THE FAMILY THAT MADE SLIDE SHOWS ... COOL?Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer Jason Trachtenburg and his family are always on the lookout for in search of; looking for. See also: Lookout weird or interesting slides from ``the Golden Age of slide projection photography.'' ``The '50s, '60s and '70s are the ideal,'' adds the 36-year-old Trachtenburg, a retro-clad dead ringer for Rick Moranis with a knack for creating indie-rock songs to accompany vintage slides that he picks up at yard sales. Call him quirky. Call what he does a gimmick. He's quick to point out that this concept has transformed his domestic band, the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players describe themselves as an "indie-vaudeville conceptual art-rock pop band", from the United States. Originally from Seattle, Washington, they are now based in New York, New York. - dad Jason, mom Tina Pina and 12-year-old Rachel - into indie-rock darlings. Last month, the band that MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. dubbed ``the Andy Warhols of the underground'' packed up its slide projector and toured the U.K. before returning to the U.S. for a club tour, which includes a stop at the Troubadour troubadour One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. on Sunday. It also grew its collection of slides. ``People just give us slides all the time. Everyone's like, `Here's our family slide collection; write a song about our family,' '' says Trachtenburg who talks with the rapidity of a hyper-intelligent grad student. ``So, I look at the slides and invariably in·var·i·a·ble adj. Not changing or subject to change; constant. in·var  i·a·bil they're kind of average, right? There's nothing I can do with them. They're faraway shots of mountains and flowers, and shots out airplane windows. ``So, what we did is, we wrote a song about people giving us bad slides that we can't use and what we do with them,'' he says. ``We show these kind of average slides while talking about people thinking that `hey, my family's going to become immortalized in the slide show.''' The slide-show concept was born in 2000, when the struggling musician on Seattle's open-mic circuit came home to find a projector and a collection of slides that Pina, his wife, had found while running the family dog- walking business. She'd suggested the idea of incorporating slides into his act before. That night, Trachtenburg wrote what would become the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players' first song, ``Mountain Trip to Japan, 1959.'' It appears on the band's debut album, ``Vintage Slide Collections From Seattle, Vol. 1.'' The 2001 release featured then 7-year-old Rachel on drums and Presidents of the United States of America The Presidents of the United States of America may refer to:
n. 1. also front man A man who serves as a nominal leader but who lacks real authority. 2. Music A leading singer with a group. Chris Ballew Christopher Ballew (born May 28, 1965) is a member of The Presidents of the United States of America. He formed The Presidents of the United States of America in 1993 with David Dederer, with whom he had gone to middle and high school at The Bush School in Seattle. on bass. Pina sang backup and manned the projector at the gigs that would soon follow. Opening spot for They Might Be Giants and an appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an Emmy Award-winning American late night talk show that is syndicated worldwide. The show, hosted by Conan O'Brien, features varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and stand-up comedy performances. were just the beginning for the trio that Trachtenburg often describes as ``an indie-vaudeville-conceptual-art-rock-slideLine is overdrawn o·ver·draw v. o·ver·drew , o·ver·drawn , o·ver·draw·ing, o·ver·draws v.tr. 1. To draw against (a bank account) in excess of credit. 2. -show band.'' The just-released DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. ``The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway'' is its latest offering. A documentary, it features concert footage and slice-of-life footage with cameos by Nellie McKay and Regina Spektor Regina Spektor (Russian: Регина Спектор; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. extolling the virtues of the band. ``Fortunately once you release something like this, it gives you the freedom to move on to the next stage of your career, kind of like with bands and records,'' Trachtenburg says. ``If they didn't have to make records, they would stay stagnant. Making music and making records -- or DVDs, in this case -- it's only natural that we're going to expand the scope of our act.'' And careers. In May, Trachtenburg released a solo album called ``Together.'' Daughter Rachel plans on starting up her own band when she's a little older. As for Pina, she's thinking about opening a vegetarian Mexican restaurant. The family is also exploring the idea of taking its act to television via an animated series or reality show. ``We're custom-made for television,'' Trachtenburg says. ``We've talked to all kinds of television people, but no has sealed the deal. But I know if we just see it through, everything will take care of itself, because as long as we're relevant, there will be an interest in us.'' That said, keep the slides coming, he says. ``You never know when you're going to find the Holy Grail, literally.'' Sandra Barrera (818) 713-3728 sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com THE TRACHTENBURG FAMILY SLIDESHOW PLAYERS Where: Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. When: 8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $12. Information: (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, indie-rock darlings, play music to a growing collection of weird slides. The group brings its quirky act to the Troubadour on Sunday. |
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