There’s a new Jewish punk band, and it’s a Yiddish pop-punk band! Asher Yatzar formed last year and got its name from the prayer said after excretion. The Chicago band played its first show in March. Click here to watch a video from an Asher Yatzar show. In the below interview, drummer/singer Dave and guitarist/singer Shmul discuss how singing in Yiddish isn’t so radical, how Asher Yatzar’s debut show got bogged down by Israel-bashing, and how Jews can exercise their…
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Michael Croland
Memoir by MDC’s Dave Dictor
Posted on May 12, 2016I was eager to read MDC: Memoir From a Damaged Civilization by MDC singer Dave Dictor, which came out last week. I knew MDC’s song “The Jew That Got Away,” but I wasn’t sure if Dictor was Jewish or wrote the song. The chorus declared, “Now I’m Max’s grandson, and I’m back to say, here I am, the living proof of the Jew that got away.” The lyrics ended with “And a shalom to you, motherf*cker!” Dictor addressed the extent to which he…
Selfies with the Book!
Posted on May 9, 2016I enjoyed receiving photos from readers when their copies of Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk arrived in the mail. Some shared photos of the book via text messages and Facebook posts. In what is truly a sign of the times, some took selfies! Yidcore singer Bram Presser poses with Louie. This reader impressively emulates the facial expression depicted on the book’s cover. This reader is responsible for getting me into Flogging Molly (my gateway into ethnic punk) and Yidcore…
Metalcore “Adir Hu” by The Schleps
Posted on May 6, 2016Joshua Sherer is The Schleps. He handles vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and recording for the one-man Jewish metalcore band. The Schleps’ earlier songs included “Maoz Tzur” and “Adon Olam.” For Passover last month, The Schleps released a new song, “Adir Hu.” Click here to listen. “Adir Hu” has never rocked so hard! One could debate whether this metalcore song is more metal than hardcore/punk, but the guitar sound has a great, heavy crunch, whatever you want to call it. Sherer said that while Passover…
Queens Museum Exhibit Marks 40th Anniversary of the Ramones’ Debut Album
Posted on April 24, 2016Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Ramones’ self-titled debut album. The album was a landmark in the development of punk rock, and the group has been widely cited as the first punk rock band. As discussed in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, two of the quartet’s founding members, Joey and Tommy, were Jewish, and their Jewishness played a significant role in the band. To honor this milestone, the Queens Museum opened an exhibit titled “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go:…
In Time for Passover, Jewish Punk Versions of “Dayenu”
Posted on April 16, 2016When I was in high school, I didn’t know that Jewish punk existed. I often joked with my friend Dan Horowitz that he should start a “Heebcore” band called Hamotze Lechem MeinHorowitz, which was a pun on his last name and the blessing over bread. I suggested a metalcore cover of “Dayenu,” which would be screamed “Die! Die! Anu” (along the lines of the “Die! Die!” chant in Metallica’s “Creeping Death”). Hamotze Lechem MeinHorowitz never came to be, but Jewish punk…
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories
Posted on April 14, 2016No prominent punk rock band has put its members’ Jewishness on display as overtly, frequently, and humorously as NOFX has. The quartet includes singer/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin, who are both Jewish. NOFX’s “The Brews” is the number-one Jewish punk anthem. Fat Mike’s and Melvin’s Jewishness comes up sporadically in NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories, which was published on Tuesday. Considering that two members’ Jewishness is not a defining characteristic of NOFX, it doesn’t come up as…
Punk Rock and Jewish Music as Part of a Larger Stew
Posted on March 29, 2016In Chapter 4 of Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I talked about punk approaches to klezmer and other types of Jewish music. I focused on klezmer (particularly the Klezmatics), Radical Jewish Culture, Golem, Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird, and Electric Simcha. For numerous other bands, klezmer (and other types of Jewish music) and punk rock interact as part of a larger stew. The growing popularity of world music and fusion of musical styles from across the globe…
Purim: Homotaschen!
Posted on March 22, 2016Happy Purim! I want to share a hilarious punk rock song about Purim: “Homotaschen.” Click here to listen to the song, and click here (scroll down) to read the lyrics. The transgender Jewish punk band Schmekel made songs about most Jewish holidays, and the band’s 2013 Purim song, “Homotaschen,” was a masterpiece. The title is a pun on “homo-” (as in “homosexual”) and hamantaschen (triangular cookies eaten on Purim). “Homotaschen” did more than just tell a fun story about a wild…
Jews and Riot Grrrl
Posted on March 19, 2016I considered including a section about riot grrrl in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, but it didn’t work out. Riot grrrl was a feminist punk movement that sprung out of Washington State in the early 1990s. I certainly featured female punks (some very prominently) in every chapter of my book. I mentioned the riot grrrl background of Shondes singer Louisa Solomon, included a quote about riot grrrl regarding Never Mind the Goldbergs, and discussed a Shiragirl song released by Play-a-Grrrl. I did…