While facing the troubles ahead of them, the brotherhood of Joshua and Jeremiah Zimmerman (together as The Silent Comedy) search for the flicker of hope within the work they create. 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. The family returned to the U.S. and wandered before settling in San Diego, California, in a house bare to the bones apart from an upright piano. In search of catharsis, the teens found solace in songwriting. Soon enough that songwriting became a pile of songs, and the call of the stage became too much to ignore. The young band proved capable of throwing wild, raucous shows and word began to spread. This led to years of touring, performing with the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Queens of the Stone Age, Mumford and Sons, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend, and gracing stages at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Under The Big Sky, Summer Meltdown and more.

The Silent Comedy has dropped their latest single “Judgement Day.” Jeremiah said about the new tune, “This song is about the temptation to project a more favorable image (or just accept/encourage a misperception) to people who aren’t as aware of what’s really happening in your life, that things are better than they are while letting anxiety pile up and become overwhelming. It’s written from the perspective of seeing someone you’ve known acting that way but being at a distance and unable to get through to ask for honesty. It’s based on my own issues with anxiety and depression, and what I’ve heard from people over the years who feel like I shut them out when I’m actually just trying to survive.”

Having dropped a series of albums and EPs, The Silent Comedy has continued to grow its fanbase despite no label support.  Near the end of recording Enemies Multiply in 2018 Joshua found himself struggling with an acute mental health crisis. After a tour of Europe, the band took a hiatus from performing live and largely stepped away from music to expand their creative horizons. Joshua returned to his original love of visual storytelling, filming, and directing for television (including special episodes of the series Vikings and the Hulu original series Wild Crime). He bought a house in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York and did a full renovation largely on his own. Jeremiah channeled his talent for songwriting and production into scoring for television and sound design for podcasts (including the breakout Stephen King project Strawberry Spring).

Photo Courtesy: Rebecca Joelson