From the mailbag...

Yosef writes:

Thanks so much for your blog. I'm stuck down in Australia and am getting a real kick out of checking your blog and when I'm lucky finding free music. Usually it's even good. The tunes you linked to from Sparklifters were great.

"Shmu Bru" forwards an ad for an "affordable Chasuna plan" that appears in this week's Hamodia on page A50:

Attention: Mechutanim

We are pleased to announce the introduction of the first phase of the AFFORDABLE CHASUNA PLAN

You can now book your chasuna in the newly renovated MENORAH HALL with the renowned ROTTENBERG CATERERS

Our package includes the following:
Wedding Hall
Meal (for one hundred couples)
Waiters
Refreshments (for 400 guests)
Music with vocals (MP3)
Badchan (Kabolas Panim and Mitzvah Tantz. Only grandparents, mechutonim and chosson kallah will be called up)
Photographer
Flowers (silk)

All of the above is included in the unbelievably low price of $5,998

$2,999 PER MECHUTAN

The chasuna will take place according to the following schedule:
Kabolas Ponim: 6:30 PM
Chupa: 7:15 PM
Washing Netilas Yodayim: 8:00 PM
Simchas Chosson V'Kallah: 9:15 PM
Bircas Hamozon: 10:45 PM
Finish Mitzvah Tantz: 12:00 AM

The ad has two contact numbers; one for hall reservations and one for "comments and lectures."

Kabbalistic Pop

Oy!

Fox Madonna likes to think of herself as being on the cutting edge, so she probably thinks a song called "Isaac" on her new album, about the founder of Kabalah, is just the ticket.

This new song, from "Confessions on a Dance Floor," is a paean to Luria. The 16th-century religious leader is suddenly hip, I guess.

"Isaac” (I guess we should be glad it’s not called “Ike”) also includes a spoken word interlude from a member of the London Kabalah Center named Yitzhak Sinwani.

MP3 Blogging

PT has posted an electric version of his "Song for Katrina."

Here are links to two tracks off of Yerachmiel Ziegler's new wedding-themed album Ahava V'achva."

Offensive Jewsapalooza Review

Over at Jewschool, David Kelsey has penned a snide partial review of yesterday's Jewsapalooza event.

Here's his opening 'graph:

The final day of the Jewish Music and Heritage Festival was different than the others in that it was held during the daytime and admission was free, which might help explain a much stronger Orthodox presence than at other events.

This is gratuitously nasty. The event was held on a Sunday on the Upper West Side, the home turf of the largest Orthodox singles community. It featured bands like Blue Fringe and Soulfarm (in addition to some edgier Jewish bands whom Kelsey declines to even mention) that appeal to that demographic and it also had an associated donor drive by Gift of Life at the event --to benefit Michael Brecker-- that was promoted to the Orthodox community. But that wouldn't have anything to do with it, of course. Those Orthodox Jews could only have been there, David suggests, because it was free and they wouldn't have to be out to late. Nice.

Yo, Wazzup Wit Dat Song?

NY's Funniest Rabbi wonders about Yo-Ya.

Reminder: Get Tested at Jewsapalooza On Sunday!!!

Reminder:

The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry will have a table at Sunday's free Jewsapalooza event in Riverside Park in NYC.

I strongly urge anyone who has not yet been tested as a possible stem cell donor to do so. You may be a match for Jewish jazz saxophonist, Michael Brecker, who urgently needs a transplant, or one of the many other members of our community who need transplants.

For more information, check out Arkady's Michael Brecker page.

Help save a life and catch a free concert or two at the same time!

Sibelius Rock and Pop Collection

This is too funny. I just got an email from Sibelius about their new Rock and Pop Collection soundset.
One of the sounds listed is titled "Keyboard Naïve & French."

Pey Dalid Blogger

My Yichud Room is a new blog written by Barry Seff of Pey Dalid.

Haftora Music

Ben Perowsky did it on this album:



Greg Wall does it on this album:



Now Psycho Toddler sets a haftora melody to music. In this case, it's acoustic guitar rock, rather than jazz. Check it out!

9/22/05 Link Dump

Jewschool has a post about Michael Brecker's need for a transplant and the relevant Jewsapalooza info. The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation will be testing volunteers to join its registry at the free Jewsapalooza concert this Sunday.If you have not yet been tested, please do so. You may be able to save a life!

Yudi Silber remembers Naomi Shemer's Yahrzeit in a letter to this week's Jewish Press.

Alexander Gelfand writes up Rashanim's collaboration with John Zorn in this week's Forward.

Krum as a Bagel comments on Uncle Moishy.

Speakin of the good uncle, Mystical Paths has some more video.

In Which Pey Dalid and Dm make the J-Post

We got mentioned in today's Jerusalem Post positive review of the new Pey Dalid disc.

The leading Jewish music blogs seem as interested in the divide between schmaltzy straight-edge dos-pop and new-school Carlebach-y jam bands as this column is.

A few months ago, a particularly vicious debate raged, and a contributing reader to the Velvel blog and Blog in D Minor cited the band Pey Dalid to illustrate his point. The unidentified "Blog in D Minor" reader argued that bands like Pey Dalid and Soulfarm are sloppy and inferior to "shiny-shoe" ensembles with polished horn sections. Velvel, a Chicago-area Jewish rocker, rebutted with, "You know what? A lot of people prefer to hire a crappy, Carlebach-y, jam-band with loads of spirit over an uptight, cheesy band." Zing.

Ben Jacobson is referring to a reader's email we posted here. Velvel's response can be found here. (Our other Pey Dalid related posts are here and here.)

Hat tip, LIFE-of-RUBIN

Zamir Review

Tani Palefski reviews Danny Zamir's recent performance at John Zorn's "The Stone."

Some Observations On Working With Popular Singers

Over the last few weeks, I've played with a number of popular performers in both the "Yeshivish music" and "Carlebach/J folk-rock" communities.

Both communities have their own conventions in terms of repertoire, chord changes,and aproach. For example, all of the J-folk rockers called "Oz V'hadar" and "Ivdu" (Diaspora) while all of the Yeshivish/Chassidish singers called "Ben Bag Bag" and "Zochreini Na". All of then J-rockers also play an instrument, usually guitar, while none of the "suits" do (although some of them do know a few guitar or piano chords and have been known to "play" on occasion.)

There are also some performance techniques I'm noticing. For example, almost all of the Yeshivish/Chassidish singers do the following:
1) Splice the low part of Zochreini Na with the high part of Hinei Ma Tov (MBD).
2) Slow down the tempo drastically on the C section of one of the Lubavitcher Nigunim and the B section of Ein Od Milvado going rather abruptly from freilach to disco and back. Incidentally, while the bochurim all start jumping up and down at this point, it totally kills the dancing on the women's side until the tempo picks up again.
3) End the last song by medleying the high part of "Someday" with the high parts of various Yerusholayim songs (slow and fast) like Carlebach and/or Shwekey version of "Im Eshkacheich", "Yerusholayim Ora Shel Olam", and the like (so long as they're in the same key).
4) They don't bring sheet music, even for the original songs off of their own albums. (There was one exception this go-round.)

The J-Rocker approach is the following:
1) They all play "Oz V'hadar" with a similar rock groove.
2) Play "Ivdu" in a heavier rock style than the original.
3) Choose Carlebach songs that have been recorded by the Moshav Band and Soulfarm. Particular favorites seem to be the tunes off of Moshav Band's album, "Return Again."
4) Dress down for the gig, no matter the venue.

Reader email...

Naftali writes in response to this post:

I'm surprised you bring that up in the context that you should get paid more. Of course! I always pay my musicians extra for extra work. How about the musicians should charge more if the leader doesn't understand that by himself?

Obviously, if the bandleader is aware of issues in advance, he can price accordingly. I was thinking of situations where these scenarios were discovered at the gig. The post was inspired by a recent gig where I encountered the dumbwaiter/garbage load-in AND an unhelpful caterer. I think that it's unfair to spring hidden charges on a client or band after the fact, as it were. If there were a clearly understood policy though...

On the same subject, here's Psachya Septimus:

Congratulations - you've hit my pet peeve.
It's not so much the "obnoxious caterers" (ratings system, anyone?) or not feeding the band (you mean bands actually get fed sometimes?). It's the shlepping. And the shlepping. And the shlepping.

Look, I've been in this business almost 20 years. I'm used to the whole "go through the kitchen, past the garbage dump, wait 20 minutes for a freight elevator" routine. I don't even get upset at halls like La Perville (may it rest in peace), where there simply wasn't any elevator, even for the guests. No, what really frosts me is when a hall goes out of its way to make life as difficult as possible for the musicians. The ultimate example - a hall on the Queens bank of the East River. For the guests - an elevator that goes straight up to the bandstand. For the musicians - go two flights up the fire escape over the river - I'm not making this up - and then through a broom closet, with all the brooms intact. This place is one of the very few halls on my "never, ever put me there" list.

I do have a possible solution. Whenever there's a hall that involves extra shleppage (or moving from room to room to room), figure out what a top-notch roadie would charge for the service, and add it to the bill. This, at least, gives us the option of hiring a roadie for specific halls, or at least being compensated for the hassle. Make it very specific: 1) any hall that involves stairs and/or inadequate ramps; 2) any hall that makes you move more than twice; 3) any hall where, because of logistics, you can't set up the sound system until the middle of the affair (AARGH!!); 4) any hall that requires you to ever move the entire sound system during the gig. I would add that any hall that is punitively difficult for musicians (see above example), charge twice the roadie rate. (Anyone from Local 802 reading this?)

There - I'm done. Sorry for the long e-mail, but you hit a nerve.

This is in line with my thoughts. The problem is when this is only discovered at the gig, when it's too late to hire the roadie.

Alan Watsky writes:

Not surprising that Dorf (knit guy} or the Heeb staff know nothing about JM. More alarming that the "average" Jew knows nothing about it ! If the folks at my schule are any indication ignorance is the rule. Even the frum crowds taste and knowledge is questionable. Where can we start ? Jewish Grammy ? Sure OK. That's a nice thought. We don't even recognize (for the most part) the contributions of the elder statesman of the JM world. Some how the culture has under valued the musicians. If you're not a member of the Philharmonic you're a beggar. If you're not Pearlman; why bother. That seems to be the general attitude. Since the second temple, no music, no gigs for the Levites, and you'll get no respect, dor vador, for an infinity of generations. Its an uphill climb.

Rachel writes:

I just found out about your music blog! Wow! Is there a way for you to put a directory of free sheet music more prominently? I teach music and am looking for arrangements and leadsheets for the kids. I am despirately looking for contemporary things...Reva L'Sheva, Lev Tahor, Matisyahu,etc. because when I mention "doing music for a school assembly"...I am swamped with pleas of.."Don't make us do Jewish music like the Rabbi wants." Please any help would be great. I am trying to teach instrumentalists and vocalists that "our music" is COOL.

Zorn Award

Jewschool reports on the JM awards event. The bit about John Zorn is funny.

9/19/05 Link Dump

Ari Davidow takes on Heeb's First Annual Jewish Music Award at the KlezmerShack.

As much as I have complained about Heeb ignoring Sephardic music as a category, there is another, even more popular category which they have ignored, and that also accounts for some odd pigeon-holing: music coming out of the Orthodox community. In addition to his hip hop cred, Matisyahu, along with a host of interesting bands playing styles ranging from bluegrass to rock to all other forms of pop music, represents an assimilation of popular music into distinctly religious culture. It isn't an area that I understand well—I don't know enough to spot the 5% worth listening to in a community in which I spend minimal time. But, surely when acknowledging what is new and noteworthy in Jewish music there is room to consider Orthodox music on its own terms, rather than to notice the occasional Orthodox artists such as Juez or Matisyahu by trying to ignore their main inspiration and pigeonhole them elsewhere.

If I sound exasperated, let me point out one very important fact. Heeb may be clueless on the specifics, but there isn't any one else thinking to recognize new Jewish music. It sure as hell isn't coming from the Jewish mainstream. So, congrats to Heeb on honoring Jewish music! Now, if next year, and in coming years, they start from some understanding of Jewish music and culture, imagine! (And even at that, I find it easier to believe that someone at Heeb will get a clue than the idea that there will be Jewish music—or other Jewish cultural honors—from other Jewish publications or institutions.

yeshiva orthodoxy informs about a soon to be released Hannukah album.

Here's a fascinating article on the recording of a country song, complete with audio clips of various instrumental parts.

I intend to post my thoughts on Sibelius 4 sometime soon. Meanwhile, to spur debate, here's an anti-Sibelius post by Jeffery Cotton.

Finally, here's Uncle Moshie, Live!

They Can't Give It Away!

Among the New Orleans devastation, country music fans got some good news.

The Wal-Mart store in uptown New Orleans, built within the last year, survived the storm but was destroyed by looters.

"They took everything - all the electronics, the food, the bikes," said John Stonaker, a Wal-Mart security officer. "People left their old clothes on the floor when they took new ones. The only thing left are the country-and-western CDs. You can still get a Shania Twain album."

Extra Pay for Musicians

I think that musicians deserve additional compensation when playing gigs where one of the following applies:
1) Obnoxious caterer (I'm opening the floor on this one. Call it "Blog Your Caterer.")
2) Difficult load-in (i.e. basement gig in a venue with no elevator, or in one where the only elevator is really a dumbwaiter into the kitchen which requires navigating around garbage to enter/exit.)
3) Venues where the band has to move the PA/backline setup more than twice (i.e. different setups for cocktails, smorg, chupa, dinner, and desert.)
4) Gigs where the band doesn't get fed.

Rotzeh V'shov

The Renegade Rebbetzin asks:

What in God's name does "Yamamai" mean??? Anyone? Chaim Dovid? Bueller?

Bring Back The Chazzan

This week's Jewish Press has two letters calling for the return of Chazanim in the Orthodox world.

Reminds us of an older gentleman we know who went on a cantorial cruise. When he got back and was asked about his trip, he replied: "It was wonderful, but the davening shlepped on forever!"