| |
| About
Us |
The Zen Tricksters can do it all. They are a superbly talented Rock/Jam band who play in both electric and acoustic formats. The Tricksters have a huge working repertoire that ranges from their tuneful and well-crafted original pieces to traditional bluegrass and hillbilly jazz classics, to Grateful Dead, Dylan, Neil Young, and inventive interpretations of any and all songs that catch their fancy. Winners of the Relix Magazine Jam Off, The Zen Tricksters are not only renowned for the trademark jamming ability they have displayed for over two decades, but also for their inspired songwriting. This band will rock you, psychedelicize you, make you cry, and pick it with the best of them!
The Zen Tricksters have three studio CDs of all original material, and a live double CD. Their most recent release, the live double album titled For REX: The Black Tie-Dye Ball (2005), is the first ever Rex Foundation Benefit concert performed in NYC and features the Tricksters in all their live-performance glory with many special guests, including Mikey Hart, Donna Jean Godchaux, David Nelson, Rob Barraco, Tom Constanten, and many more. Shaking Off the Weirdness, (2003), features some newer titles such as High Horse and Sleepwalking, as well as staples of their live shows, Light of Life and The One, and boasts a colorful roster of special guests including former Trickster and current member of The Dead and Phil Lesh & Friends, Rob Barraco, Buddy Cage (New Riders of the Purple Sage), and Jason Crosby (former ZT, now with Susan Tedeschi and Oteil & the Peacemakers). The band's other two CDs are The Holy Fool, recorded in 1996, and A Love Surreal, 1999.
When he heard A Love Surreal, Phil Lesh was so impressed with the band's ability to jam in the studio that he tapped two members to be part of his Phil & Friends collective. In an interview with Kenny T of radio station KGLT in June of 2000, Phil said, "The Tricksters are more than just a cover band. They have their own stuff and they are brilliant, their stuff is brilliant. They are great players!" The Zen Tricksters are the quintessential jamband. Based in New York, they play nearly 150 dates a year while touring throughout the United States and Canada. They have also toured in Nagoya, Yokohama, and Tokyo with Relix Japan and it is generally safe to say that the Tricksters are "currently on tour" somewhere in the United States or elsewhere.
Tricksters music has been used on MTV, WABC's Alias, and WB's Felicity. The Zen Tricksters are proud to be a Homegrown Music Net member band and although they play many local New York area gigs, they inevitably wind up back on the road. This is their life and it is what they love. Jeff is very proud of the fact that he has never made his living in any other way but music. "Road life," he says "very much embodies the yin-yang of life. You trade the long hours of traveling and tedium day after day for the supreme pleasure and sheer love of making your own kind of live music night after night." That is quite obvious at any Zen Trickster show--you can hear their love of their art in every performance they give. They are currently touring as a four-piece electric band and are proud to be a Homegrown Music Net member band. |
| Band Members |
Jeff Mattson-lead guitar, vocals
Klyph Black-bass, vocals
Tom Circosta-rhythm guitar, vocals
Dave Diamond-drums and percussion, vocals |
| Favorite Bands |
| Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Warren Zevon, Tom Waits, The Beatles, Richard Thompson - to name a few! |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Audio Player |
No Audio Player Yet
|
|
| |
| RECENT COMMENTS |
Can only comment on
friends |
|
|
|
