Guardian Guide - Comedy Preview

Saturday August 25, 2007

No one seems to know whether the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are comedy or music - but when something's this much fun, who cares? This American trio find old slide collections in thrift stores and garage sales and write songs to go with them. Dad Jason sings (and plays guitar and keyboards) accompanied on bass and drums by 13 year-old daughter Rachel. Mum Tina operates the slide projector and designs the sets and costumes. It's like a cross between the Partridge Family and Frank Zappa. No wonder David Cross is a fan. What makes them so enjoyable is that they're entirely genuine: a real family and completely guileless. "Everything we do is without irony," Jason told the San Francisco Chronicle. Like all really good ideas, it's so simple that the only puzzle is why nobody thought of it before.