Zen Tricksters

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Zen Tricksters
Origin Long Island, New York
Genre(s) Rock
Years active 1980s – present
Website www.zentricksters.com
Members
Jeff Mattson
Klyph Black
Tom Circosta
Dave Diamond
Former members
Rob Barraco
Jennifer Markard
Joe Chirco
Pete Levin
Alan Lerner

The Zen Tricksters are an American rock band.

For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead derived jam band music. The band started out as the Volunteers, playing small venues around New York's Long Island. At its core, the band has been comprised of Jeff Mattson on lead guitar and vocals and, for most of its history, Tom Circosta on rhythm guitar and vocals.[1] Over the years, the Zen Tricksters have gone through several lineup changes, which have included female singers. One of their former members, keyboard player Rob Barraco, has gone on to play with such groups as Phil Lesh and Friends, the Dark Star Orchestra, the Other Ones, and the Dead. Their current line up, in addition to Mattson and Cicosta, includes Klyph Black on bass and vocals and Dave Diamond on drums.

They are now touring with former Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay as Donna Jean and the Tricksters.

Contents

[edit] Music

Known to their fans as the Tricksters, the band generally plays a mixture of their own music, a healthy dose of Grateful Dead related music, and an eclectic mix of what they describe as "any song that catches their fancy". In the past this has included music by Neil Young, Traffic, Bob Dylan, as well as traditional blues.[2]

[edit] Venues

Playing relatively small venues around the North Shore of Long Island, such as Theodore's in Oyster Bay and New York Ave in Huntington, the band grew in popularity to become one of the leading Grateful Dead bands in the New York metro area. In time they found themselves playing New York City clubs such as the Wetlands, a club dedicated to the jam band genre. In the early 1990s the band increased the range of their touring to locations from Maine to North Carolina. Their popularity increased following the death of Jerry Garcia, when a broader audience saw the band and attended Dead themed festivals like the Gathering of the Vibes.

[edit] Discography

  • Holy Fool (1998)
  • A Love Surreal (1999)
  • Shaking Off the Weirdness (2003)
  • For Rex: The Black Tie Ball (2007)
  • Donna Jean & the Tricksters (2008)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Weinstein, Brian. "The Zen Tricksters Celebrate their 25th Anniversary at the Downtown", Long Island Entertainment News, October, 2004
  2. ^ "Trickster History (Trickstory)" on ZenTricksters.com

[edit] References

[edit] External Links