The Southern California Rock n Soul group, American Jesus has decided to drop their controversial moniker in favor of adopting the title of one of their songs, Television Child. 

As previously reported here at antiMUSIC, the group came under fire from a southern minister earlier this year after the minister discovered the band�s CD �Spiritual Prozac� among his daughter�s possessions. The irate minister, Rev. Clement S. Wagner, then called for a boycott of the group (see article). 

We recently asked the band�s frontman Ronnie Kustes about the American Jesus title, �If you look up the words satire and irony in the dictionary you will get what I was trying to say,� explained Ronnie in an interview with our sister site Rocknworld.com. �It just means that nothing is what it seems, that everything is an illusion, that maybe everything you were taught in life might be a lie. It�s about exposing the psychotic taboos of our tribe.� 

Although the band wants people to focus on their music and not their name, the controversy over the American Jesus name was not the deciding factor in the group�s decision to rechristen the group, �Television Child�. According to a statement Posted to the group�s official website, they changed the name after discovering another band was already using the American Jesus moniker. 

�After finding out there was another band with the name American Jesus we had to make a major decision, whether or not to fight these guys and try and see who will get famous first or let them have it and try and think of something more unique.� Reads the statement. �Then we found out they have a couple of CD's out on their own label and we decided that we would have to concede and let them just have it. We went through hundreds of names, everything from American Soul Society (by Nate) to Swivel Hip (from Andy), but nothing seem to hit home until someone said how about Television Child?? And everyone said, yeah!! that's it!! The weird thing is 4 different people suggested it without knowing the others already suggested it. Must be meant to be..�

The band is featured this month (as American Jesus) in the �Unsigned Heroes� series on our sister site Rocknworld.com.