Jason Trachtenburg's musical career began in the late '80s in New York City, where he was part of the Lower East Side's anti-folk and performance-art scenes. In 1992, he moved to Austin, TX, where he worked with Daniel Johnston on music and video projects. He also formed the band the Pancakes With Cheese while in Austin. He relocated yet again to the Pacific Northwest in 1993 to collaborate with Chris Ballew of Presidents of the United States of America. Ballew produced Trachtenburg's early recordings in Seattle, including 1993's Let the Fishes Do the Asking and 1996's Lefty's Black Bag, which was co-produced by Conrad Uno of Pop Llama. In 1999, Trachtenburg released Your Favorite Song. His folky, lo-fi acoustic songs instantly gained him favorable attention from Seattle music fans and from the Orange Recording Company, who released his Revolutions Per Minute album in 2000. The quirky songs on the album finally garnered Trachtenburg the national attention he'd always deserved.
It was during this era that the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were born. Deriving their song topics from vintage slides the trio (keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, slide projector/costume designer Tina Piña Trachtenburg, and preteen drummer Rachel Piña Trachtenburg) became the first unsigned act to play on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Their debut album, Vintage Slide Collections from Seattle, Vol. 1, was released on Bar/None Records.
Jason released TOGETHER, his latest solo record, in June 2006.
Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players official website:
