Trolleyvox

The early history of the Trolleyvox began when the multitalented guitar pop maven Andrew Chalfen (Wishniaks, Gimme, Joey Sweeney) recorded demos in 1993-95 with guitarist-vocalist Dave Gray (Idlewilds, Vegas Nerve) and engineer Adam Lasus (Helium, Madder Rose). Then Beth Filla answered a 1996 "vocalist wanted" ad that Chalfen had placed in a local Philadelphia paper. Chalfen suspected she was a witch because she smelled of burned wood and spices from a pagan ceremony, but she impressed him with her smoky rendition of the Byrds' "Everyone's Been Burned," and a selection from an Italian aria. Chalfen and Filla did some acoustic gigs together and teamed up with Lasus, Gray, and drummer Ken Buono (Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer, Dragstrip Courage) to start recording basic tracks in 1997. They recorded more the following year and, after a few revolutions of the wheel of time, finally released their debut album, Ephemera for the Future, which featured 11 Chalfen songs with him playing all the instruments except drums. In 1998, the Trolleyvox started gigging with their full electric lineup of Chalfen, Filla, Gray, Buono, and bassist Kevin Karg (Rolling Hayseeds). Karg was then replaced by Walt Collins, who was subsequently replaced by Greg Dubrow (Idlewilds); Buono was replaced by Bret Tobias (Moped, the Bigger Lovers); and Gray wasn't replaced by anyone when he moved to New York City. Meanwhile, the Trolleyvox's "Jupiter Light" (from their debut), and cover version of "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" were heard in the film Chutney Popcorn. The group cut back on live gigs while Filla attended grad school, but they managed to contribute cover versions of "Crows on a Phone Line" to Every Word: A Tribute to Let's Active, and Department S's "Is Vic There?" to the Stiff Generation...