Brothers Joshua and Jeremiah Zimmerman and their band The Silent Comedy know trouble. Facing that trouble head on permeates their work. Rough-hewn, expansive American rock & roll with dirt under its nails and whiskey on its breath, the music of The Silent Comedy channels the iron spine of the blues, Honky-Tonk sweat, and punk swagger into a euphoric declaration that when trouble rears its worrisome head it’s time to crack knuckles, lock arms, and lift our voices high.

The brothers spent their formative years traveling the world with missionary parents before settling in California. In search of catharsis, the teens found solace in songwriting and stage lights. The young band proved capable of raucous shows and word spread. Years of touring followed, performing with Dave Matthews Band, Queens of the Stone Age, Mumford and Sons, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend, and festival plays at Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Under The Big Sky, Summer Meltdown and more.

 

The band recorded and self-released a series of albums including Sunset Stables (LP), The Silent Comedy (EP), Common Faults (LP) and Cruelty & Clemency (EP). Studio collaborations with Kris Kristofferson and members of Dave Matthews Band followed. Still, the brothers weren’t satisfied. They needed to capture the magic of their live show. They found the answer in Grammy-nominated producer Chris “Frenchie” Smith (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Jet, The Darkness). The resulting sessions led to a body of work that includes the EP Friends Divide and LP Enemies Multiply.

The brothers channeled a time of conflict into Enemies Multiply. Born of a rough patch in the Zimmerman’s lives, it was too personal, too raw. The project was shelved. As the United States entered a period of elevated tensions and discord in 2016, the band decided to revisit the album and release it on their own “I realized that the feeling of this type of era in history is what we wrote this music for.” Joshua recalls.

 

Near the end of recording Enemies Multiply Joshua found himself struggling with an acute mental health crisis. After a tour of Europe, the band took a hiatus. Joshua returned to visual storytelling, filming and directing content for television including material for the series Vikings and Wild Crime. Jeremiah channeled his talent for songwriting and production into scoring and sound design for television and podcasts (including breakout Stephen King project Strawberry Spring).

This time away from the band has sparked a creative renaissance. After six years spent on opposite coasts the brothers find themselves both living in Nashville, TN. Collaboration on film opened new artistic doors. “We are writing together in a different way now” explains Joshua. “The guard rails have been taken off a bit.”

As was the case with Enemies Multiply, the churn of contemporary reality has driven The Silent Comedy to action. While their lyrics are often focused on the darker side of humanity, they also bring catharsis and comfort to people who find themselves in difficult times. Heeding the call, The Silent Comedy is ready once again to bring their medicine to the masses.

 

Fittingly, the band’s first release in years is a diesel-fueled, anthemic reinterpretation of the Fleetwood Mac classic “The Chain”. Recorded at the end of the Enemies Multiply sessions, there is a raw urgency to it that is unique among their recordings; Joshua’s mental health crisis peaked during vocal tracking. “Fleetwood Mac was in a period of turmoil when they recorded the original,” explains Joshua. “this seems like a fitting tribute in a strange way.”

The road these brothers have wandered has been fraught, and not without peril. Yet, the music of The Silent Comedy has always served as a source of comfort in the face of uncertainty, chaos, and despair. “If our music continues to have that effect on anyone at all, then we will be here, making more of it” says Joshua. “Dark songs for dark days.”