The Silent Comedy will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 21. As always, this Record Exchange in-store performance is free and all ages. The Silent Comedy — which opened for Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses’ sold-out show at the Egyptian Theatre in February — is performing at The Bouquet later that night (8:30 p.m.) and we have tickets for sale here at the store!
We will have The Silent Comedy’s new EP, Cruelty and Clemency, for sale at the in-store, as well as a limited-edition tour-only 7-inch!
ABOUT THE SILENT COMEDY
Since 1996, brothers Jeremiah and Joshua Zimmerman have been fighting an uphill battle to pursue music. That year, their preacher father sold all of their possessions and launched the family on a worldwide adventure that included travels through Asia, Russia, the Middle East, Europe, and the entirety of the United States. From playing folk instruments in the foothills of the Himalayas, to drawing crowds around pianos at Spanish shopping malls, the boys kept their musical outlet alive by any means possible. Different elements of this life history eventually culminated in the formation of The Silent Comedy (thesilentcomedy.com) ten years later.
What started gaining momentum in 2006 as a loose collection of musicians, eventually evolved into a solid quintet of performers who turn heads for their wild live performance, genre-bending sound, and unique aesthetic. In 2008, the group recorded their eponymous debut studio EP with Brian Karscig (producer and founding member of Louis XIV). In keeping with their DIY tradition, the band self-produced their follow up LP, Common Faults, in 2010. The resulting buzz from sold-out pressings of both records, and sold-out shows around California, have resulted in sharing the bill with such diverse performers as Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Razorlight, Switchfoot, The Black Keys, Common, MGMT, Cold War Kids, Flogging Molly, The Whigs, Delta Spirit, and more.
The band is on tour in support of their newest release, Cruelty & Clemency (Singleton Records). The EP was self-recorded at their home studio with the help of Raymond Richards (Local Natives, Henry Clay People), and was mixed by Brian Malouf (Queen, Pearl Jam, Gomez, O.A.R., Wolfmother). Front-man Joshua Zimmerman describes Cruetly and Clemency as “a perfect illustration of the duality found in our music.”
Standout tracks include “Exploitation” and “Victory”, which “highlight the dynamic ranges that we [The Silent Comedy] reach as a band, as well as dark lyrical themes that are common in our work.” The ruthless lyrics of “Victory” sum up the essence of The Silent Comedy, “I hate being alive if it’s just to survive, I’d rather sing than be left making noise.”
As for tour mates Saint Motel, “We met Saint Motel at South By Southwest in Austin and really enjoyed their live show. We love touring with bands that bring a lot of energy to their performance and it seemed like they would be a great fit for this tour. Considering the summer heat and how much both bands move on stage, the Summer Sweat Tour is a very suitable title.” With the impending release of Cruelty and Clemency and the Summer Sweat Tour on the horizon, Zimmerman is “extremely excited about the future. Ending a tour of the west with Dave Matthews at the Gorge; you can’t ask for a better summer than that!”