So how does a group like this come together?

In January of 2011, Cara answered a Craigslist ad that Charlie had posted, and they decided to meet after realizing their influence list had a significant amount of overlap. Charlie was looking for accompanying musicians for a new, undefined project, and Cara was looking to get back into playing with a band after a long hiatus.

They started by picking a dozen songs to cover from their shared love of 90s alternative and more current singer-songwriters. After writing a few originals they felt it was time to add a third member. Ads were written and potential members were auditioned with dubious success for at least a few months.

One day at practice, Cara and Charlie realized they sounded really solid as a two-piece, so why fix it if it ain’t broken? Maybe it was time to work on some new original songs and play some shows. The next step was to find a name, and after three months and about three hundred rejected names, The Treacherous French were born.

After recording a few songs, and through the miracle of multi-track recording, they were able to hear what they might sound like with bass, electric guitar, and deeper vocal harmonies. So, in passing one summer day in 2012, Charlie asked Phil if he wanted to come jam sometime. Those in the know will recall that Phil and Charlie were in another band together some years prior. Phil enjoyed playing with the duo, and thus the third member was added, rounding out the sound.

It’s been a long-standing band tradition to throw parties with live shows for birthdays. One year, the band threw a great party for Charlie’s birthday at his favorite local watering hole, The Dark Horse Inn in San Francisco, and Phil asked his friend and colleague, Olivier, to join the band on stage for a couple of songs… with his accordion. It was such a smashing success that the band decided to do it again for another birthday party, but this time for the full set. After that, it was clear that the only thing The Treacherous French needed was full-time accordion. The three piece became a four piece, and the sound was forever changed for the better.

Olivier not only brought his talent on the accordion to the band, but also his talent playing anything with keys (and a lot of things without), and so the rest of the instrumentation continues to evolve as the band continues to write new material. At any given time, you’ll hear guitar, bass, drum kit, up to four voices, washboard, spoons, mouth harp, harmonica, accordion, glockenspiel, melodica, steel drum, kalimba, mandolin, mellotron, shakers and tambourines, and even crickets and a Parisian café, all combining together to form a rich soundscape.

The Treacherous French released their first full-length album, Snapshots, in 2017 and their second album Sawdust & Fairytales in July of 2023.