relationships,” said Maryland Paul, “but we purposefully wanted to leave it open-ended.

It’s about the tricky logistics being involved with any kind of relationship, being platonic or romantic or anything. That’s something I think anyone can relate to.”

Screenshot of music video starring the Four Paul’s. Courtesy of Paul O’Sullivan.

After the release of their music video, which already has over a thousand views on YouTube, the Pauls are already thinking about the next step.

“The next thing is to find a way to play the song together live, that’s the dream. Personally, I would like to parlay this into something more. We’ll see, but I’m just so proud of what we’ve done to this point. I’m happy right now just to see where this ride goes.”

The way this happened was something you would only see in a movie, but thanks to the ‘Four Pauls’, we now have a little piece of real-life ‘Majic’ to enjoy.

Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel for more from this unique and beautiful movement that promotes human connection and the love of music!


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