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During his days performing with Gimme, Joey Sweeney, et al, Andrew Chalefen was also writing songs and making cassette-only bedroom albums which few have ever heard. These include The Patron Saint of Bad Timing, The Nearest Meteor, and Ham Radio, some of the songs from which wound up being re-recorded with a full band for the Trolleyvox's Ephemera for the Future sessions. These cassette albums now fetch thousands of dollars on eBay. Little known fact: There actually was a Trolleyvox before the clouds of opportunity parted and Beth descended in a diaphanous efflorescence from the heavens. The band was mainly a recording project, though there were some scattered live shows featuring singer/guitarist Dave Gray (formerly of the Idlewilds and Vegas Nerve). Several recordings were made in '93 and '95 at Studio Red (both locations) by longtime friend/collaborator/recording engineer Adam Lasus. There is idle talk (rumor and half-glimpsed visual cues, really) of one day releasing a CD entitled A Secret History of the Trolleyvox, which would include these sessions, as well as Ephemera outtakes (on which Dave sings lead) and other assorted, well, ephemera.
In late 1996, singer Beth Filla answered a 'vocalist wanted' ad that Andrew had placed in a local Philadelphia paper. Dave Gray, while still pitching in when he could, increasingly was involved with other projects. Beth auditioned with a selection from an Italian aria and a rendition of the Byrds' 'Everyone's Been Burned'. In fact, Beth smelled of various burned twigs and spices, having just previously been to some secret ceremony in West Philly. Andrew thought she was a witch. Soon, Beth and Andrew began playing some acoustic shows around town. Andrew had been itching to make a full-length album for some time, and there had been some label interest generated from the '95 demo, so recordist Adam Lasus, Andrew, Beth, and drummer Ken Buono embarked on recording basic tracks in the Summer of '97, with Dave Gray singing on a few tunes as well. Ephemera for the Future (the title was coined by NYC songwriter Spike Priggen) was completed in 1998, and after an aborted record deal, finally blossomed, like some slowly maturing tropical plant, in 1999.
A full gigging band had formed by 1998, consisting of Andrew, Beth, Ken, bassist Kevin Karg (of the Rolling Hayseeds) and Dave Gray on second guitar. One quirk of Philly bands is the musician who plays in two, three, or even more bands. A frustrating pitfall of this exercise in promiscuity was the Trolleyvox's constantly morphing line-up of friends on the Philly scene. Kevin's bass shoes were soon filled by Walt Collins, who in turn, was replaced by Greg Dubrow (of the Idlewilds). Ken (Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer, Dragstrip Courage) had his drum shoes filled by Bret Tobias (Moped, the Bigger Lovers). When Dave moved to NYC, no one took his place as Andrew experimented with just one guitar for live shows, something he'd never done before. Hey, if Townshend can do it, why not?
Soon after the release of Ephemera, the Trolleyvox were asked by a rather suspect pack of roving wood nymphs to contribute a cover version of the Monkees '(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone' for a scene in a movie titled 'Chutney Popcorn', a picture featuring generational and cultural lines in the sand, cute lesbians, pregnancy, a turkey baster, and ensuing, directed by up and coming filmmaker Nisha Ganatra. The track was recorded by Chris Unrath in a carpentry shop using a fossilized drum machine, a table saw, and C-clamps. After the glue had set, Nisha was so enthralled with the workmanship and feng shui of the recording that she asked for an additional track, 'Jupiter Light' (from Ephemera) for the film. To this day, the film still airs intermittently on the Sundance Channel, and once in a blue moon, the royalty fairy flits by, leaving a light dusting of beer money behind.
Then in late 2000, Beth took a massive hiatus from the band to attend grad school. At the t
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