Ten years ago today, the Shondes released their debut album, The Red Sea. Until their latest release, 2016’s Brighton, it was the Shondes album with the most overtly Jewish content. The rockin’ “Let’s Go” features a “Let’s go!” chant in both English and Yiddish (“Lomir gayn!“). Band members came up with the idea for “I Watched the Temple Fall” while singing from the Book of Lamentations (Eichah), talking about the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and looking to speak out about…
Short Jewish Punk Songs for the Shortest Day of the Year
Posted on December 21, 2017Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. There’s so little daylight that every minute counts. It’s the perfect time to listen to under-a-minute Jewish punk songs! There’s a tradition of short punk rock songs that cut to the chase. Behold the Dead Kennedys’ “Short Songs” and Fat Wreck Chords’ 101-band compilation, Short Music for Short People. Today of all days, why waste time with extended intros or guitar solos? The Schleps Hanukkah ended at sundown yesterday, but can’t you spare another…
Photos from 2006 Hanukkah Tour
Posted on December 12, 2017My favorite Hanukkah memory is covering the Eight Crazy Nights tour for the Forward in 2006. The tour featured Yidcore, Jewdriver, and the Zydepunks as well as Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land. I attended shows on the first two nights of Hanukkah in San Francisco and Berkeley. After that tour, it was inevitable that I’d write Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. Check out my Forward article, which noted, “The tour featured a magical world where Manischewitz wine…
Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird: The Butcher’s Share
Posted on November 17, 2017Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird herald their new album as “klezmer-punk anthems for the revolution or the apocalypse,” with songs that “speak to the political moment as much as they address eternal struggles of class and liberation.” Kahn has often played with the past and the present, letting radicals and revolutionaries from yesteryear have a say through a contemporary lens. In the era of Trump, the alt-right, and Brexit, his approach isn’t a stretch. It’s timely. Following a short…
Art about the golem, not just by Golem
Posted on October 22, 2017According to Jewish folklore, the golem is a monster made from clay. The golem was brought to life by Rabbi Löew in Prague in the 16th century as a protector of the Jewish community. In 2017 the golem continues to inspire art, including five artists from Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. Golem in Brooklyn The Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery at Congregation Kol Israel has a new exhibit called “Golem in Brooklyn.” Artists shared their interpretations of the…
Times of Israel Feature about Moshiach Oi! & Jewish Punk
Posted on October 14, 2017On the heels of their new album, Rock Rabeinu (click here to read my review), Moshiach Oi! was featured in the Times of Israel. The writer also interviewed members of two other Jewish punk bands, the Shondes and Asher Yatzar. I’m quoted extensively in the article. Here’s an excerpt: Among the ranks of Jewish punk include other outfits such as The Shondes (Yiddish for “disgrace”; a New York-based radical, political, feminist, queer, indie/punk band), Gefilte Fuck (a “Yidcore” band from Los Angeles), The Groggers (a New…
Punks Playing the Shofar
Posted on September 16, 2017Rosh Hashanah starts Wednesday night, so the shofar (ram’s horn) is widely seen and heard nowadays. I wrote a feature for JTA about Jewish punk bands’ use of the shofar, which was first published on August 23. The article talked about Yidcore, Schmekel, and Steve “Gangsta Rabbi” Lieberman. Here’s an excerpt: Presser, 41, played the shofar on at least 10 Yidcore songs. He explains that in the 2004 song “Hora (New Version),” the sequence of teruah, shevarim, and “tekiah gedolah” (“great blast”)…
Moshiach Oi! Double the Na Nach on Rock Rabeinu
Posted on August 20, 2017Moshiach Oi! have narrowed their focus over the past nine years. When I first found out about Moshiach Oi! in 2008, guitarist Menashe Yaakov Wagner described Moshiach Oi! as “perhaps the world’s first hardcore vegan straight-edge Orthodox Jewish punk band.” By the time I met and interviewed them a few months later, the label was more succinct: “Torah hardcore.” In 2009, their debut album dealt with a multitude of topics from an Orthodox perspective, including celebrating Shabbos, learning Torah, and wanting the Moshiach…
Jewish Punks & Resistance Music in the Trump Era
Posted on August 16, 2017In his guest post on Monday (“When Punk Rock Fights Nazism, I Hope You’ll Invite Me to the Party”), Rabbi Patrick “Aleph” Beaulier said “this battle needs to come from art” and “from music.” It’s almost become a cliche that the era of Donald Trump would usher in punk rock and other resistance music with hard-hitting social and political commentary. With the president worsening domestic and foreign problems abundantly, this is not a wait-and-see game. I wrote the lyrics to…
Guest Post: When Punk Rock Fights Nazism, I Hope You’ll Invite Me to the Party
Posted on August 14, 2017The following guest post is by Rabbi Patrick “Aleph” Beaulier. Rabbi Patrick is in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk in Chapter 3, as the front man of CAN!!CAN, and Chapter 6, as the executive director of PunkTorah. Click here to read his guest post from earlier this year, “From Punk Rocker to Rabbi.” I live about an hour away from Charlottesville, Virginia, where we recently witnessed the culmination of people who feel like the world is leaving them behind and just want to do…