Silly Pillows

This original cuddlecore group has been making love songs together since the early 80's. A must-hear. Silly Pillows founder Jonathan Caws-Elwitt has stated that his goal is to achieve "exuberance, sincerity, and beauty without sadness." Silly Pillows has undergone a lot of lineup changes over the years, but the one constant has been Jonathan, the band's founder/primary songwriter/singer/guitarist/keyboardist/drum machinist/album-cover-artist/etc.

Silly Pillows founder Jonathan Caws-Elwitt has stated that his goal is to achieve "exuberance, sincerity, and beauty without sadness."

Silly Pillows has undergone a lot of lineup changes over the years, but the one constant has been Jonathan, the band's founder/primary songwriter/singer/guitarist/keyboardist/drum machinist/album-cover-artist/etc. The band started in 1984 and consisted of Jonathan recording songs on cassettes at home. In 1986 he asked his wife Hilary to sing vocals, and and they recorded a great number of songs (mostly in their home 'studio') as duo, sometimes bringing musical friends into the mix. This original lineup of H&J was the longest lasting of any of the band's incarnations, and it produced a great number of recordings, many of which were released as cassette only albums or vinyl EPs. In 1992 a somewhat ambivalent-about-singing Hilary decided to stop singing in the band.

In 1993, Silly Pillows (newly expanded to include Cheryl De Luke, Sam (Jonathan's brother), and Christopher Earl) recorded their first studio EP "Equilibrium". In 1996 a split single (with the band 'Citrus') reached #3 on Japan's domestic singles chart and resulted in a new live performance ready to tour lineup consisting of Jonathan (vocals), Sam (guitar), Michael E. Fiato (bass), Dave Joachim (drums), singer-songwriter/artist Linda Smith (vocals), and Charlie Zayleskie (keyboards). Belinda Miller later took over the female vocal role. The various 'full-sized' Silly Pillows produced several vinyl and CD releases which were released variously in the US, Europe and Japan.

Wikipedia says that the 'full-sized' Silly Pillows dissolved in 1998 (which was due to mostly to the impact that geographical reality imposed on their ability to get together for rehearsals or recordings) but the 6 person sized Silly Pillows released a download only EP in 2000, so it appears they were 'together' at least until shortly before that release. Several of the members have continued to work together in various incarnations on solo and other projects. "Silly Piano Pillows", an acoustic piano-vocal duo featuring Jonathan and Charlie have performed live a number of times, and will be performing at popFest 2007 .

After a hiatus from recording, Jonathan went back to his 'roots' and began writing and recording at home again, and later Hilary rejoined Silly Pillows. Calling themselves "The Original Silly Pillows" they have recorded some new tracks. They've also collaborated on a 'side project' called 'Deco Pillow'.