Family fights

Like any band on the road, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players have their share of squabbles. But, instead of the bass player grousing with the rhythm guitarist over a girl or a missing bottle of Jack, the Trachtenburgs have family fights.

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

For instance, Tina, the mom, and Rachel, the 10-year-old daughter, might want pizza. Jason, the dad, brought organic hummus and bread along on the road. It’s already paid for and it’s better for you. But Tina and Rachel don’t want hummus. They want Pizza Hut.

While this isn’t exactly the kind of conflict that tore Journey apart in the 1980s, it is serious stuff for a family — especially one that does everything together.
“It’s nutty,” Jason said during a phone interview last week. “If I can just try to stop being less controlling, I think we’re going to be OK. The problem is I think I’m right.”

Jason Trachtenburg was certainly right four years ago when he decided to ditch his solo career and get the family into the act. They had found a box of slides labeled “Mountain Trip to Japan, 1959” at an estate sale. Jason wrote lyrics to go with the slides. And, with Tina running the projector and Rachel, then 6, playing harmonica, the family took their new act to local open-mic stages. It was an instant indie-rock hit in Seattle and quickly caught fire across the country. The family, which has appeared on Conan O’Brien and toured with They Might Be Giants, makes its first appearance in Indianapolis Thursday, April 15 at the Patio.

“My career wasn’t going anywhere. No one would come to my shows,” Jason said. “Then we added the slides and, all of the sudden, there were lines out the door. With this act, we’ve touched on things that could be compared to Beatlemania. So it’s up to us to carve out a career with this concept that we’ve come up with that definitely works.”

In its current incarnation, Jason plays keyboards and guitars and sings lead. Rachel plays the drums and, occasionally, the bass. Tina runs the slide projector. She also designs the family’s wild, matching outfits.

“Our family has always done everything together. We always included Rachel in every activity we did. And this is just a natural extension of that,” Jason said. “It was no different than anything else we’d done up to that point. That’s why the transition was so smooth into this project.”

The band’s sound is a fun hybrid of the Beatles and show tunes. Its subject matter is varied — ranging from surreal humor to political satire. But it’s never about the family itself — just as Jason’s solo songs weren’t about him. “In my solo record, which I put out in 1996, the word ‘I’ is never used on the whole damn record. That’s kind of sick. A psychologist could pick that apart pretty easily and figure out what’s going on with that. So it’s not necessarily a good thing,” he said. “But the overuse of the ‘I’ is worse because I don’t give a crap about some other songwriter’s inner personal feelings and their relationships. I just don’t care.

“I’d rather listen to social and political commentary. I don’t care if you’re sad or happy or your girlfriend dumped you or some girl you’re trying to talk to isn’t going to talk to you. That’s the fodder of all other pop songs.”

Instead, Jason writes about another family raising Cocker Spaniels or hunting Easter eggs. “The slide concept allows us the opportunity to comment on all of the accesses of American culture in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s in a comical way — as told by these strangers,” he said. “Each song has its own slides. We put them in the order that looks good and rhymes, of course. They’ve got to rhyme. That’s just the way it is.”

Jason’s favorite find, so far, was a McDonald’s internal corporate marketing meeting from 1977 featuring long-winded quotes by various executives. He made it into a six-song rock opera.

“Nothing, so far, has compared to that,” he said. “I did find a slide of the Immaculate Conception though. That’s pretty good. Mary’s got this big belly and it’s all glowing and stuff. And I’ve got this picture of Jesus talking to God. And God’s got this big, white beard and the whole damn thing. So Mel Gibson was right. For those who doubt where he’s coming from, I’ve got the slides to prove it.”

No slide discovery has presented too daunting a challenge, Jason said. “I could put anything into a song if I want to. That’s my one skill. Some people can fix cars. Some people can be artists with culinary matters, turn that into art. I turn any subject matter into a song. That’s my skill. I don’t think it’s any more or less valid than anyone else’s skill. There’s no difference. This is what I do.”

Now, Jason is just trying to hold himself — and his family — together as they enjoy their success. “First, I was completely blown away that there was some interest in us. Now, I take it for granted and I’m completely jaded and I’ve turned into a major ass,” he said. “You should have seen me yesterday. I was so bad and that’s what started the trouble [with the pizza]. Tina was so mad at me yesterday. I should be grateful for having a career in the arts. And, now that that has happened, I’m getting all pissy and stuff. It’s such a typical story.

“I just don’t want to go down like that. Rock and roll is just full of tales of people blowing it — blowing their careers, blowing their money, blowing their artistic abilities. If I don’t get it in check, I’m going to blow all three of them — as well as my relationships. But it’s a new day and a new way.”