Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players Issue #29

Off and On Broadway (Sarathan)

By Marisa Torrieri
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Surely you’ve heard of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players — the NYC trio of goofy, chatterbox, keyboard-player dad Jason; artsy, slide-projecting mom Tina; and chipper, preteen-daughter drummer Rachel. Their live show went gangbusters a few years ago, barely one minute after the trio migrated from Seattle to the East Village. Even so, chances are you’ve always wondered about the family act/gimmick where dad sings political tunes inspired by slides salvaged by mom, who shows them via projector onto a giant screen. Rachel, usually donning her signature pair of pigtails and little voice, drums in perfect time in the background. Yes, the family that plays, tours, and even home-schools together has an interesting story to tell.

And tell it they do in their debut DVD, Off and On Broadway. It’s here, in this musical documentary, that we learn the “behind the music” tale of the Trachtenburgs, who stumbled upon fame at a yard sale. To summarize: Tina and Jason met in NYC, when Jason was but a fledgling anti-folk musician struggling to get by. The pair traveled around the country and ended up in Seattle, where Jason continued his musical quest while walking lots of dogs. Then, poof! Rachel was born. Tina bought a slide projector, and discovered the Golden Ticket, someone’s old slide show called “Mountain Trip to Japan, 1959.” That’s the song that inspired the band’s concept, leading to drum lessons for little Rachel, and all the fame and stardom that ensued (although, mind you, the DIY trio still bitches about paying electric bills). The DVD gives viewers new appreciation for truly alternative life paths and neat footage that goes into the inner workings of a slideshow-and-musical creation.

Broadway is fully of funny moments, like little testimonials from Regina Spektor and various other New York anti-folk scenesters, interspersed between Trachtenburg sets at off-Broadway clubs.

Of course, Broadway is only a taste of the goods. The T family’s actual live show is a lot less put together, though charmingly so. Papa Jason sometimes doesn’t know when to hush and spends half the show espousing political ideologies on everything from healthcare to the wastefulness of brunch while Rachel and Tina wait patiently for a pause.

But Broadway is a good DVD to own and show your friends to remind them that they don’t have to be stuck in their uninspiring dead-end lives or dead-end bands. Something cooler is only a few daydreams — or yard sales — away.