One of the best Jewish punk interviews I’ve ever done was on a Christian punk podcast! It came out this week, and you can listen here. Adam Baker, Jason Evans, and Daniel So cohost The Shape of a New Thing to Come, a monthly podcast about punk/hardcore and new faith communities. I’ve listened to every episode, and I love their smoothly flowing conversation, their balance of faith and punk rock, and their tendency to discuss aging vis-à-vis punk in every episode. They…
The Shondes’ New Passover-Themed “True North” Video
Posted on April 25, 2019The Shondes released “True North” on their 2016 album, Brighton. Singer Louisa Solomon explained then that the song was about “being at a point in life where our ideals had taken a lot of blows, and yet, the act of imagining (a brighter future, justice, revolution, the mythical messianic ‘Jerusalem’ Jews evoke at Passover) itself could provide a kind of groundedness in conviction.” She clarified that the Jerusalem reference is a nod to “an ancient Jewish tradition of imagining,” not the city’s present-day…
Every Time I’ve Seen Golem Live
Posted on March 23, 2019I included a recap of the 25 times I’d seen Golem in Punk Rock Hora, but I’ve seen them twice more since the book went to print, for a total of 27 times! Here’s the recap of my first 25 shows for this klezmer-rock band with a punk edge, plus their Hanukkah 2018 and Purim 2019 shows. I’ll update this post with future Golem shows; I suspect I haven’t seen them for the last time! [Update (March 2025): The tally is…
My Chapter in New Book: Vegetarianism and Veganism among Jewish Punks
Posted on March 17, 2019“Whether looking at the pages of the Talmud, vegetarian poems written in Yiddish, lyrics written by Jewish punk rockers, or into a pot of vegan matzo ball soup, this book explores the many ways in which Jews have questioned the ethics of eating animals.” —Jordan D. Rosenblum, author of The Jewish Dietary Laws in the Ancient World SUNY Press will publish Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions, edited by Dr. Jacob Labendz and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, on April 1.…
Book Launch for Punk Rock Hora
Posted on March 3, 2019Last night was the book launch for Punk Rock Hora and the closing reception for a monthlong “Jews and Rock” art show at the Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery. I gave a presentation, featuring a guest appearance from Damn Dirty Commies, and Moshiach Oi! rocked the house. With Joey Ramone apparently looking on in the background, dozens of attendees got a taste for Jewish punk in different flavors. My presentation focused on punk renditions of “Hava Nagila” and the hora. I talked about…
Punk Is Center Stage at Opening for “Jews and Rock” Art Exhibit
Posted on February 11, 2019Yesterday the Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery had an opening for their monthlong “Jews and Rock” art exhibit, also billed as “The Rebellious and Creative Energy of Jews with Guitars.” Inside a synagogue’s sanctuary, an impressively varied art show featured photographs and paintings of Jewish musicians, including Joey Ramone, Amy Winehouse, and members of Anthrax and the Beastie Boys. Going beyond the visual art, punk took center stage. One of the two presentations yesterday was a panel discussion about the role that Jews played in…
My Interview Part of a Radio Special about Ethnic Punk
Posted on February 3, 2019Last night on KRNN Juneau (Alaska), Johnny Negotiable hosted a “Saturday Nite Special” about ethnic punk, including a half-hour interview with me about Punk Rock Hora. You may recall Johnny Negotiable (Jim Hale) from last year’s “Mosh Hashanah: A Punk Tribute to the Jewish New Year” radio program or his guest post about KLUNK. The two-hour show featured songs by Jewish, Irish, Gypsy, and zydeco-punk bands. It was exciting to hear Golem, Yidcore, Moshiach Oi!, Schmekel, and the Shondes in that…
3 Readings! 3 Boroughs! 3 Band T-Shirts!
Posted on January 6, 2019Punk Rock Hora: Adventures in Jew-Punk Land officially came out this past week, and in the past month, I’ve done three readings in three NYC boroughs—while wearing three different band T-shirts! January 6: Word Up Community Bookshop (Washington Heights, Manhattan) I focused on punk rock hora stories from Punk Rock Hora. I read between-chapter interludes about Yidcore, Schmekel, Golem, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Damn Dirty Commies, and Gefilte F*ck and excerpts from Chapter 1 about Yidcore and Golem. The headliner was…
2016–2018 Articles That Aren’t in Punk Rock Hora
Posted on January 1, 2019The second half of Punk Rock Hora includes many articles I’ve published since Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk came out in 2016. But I couldn’t include everything in Punk Rock Hora. Some articles would have been redundant, others weren’t the right fit, and one just came out yesterday! Here are all my 2016–2018 articles about Jewish punk that were published somewhere other than the OyOyOyGevalt.com blog but didn’t make the cut for Punk Rock Hora. Think of them as bonus content for Punk Rock Hora—or the first…
Coast-to-Coast Hanukkah Concerts and Airplay for Jewish Punk Bands
Posted on December 31, 2018Hanukkah is a time when many Jewish artists and organizations have events, presumably because people will attend. That includes Jewish punk bands and klezmer groups with a punk edge. This year’s Hanukkah shows included veteran acts in New York City and Oakland, a debuting band in Chicago, and a somewhere-in-between band in Seattle. For those who couldn’t make it to any of those cities, punk Hanukkah songs could be heard over the radio and/or internet from stations based in San Francisco…