Man Found People on Facebook That Share His Name, Started Virtual Band

Paul O'Sullivan, 33, has done what a lot of us have, which is search Facebook to see if we have anybody else out there that shares the same name as us. Out of curiosity (or maybe lockdown boredom), he sent friend requests to a handful of them.

“I wondered what my name twins were up to out in the world,” O’Sullivan, a music instructor from Baltimore, Maryland told Washington Post.

Some of them accepted the request, and Paul found out that he and the other Pauls share a lot of interests.

“Their posts started showing up on my Facebook timeline,” O’Sullivan said. “One Paul O’Sullivan posted a picture of his Fender jazz bass, another had a profile picture of him singing live, and another had a bucket list of accomplishments that completely piqued my curiosity.”

He decided to message the three Pauls, all of whom were a bit skeptical at first, but they quickly formed a bond.

After talking about music for some time, Paul had an idea; “I thought, ‘we should start a band.’ It was the natural next step.”

The first step was to introduce the other Paul O'Sullivans to each other, virtually of course. The group got to know each other.

• Paul O'Sullivan: 57, of Manchester, England, former college teacher turned public health employee.
• Paul O'Sullivan: 52, of Rotterdam, Netherlands, grief counselor and teacher.
• Paul O'Sullivan: 57, of Weatherly, Pennsylvania, antique dealer and former publicist.

To avoid confusion, they started referring to one another by their geographic location. Like Baltimore Paul.

Baltimore Paul suggested the band idea, and the rest got on board. The band was formed, and the name choice was easy: "The Paul O'Sullivan Band." The group started rehearsing, but it wasn't until this year that they gained popularity.

“We’ve been social distancing since 2016,” said Baltimore Paul. “We perfected the system of remote collaboration before it was even relevant.”

“So many doors had closed because of covid, and yet, Baltimore Paul had already opened this door for us, so it was so easy to walk through,” said Pennsylvania Paul. “From that, we sort of developed our ethos, which is: ‘If it makes you smile, lean into it; if it makes you dance, embrace it; and if it does both, it’s the Paul O’Sullivan Band.”

None of the group have met in person, other than Baltimore Paul and Pennsylvania Paul.

Read more at Washington Post  

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