Air to the Throne: A Poetry Chapbook about Air Guitar ventures into new territory, but if you’re a fan of my Jewish punk books, you’ll like what you find. Like Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! and Punk Rock Hora, Air to the Throne shines a light on niche music that’s outside the mainstream. It examines the subject matter with a tour guide’s sense of explanation, ample humor, and passion. As I said on Alaskan radio a couple weeks ago, “what Punk Rock Hora and Air to the Throne have in common is…
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Michael Croland
Talking about Jewish Punk and My New Book on Alaskan Radio
Posted on December 28, 2019Yesterday Johnny Negotiable interviewed folk musician Dan Rauchwerk and me on his Episodes in the History of Noise on KRNN Juneau (Alaska). We discussed Jewish punk as well as Air to the Throne: A Poetry Chapbook about Air Guitar, which I’m self-publishing next week. As he did on his ethnic punk radio special in February, Johnny praised my Jewish punk writing. He called me “a great scholar,” “a great writer,” and a “national resource for information about Jewish punk rock music and ethnic punk rock…
New Found Glory Still “Kill It Live”
Posted on November 24, 2019On Friday I saw New Found Glory in concert for the fifth time—but the first since 2004. They still “kill it live,” to quote the title of their live album. Jordan Pundik’s nasal tenor vocals over heavy-but-melodic guitars is pop-punk perfection that takes me back to the early 2000s. NFG played a terrific mix of beloved old songs and fun covers from their movie-themed EPs. I enjoyed singing along to the biggest hits from each of their three gold albums: “Hit or Miss,” “My…
Yidcore Reunite for Two Shows a Decade after Disbanding
Posted on October 13, 2019Yidcore, the quintessential Jewish punk band, broke up in 2009. Until last month, they had only played one reunion show, back in 2011. In September, they reunited for two shows in their native Melbourne, Australia. At the Festival of Jewish Arts and Music on September 8, Yidcore’s singer grasped a rubber chicken against the microphone and played a shofar bedecked in PETA stickers. Just like old times! The guitarist and the bassist wore a “yarmulbra” and Hasidic-inspired garb, respectively. Yidcore’s…
Low Tide: New Band Featuring Members of the Shondes
Posted on October 12, 2019The Shondes violinist Elijah Oberman and guitarist Courtney Robbins have a new indie/alternative/folk side project called Low Tide. They describe their music as “ghostly songs from alternate realities.” Their debut album, The Alchemist, comes out October 25. While the music overall doesn’t sound like the Shondes’ rock/punk, many of Oberman’s vocal and violin parts could have seamlessly fit in on a Shondes album. Indeed he sings lead on some Shondes songs, in addition to frequent back-up vocals. “Making this album and…
Follow Me on Twitter for More Jewish Punk Updates!
Posted on September 13, 2019Since Punk Rock Hora came out in January, I have tweeted news, articles, and quotes about Jewish punk more than I’ve blogged about them. It’s quicker and easier to share content on Twitter, and often an entire blog post isn’t warranted. I have some blog posts in the works for the weeks ahead, and about 100 blog posts in, I’m not retiring the OyOyOyGevalt.com blog anytime soon. But if you want more updates, follow me on Twitter: @MichaelCroland! Here is a smattering of…
Punk Rock Hora: Media Recap!
Posted on August 7, 2019Punk Rock Hora: Adventures in Jew-Punk Land was published in January, and I’ve been thrilled with the response. The book was a #1 best seller in Jewish music on Amazon. I had a rockin’ book launch at the Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery, and I did additional events around New York City. The book has gotten love from as far away as Alaska, the U.K., France, and Australia, with articles, podcasts, and even a radio special. Here’s a recap all in one place! On Monday, Hevria published a thoughtful, in-depth interview with…
Good & Bad Religion: Can Punk Pastors Praise Bad Religion?
Posted on July 5, 2019I discussed Bad Religion in both of my books, Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk and Punk Rock Hora: Adventures in Jew-Punk Land. When I was the Jewish punk guest on the Christian punk podcast The Shape of a New Thing to Come (read yesterday’s overview post and listen to the episode), it’s no surprise that Bad Religion—”the quintessential punk band that questions religion”—came up. What’s striking is just how much depth we got into! As people of faith and fans of punk…
Jewish Punk Guest on Christian Punk Podcast!
Posted on July 4, 2019One 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…