The end of our January new music special is nearly come to a conclusion with only one more week after this one to go, and we are showing no signs of slowing down. This week we bring you a band that is slowly gaining a name for themselves in the music community with songs making their way into the media through different outlets. Given the Golden Globes’ recent awards recognizing the new silent film the Artist, it is only fitting that our Artist of the Week is none other than up and coming band the Silent Comedy.
The Silent Comedy was formed, similar to last week’s artist, Princeton, by brothers who shared a love of and devotion to music. Jeremiah and Joshua Zimmerman, sons of a Pentecostal preacher, discovered their niche and style while traveling Europe and India during the mid-90’s, inspiring their rock/folk/bluegrass band that is gaining traction today (though I’m not quite sure what inspired the awe inspiring mustaches that several members of the band sport). It wasn’t until 2006 that the Silent Comedy took shape and recruited other members, reinforcing the foundation of what would be the four-piece band gradually making head waves today.
Producing music that seems to evoke a cabaret style hoedown with faces being rocked about, the Silent Comedy does an excellent job of giving listeners something exciting, different, and accessible to all. The San Diego quartet teamed up with Brian Karscig of Louis XIV fame in 2008 to produce and record their self-titled EP, which also helped to give the band street cred in both the indie and commercial music worlds. Common Faults, the band’s 2010 LP, saw the album selling out as well as tickets to shows being bought up as though the band had been a major headliner for several years already. The voice of the Silent Comedy was spreading.
I first heard of the Silent Comedy back in September when waiting for the release of Dark Souls, one of the most difficult and challenging video games ever created and released (though not Contra difficult). Their music was used for the advertisement of the game and (aside from raving reviews) was part of what got me extremely excited to play the game and, through my screening of the trailer to friends and acquaintances, got them eager to listen to the band and try their hand at an intense game as well.
The Silent Comedy has been on the upturn as of late, gaining a following throughout the states. Since their formation, and particularly their relation to Brian Karscig, the band has been opening for and playing on bills with the likes of other successful, indie, and up-and-coming artists like the Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, Delta Spirit, the Whigs, Cold War Kids, Flogging Molly, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Razorlight. The Silent Comedy are a band to definitely look out for as this blogger foresees them doing major things in the future. Fortunately, and as always, you can get your fix below! Enjoy!
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Andy, always glad to read deserved good words about these guys. I’m a huge fan of TSC personally and professionally because they’re of such great heart. And because of my fondness for them I need to point out some glaring errors here: 1) those press photos are painfully outdated because, 2) they’re no longer a six-piece band as you mentioned in your 2nd paragraph; they’re a quartet and have been for some time.
Other than that, thanks you for spotlighting these gentlemen who are extremely special to me.
Thanks for the heads up, Trina! Big oops on my part. Mistakes like that are what happen when I leave my work for the last minute and forget to fact check!