By Logan Broyles | SDUN Reporter

Often lost in the shuffle of pop stars, truly reflective and intelligent music doesn’t always get its due. Fortunately there are still local bands out there that favor substance over style like The Silent Comedy, started by brothers Jeremiah and Joshua Zimmerman in 2006.

The Silent Comedy blends and redefines genres rather than conforming to them. A hodgepodge of all things Americana, their rowdy and energetic music seems to simultaneously mix together jazz, folk, gospel, country, soul and good old fashioned rock and roll.

“Drinking music is basically how I describe it to people because it’s rowdy but also can be a sad ballad,” says guitar player and backup singer Joshua Zimmerman. “We were raised with a lot of gospel music and old spirituals, and those styles of music were the roots for the blues and later rock and roll. Our music is really a mix of all those different styles put into a blender and somehow our weird quirky end of it comes out.”

Originally the band started as a side project from another group the brothers were in at the time, but the loose collection of musicians became so popular that it turned into a fulltime gig.

Older brother Jeremiah serves as the front man, laying down lead guitar and belting out soulful lyrics while his brother backs him up on guitar and vocals. Banjo player and guitarist Justin “the Mustache” Buchanan earns his nickname with the prominent pair of handlebars sprouting from his face. Rounding out the group is Chad Lee on the drums with his signature bowler hat and a face full of jet-black hair.

Donning a wardrobe that looks like they just stepped straight out of an old black and white photograph from the 1800s, the band looks more like ranchers and prospectors than modern day rock stars.

After five years they have built themselves up into a solid quartet whose spirited live performances tear the roof off any building.

The infectious energy at a Silent Comedy show ripples through a crowd, making it so that longtime fans and first time listeners alike can’t help but stomp their feet and clap along to the beat. Zimmerman compares their shows to the church services that his father used to conduct when he was a preacher in the Pentecostal movement in the eighties.

While other bands write songs that focus on their personal experiences, The Silent Comedy tends to focus on larger societal issues. There is a thoughtful reflection behind their lyrics that illustrates the mindset of two brothers who are well traveled and don’t shy away from the realities of life.

In 1996, their family sold most of their possessions and left Huntington Beach to take off on a global trek, giving them a nomadic upbringing that took them to just about every corner of the map and back. Their travels included stints in Asia and Europe and a cross-country trek through the United States.

Zimmerman says those experiences were crucial for him and his brother because they opened up their minds to the realities of the world outside of Southern California.

“We saw a lot of really heavy stuff when we were growing up, leaving everything we knew in the United States and traveling through Asia at a young age opened our minds to the fact that the home that we had left is not the way the world works,” he says. “By the time we came back to the States there was just no getting that out of our brains. We write music about flaws in people and the darker things in the world because that’s what my brother and I think about the most.”