Had our first snow, here, last night (right now, it's icy rain). They got like a foot in Raleigh and everybody's freaking out--state of emergency, the whole bit. When I lived up north, id we got a foot of snow, we called it Tuesday. Where I am, we got maybe a half inch. No biggie. It's the Eighth Night of Hanukkah. It's a party and everyone's invited.
Here's the treat I mentioned last night. Don't know how many of you have seen this, but I thought it was cool as hell.
There has never been, nor will there ever be, a group like the Grateful Dead. Their combination of Rock, Jazz, Folk, Blues, Bluegrass, etc. was unique and remarkable. To pull that off, you nor only need musicians with talent, but musicians who trust each other implicitly. Yo La Tengo gets all the press for their Eight Nights of Hanukkah concerts (and it's well deserved). But Phil Lesh and his friends do an annual jam at Terrapin Crossroads. This year, Phil (who played bass for the Dead) was joined by Dan Lebowitz, Ross James, and Scott Guberman. About 5:30 minutes into a jam on the Dead's "New Speedway Boogie", Lebowitz (on the left) transitions into "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" and they jam on that tune for 3 or 4 minutes before getting back to "New Speedway Boogie". You can see Phil (the white-haired gentleman with the scarf) react with surprise and delight when Lebowitz initiates the holiday detour. The full video is about 14 minutes, but it's 14 minutes well spent.
Here's the treat I mentioned last night. Don't know how many of you have seen this, but I thought it was cool as hell.
There has never been, nor will there ever be, a group like the Grateful Dead. Their combination of Rock, Jazz, Folk, Blues, Bluegrass, etc. was unique and remarkable. To pull that off, you nor only need musicians with talent, but musicians who trust each other implicitly. Yo La Tengo gets all the press for their Eight Nights of Hanukkah concerts (and it's well deserved). But Phil Lesh and his friends do an annual jam at Terrapin Crossroads. This year, Phil (who played bass for the Dead) was joined by Dan Lebowitz, Ross James, and Scott Guberman. About 5:30 minutes into a jam on the Dead's "New Speedway Boogie", Lebowitz (on the left) transitions into "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" and they jam on that tune for 3 or 4 minutes before getting back to "New Speedway Boogie". You can see Phil (the white-haired gentleman with the scarf) react with surprise and delight when Lebowitz initiates the holiday detour. The full video is about 14 minutes, but it's 14 minutes well spent.
My favorite a cappella Hanukkah song from last year wasn't from any of the 4 acts we featured on the First Night. No, my favorite was from Kippalive. Founded in 2011, Kippalive is an Israeli group. Their album, "Inspired by Tradition", features "Al Hanisim" and "Nes Gadol Haya Po", if you're looking for still more Hanukkah songs. Their single last year was the original "Hanerot Halulu", which you'll find at Amazon and CD Baby. Kippalive don't usually participate in the a cappella Hanukkah wars and, in fact, "Hanerot Halulu" was their first ever original song.
Since we weren't around last year, we missed 8th Day's 2017 Hanukkah single, "Miracle of Light". 8th Day is, basically, a Pop Rock band, but they weave in elements of Klezmer, Jazz, Blues, Funk and Reggae. They've been together since 2004 and their latest album, "Stronger Closer", dropped last month. "Miracle of Light" is included on the album, but you can also get it as a stand-alone single on Amazon.
It was 2015 when Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings gave us a Soulful slice for the chosen, "8 Days of Hanukkah". And this year we saw our first mainstream cover of the song by Under The Streetlamp, a Pop Vocal group from Chicago. Under The Streetlamp specialize in what they call "The American Radio Songbook"--which is everything from Frankie Valli to Motown to the Beatles. This year, they released their first ever Christmas album, "Hip To The Holidays"--available from Amazon--and included "8 Days of Hanukkah".
I give Under The Streetlamp a lot of credit for including a Hanukkah song on their Christmas album. Of course there's no way they could top the original from Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings.
In honor of our Fourth Night, we need to find something a little on the exotic side. Found one. Sarah Aroeste is an Alternative artist who comes from the Sephardic branch of Judaism. Her songs combines a variety of World Music sounds and are often sung in Ladino. Her most recent album, "Together/Endjuntos" was released last September and includes this ode to a Sephardic Hanukkah treat, the "Bimuelo", which, the song assures us, is no mere jelly donut and not to be confused with the sufganiyot. Sarah Aroeste is joined on "Bimuelo" by Jewish rapper Kosha Dillz. This one's on Bandcamp.
Since we're assured it ain't the same...equal time for "Sufganiot". From 2013, this is a.k.a. Pella, available at Amazon.
Hmmm. Something free. Well, I could opt for Jourdan Hines and his 2017 cover of Matisyahu's "Miracles". But I probably haven't covered this one, before. You might have found it on your own, as it dates back to 2009. This is an entire name-your-price collection from Missouri's Special Passenger Records. There's very definitely a variety of mostly lo-fi Indie Alternative sounds on this package of originals. And you're sure to find some of it mixtape worthy. Not gonna put the whole track list for "The Hanukkah Project" here; I'll leave it for you to discover on Bandcamp. This tune is "Hole In A Sheet" by Katie & The Bass Drums. It's a goy dude singing to a Jewish girl and, clearly, he doesn't have any understanding of Jewish traditions...it's supposed to be ridiculous like that.
What I can't seem to get is real Hanukkah Blues. There are a couple...not many at all. A lot of the stuff that passes for Hanukkah Blues isn't. And I love me some Blind Boy Paxton, but just because he includes the word "Hanukkah" in a Christmas Blues, that doesn't make it Hanukkah Blues. The premier purveyor of Jewish Blues is Saul Kaye. Saul never wanted to be the King of Jewish Blues. He wasn't particularly fond of Jewish music, growing up. He was a touring Rock musician in 2009. After a bad breakup, he decided to do something radically spiritual. So he took a Talmud course. A fellow student, one day, said to him, "Saul, there’s a reason you’re at a yeshiva and you know who Muddy Waters is — you have to figure it out." And that got Saul thinking about why there seems to be no Jewish Blues, given the historical suffering of the Jewish people. Saul now has a bunch of albums of Jewish Blues and plays over 100 shows a year at synagogues, and Jewish festivals and conferences. You'll see a lot of Saul's music turn up on a lot of Alternative Hanukkah playlists, even though he's only done one song that remotely qualifies. That's because he's fantastic and because there is so little Jewish Blues. The one song that fits the Hanukkah theme is "Maoz Tzur". It's not the traditional song, but Saul's own. We shared it in 2015 and we will again, in a moment. "Wade In The Water" turns up on Hanukkah playlists a lot, for some reason. I might suggest "Shalom Alecheim" ("Peace Be Upon You") as being more seasonally appropriate. But I'd really like to see Saul Kaye do a full Blues Hanukkah album, or at least an EP. There's no one better to do it. Hey, Clapton came around. So there's hope.
Hey, I recall saying we might share some more of Avi Frier's Country Hanukkah music before the week was out. Time to make good on that promise. Avi's done four Country Hanukkah songs so far (as far as I know). All are new this year. The goal is a full album's worth, so there should be more coming, if not this year, then next. The four we have so far are "Our Menorah Again" (to Willie's "On The Road Again"), "I Made It Out Of Clay" featuring Lenny Solomon (to "As She's Walking Away" by Zac Brown Band), "ChanuKountry" (to Aaron Lewis' "That Ain't Country"), and this one "All Around The World" (to Kenny Chesney's "All The Beautiful Girls"). Be sure to pay the nice man a visit at Yidneck.org, where you can buy all the singles you like.
In 2016, we got a full Jazz album, "Hanukkah", from The Eyal Vilner Big Band. But, apparently, Eyal had one more Hanukkah tune in him, releasing the single "Hanerot Halulu (These Candles)" last December when we weren't around. Easy to pick up from Amazon.
And don't forget HANUKKAH IN AUGUST:
Hanukkah Rocks - Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Nice Jewish Boy Band Chanukah - Six13
Al Hanissim - Moshe Storch
Loco Latin Top - Michael Treni Big Band
Hanukkah Lights - Aaron Holder
Hooray For Hanukkah - Damion Shade & The Savage Young
My Baby Eats All The Hanukkah Gelt - Alexis Fishman
And don't forget Chanukah on Maple Street
Hanukkah Rocks - Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Nice Jewish Boy Band Chanukah - Six13
Al Hanissim - Moshe Storch
Loco Latin Top - Michael Treni Big Band
Hanukkah Lights - Aaron Holder
Hooray For Hanukkah - Damion Shade & The Savage Young
My Baby Eats All The Hanukkah Gelt - Alexis Fishman
And don't forget Chanukah on Maple Street
A quick heads up. Not sure how much I'll be able to post going forward. This computer is on its last legs, the new(er) one refuses to load... and, if I have a priority, at this point, I really want to do a Stubby's House collection, because it'll probably be the last one. The domain expires in October and I've no plans to renew. Our Festive Friends to the right can keep you appraised of the new and cool stuff, should I drop off the face of the earth for a bit.
Let's close with an old favorite...still one of the best contemporary Hanukkah records ever made...The LeeVees' "Hanukkah Rocks". This one doesn't get as much play as some of the others, "Goyim Friends".
Let's close with an old favorite...still one of the best contemporary Hanukkah records ever made...The LeeVees' "Hanukkah Rocks". This one doesn't get as much play as some of the others, "Goyim Friends".
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