After producing more than five albums and touring across the globe, the band Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band next plans to visit Columbus.
Formed in 1999, the Canadian band – whose title is often shortened to Silver Mt. Zion – consists of Beckie Foon on cello, Efrim Menuck on guitar, piano, vocals and sound effects, Eric Craven on drums and percussion, Ian Ilavsky on guitar and organ, Jessica Moss on violin and vocals, Sophie Trudeau on violin and vocals and Thierry Amar on double bass and bass guitar.
The band said its music is a mixture of numerous different styles, including “free jazz, community sight-singing, Minimalism and American folkways – still anchored to a punk-rock take on neo-classical and modern music tropes.”
Menuck said the group Deerhoof was a positive influence on the band, adding that “there’s a way they unpeel a melody so it’s the oddest sounding thing in the world that we’re always excited whenever we can even hint at that.”
Menuck said in an interview with Peter Guy from the online music guide “Getintothis” that he has been critical of bands like U2 who are guilty of “manipulative emotionalism” in their music.
The band’s original name, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, would seem to refer to Temple Mount, the highest point in Jerusalem. However, Menuck noted in an interview with David Garland, host of Spinning on Air from WNYC radio, that the name was born from a misheard song lyric.
The band is scheduled to play at Skully’s Diner at 1151 N. High St. on June 3 in support of “13 Blues For Thirteen Moons,” its most recent album released in March.
More information about the band can be found at www.tra-la-la-band.com.
Olivia Radcliffe can be reached at [email protected].
