I re-met Marla Bennett at Pardes in 2001.  We knew each other through friends as teenagers, but developed a relationship and shared a tight social circle during my Junior Year abroad in Jerusalem.  After she and fellow Pardes-nik (and DJ) Ben Blutstein were killed in the Hebrew U bombing in July 2002, we were just getting JDub off the ground.  We shifted gears and our first event was a memorial concert for them called Zachor, which raised $25K for scholarship funds in their memory at Pardes.

Seven and a half years on, we maintain close relationships with Marla's family and that social circle from Jerusalem.  We've grown up, gotten married, some of us have had kids.   Tonight, reading this challenging article about her parents' lawsuit against the government of Iran (which awarded them $13 million), I was particularly struck not just by her picture, but her age: 24. As the youngest of our crew, to see that, on the cusp of my 30th birthday, brought back fully the devastation of her loss.  Visiting with the Bennetts this summer, they said nothing of the lawsuit, of their efforts to put a lien on the Iranian embassy, or of their hopes for the good use the $13 million could be put to.  If and when conversation turned to Marla, it was not about the bombing, blame, or foreign governments.  It was about Marla, the sweet, young, caring friend and daughter.  The final line of the article perfectly sums up how the Bennetts, and Marla's friends, remember her: "‘I always tell people she was the best person I've ever known,' said her father."

Read the full article at LATimes.com

Last week I received a piece of fascinating Muppet news:  Sesame Street and Phish share genes.

Turnsout Trey's dad, Ernie Anastasio, worked at PBS when Sesame Street wasbeing created and he served as the inspiration for Ernie of Ernie &Bert.  So Ernie and Trey basically share a baby daddy!

WhileI have found no substantiation of this online, nor any photos of ErnieA to back up the related claim that the Muppet was inspired by hisfacial features, its still an intriguing revelation for someone who isboth a Muppet and Phish fan.

Bothplay important roles in the creation of JDub.  Other than working inthe music industry, the only other job I ever seriously wanted was towork with the Muppets at the Jim Henson Company.  I don't remember whenthe idea first took hold, but I have a strong memory of hearing ofHenson's death in 1991 and committing myself to mentioning Henson in myBar Mitzvah speech two years later (didn't happen). Sesame Street andThe Muppet Show were great, but my interests in the creative world oftalking furry creatures and the magical realism of their existenceextended to pretty much all Henson projects (Labryinth!!!), perhaps with the exception of Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas.Still, when, as a sophomore in high school, I told my parents I wantedto apply to University of Connecticut, home of the only Bachelor of Fine Arts in puppeteering program,they were non-too thrilled.  Not the controlling type, instead ofcrushing my dream flat-out, they arranged a meeting with a full timepuppeteer in New York City while there on a layover en route to the Alexander Muss High School in Israel.It was the most depressing outing ever.  The puppeteer presented smallshows in his tiny apartment near Washington Square, seemed to barelyeek out a living, and, when I told him about my Henson Co dreams, toldme he had once been lucky enough to wag a Muppet tail on Sesame Street."Henson's crew is a small clique," he told me.  "There's almost no wayto break in."  And that was pretty much it.  Dreams crushed, Icontinued on to Israel, discovered The Roots, Sonic Youth, and thePharcyde via borrowed cassettes, and spent the next two years convincedthat the music industry was a much more sound career path.

Inmeetings with funders, I often share a very true anecdote about hearingPhish break into Avinu Malkeinu in '96 at a show at the Ventura CountyFairground.  The pride in hearing a Jewish song (sung well, in Hebrew,by a non-Jew) played to a crowd of thousands, the awakening thatJewishness could be expressed (and lived) beyond synagogue, JCC, andHebrew School walls, and  the awareness that  others around me seemedto be having similar thoughts all played direclty into my motivationsfor co-founding JDub six years later.

TheErnie revelation last week was fun to learn, pulling these two strandstogether for me.  Without either interest, I seriously doubt JDub wouldexist today.  Yesterday, the Muppet connection may have grown a tinybit closer.  I met with a staff member at Sesame Workshop about therelaunch of Shalom Sesame,the 1987 mini-series that introduced American Jews to the Israeliversion of Sesame Street, Rechov Sumsum, and served to empower positiveJewish identity in kids through overdubbed Hebrew songs by Bert &Ernie and new clips with Sarah Jessica Parker and Itzak Perlman.  Keepyour fingers crossed for us, friends. Maybe, just maybe, you'll see aJDub band or two dancing with Grover, Elmo, and Moishe Oofnik a year from now.

Which JDub band would YOU want to see on Shalom Sesame???

 [Editor's note: this piece originally appeared on the JDub Records blog on 10/20/09]

I like food.  A lot.  Since my son's initial appearance, my wife Amanda has been watching an intense amount of Food Network (great to watch in short bursts, when you don't have the time or energy for a full show commitment) so I've been exposed to Chopped, Paula Deen, Ace of Cakes, UnWrapped, and The Next Food Network Star. It's taken quite awhile for me to appreciate watching food as much as I enjoy eating it, but thanks to Top Chef: Masters, I think I am finally there.

The fitting label for these shows is Food Porn.  For me, though, its not just Porn; it's Food Voyeurism.  As a keeper of kashrut pretty much my whole life, I have never tasted a scallop or a lobster tail.  I can only imagine a cheeseburger, let alone one with bacon, fried in chorizo fat.  And i find it hard even to fathom the consistency or taste of sea urchin.  And yet I am captivated by these shows and the food in large part because of how they peak my imagination (and test my OCD-like commitment) for hitherto unknown flavors.

This week's Top Chef Masters finale was a celebration of food and the chef's preparing it.  No nasty curveballs, nothing tricky, simply a chance for the 3 finalists to showcase their skills, passion, and food.  It was exciting and moreso than when watching past shows, I found myself wondering: what does that taste like?  Where can I eat THAT?  Why DON'T I eat sea urchin?  Mexican chef Rick Bayless‘ winning 27-ingredient Mole dish brought me to the height of food jealousy.  It wasn't even really unkosher. (ingredient-wise. At least I don't think is was.  He's keeping the recipe a secret.)

Continue reading...

Welcome to a semi-regular column by JDub Records founder Aaron Bisman. Since he spends his days immersed in new Jewish music, we asked him what he listens to on his time off.

"American Boy" – Estelle
Yes, she’s another female rapper/singer from London. But this one started on her own label, got herself signed to John Legend’s label, and convinced Kanye to drop a verse on this song. (Will.I.Am produced it, but don’t hold that against her.) It’s a slick, R&B-influenced dance track about how excited she is to check out our country and our boys—perfect dance-floor fodder. Estelle may not get as much TV placement as Amy Wino, but her album just dropped, she’s touring in the states right now, and she is definitely worth your attention.

Worthy of the hype: Vampire WeekendVampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
How can I not include a VW song? This album is on constant replay in the JDub office, by all four members of the NYC staff. I’m not even sure what to say about the band that hasn’t already been said by bloggers watching their incredibly rapid ascent from hipster darlings to Saturday Night Live musical act. "Upper West Side Soweto” seems asinine, but it’s a fairly accurate description of their sound. Lyrically stuck in college, aurally stuck between Paul Simon and the Strokes, this album is catchy as hell. And in today’s rough and tumble times, it’s nice to have something that’s just so damn fun.

An Evening with Jo Amar in Old Jerusalem – Jo Amar
Early on with JDub, I accepted that my core skills were more in the business than in making the music itself, but I still love to DJ and maintain dreams of future careers in ethnomusicology and production. So to this day I still collect vinyl from stoop sales and old relatives, mostly 70s funk & soul, hip-hop, and anything Jewish.

My dad found this record in his synagogue in Scottsdale. According to the record jacket, Jo became a Cantor in Morocco at age 14 and in 1965 sold out Carnegie Hall in his first US appearance. This recording, however, is nothing traditional. It’s “the newest Oriental hits.” Often records like this completely Westernize the music with cheesy orchestral arrangements, but not this one. Jo sometimes has an organ in the mix, but it’s not overly intrusive and gives it the slightest hint of modern flavor (and psychedelia).

The joke never gets old: Flight of the Conchords"Robots (live)" – Flight of the Conchords
FoC are a comic-folk duo from New Zealand. Before their show even hit the states these guys were superstars here after a ridiculous viral build few bands are ever lucky enough to benefit from. Some comedy albums run dry after one or two listens, but we play this song in the office a few times a week, and I always, always get a kick out of it.

"Burying Luck" – Minus the Bear
This band is from Seattle, and on a great label called Suicide Squeeze. Full disclosure: The label prez DJ’d our Hanukkah bash this year as DJ Half a Shekel. She passed us their newish CD (it came out in August, but their big tour is happening now leading up to Bonnaroo), which is really a solid work of post-grunge rock. Lead singer Jake Snider’s voice reminds me, almost painfully, of Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket. I’m not sure if that’s a complement or an insult, but that sense of the familiar took me by the hand into the album.

Previously: Purim Crunk, Yeasayer

Welcome to a new semi-regular column by JDub Records founder Aaron Bisman. Since he spends his days immersed in new Jewish music,we asked him what he listens to on his time off. The answer: More Jewish music, plus some funk and indie rock.

What I’m listening to:

Bonnaroo, here we come: The hippie hipsters of Yeasayer"Wait for the Summer" – Yeasayer
I’m not as up on music as I’d like to be—probably not up enough to qualify as a true hipster. So maybe I’m late to jump on this bandwagon, but after spotting Yeasayer on many a “Best of 2007” list, I caught the young Brooklyn ensemble live at Bowery Ballroom and became an instant fan. They remind me of many things—Talking Heads, Toubab Krewe, 70s classic rock—without sounding like any of them. They do make me think “indie” and “alternative” might be turning into new euphemisms for “jam band,” but hey, I like the 2 AM set at Bonnaroo.

"P’sach Lanu Sha’ar (Open the Gates for Us)" – The Sway Machinery
Jeremiah Lockwood is a member of Balkan Beat Box and a recipient of the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists. This unreleased recording is part of his fellowship project, Hidden Melodies Revealed. Cantorial solos, Afro-pop horn lines, and Jeremiah’s obsession with the blues meld into a sound that’s genuinely unlike any other on the scene today—Jewish or otherwise. Jeremiah performs like a man possessed. His shows, which feature members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Antibalas, and the Arcade Fire, are exciting and frightening all at once. How else would you want your Rosh Hashanah liturgy? I can’t wait for the full record.

"House by the Sea" – Iron & Wine
I thought Iron & Wine was a singer-songwriter, but after playing his new album, The Shepherd’s Dog, on repeat, I’m not so sure. He transcends the narrow boundaries of such genre classifications with songs like “House by the Sea," which begins with a swell of sounds that is mostly (entirely?) acoustic but could just as easily be an electronica intro to a Thievery Corporation song. A minute in, it turns into a beautifully melodic masterpiece. He doesn’t lose any of the textures but continues to build them up, keeping me interested in the story and the sound, and leaving me feeling like I want to live in this lush aesthetic.

No cough syrup necessary: Kid Cudi"Day 'N’ Nite" – Kid Cudi
This is my new jam, but I don’t know how to pronounce his name. (Cutie? Cuddy like what a cow chews?) Regardless, the newest signing to Fool’s Gold (the label from A-Trak, the turntable wiz who also happens to be Kanye’s DJ and a Polish-Canadian-Jew), turns out a slick electro backpacker banger. The half-time beat reminds me of a chopped and screwed remix, except this song is dance-floor–worthy without the two bottles of cough syrup.

"Kartzioy (Leeches)" – Sagol 59
I’ve known Sagol, the Godfather of Israeli hip hop, since 2000, when I met him performing at the now defunct Syndrome in Jerusalem. It was one of the first hip-hop shows in Israel, a low-key affair with Sha’anan Street of Hadag Nachash, a few hooting hippies, and a sax player who claimed to have been in one of Miles Davis’ bands. He’s come a long way since those days of covering NWA in Hebrew.

Sagol’s newest album, Make Room, which will be coming out on JDub later this spring, was produced by a 17-year-old prodigy named Johnny HaKattan (little Johnny). It brings his lyrical assault into a brighter, poppier palette of sounds that has challenged Sagol to update his flow and his lyrics. The first five times I heard the chorus to this song, I thought it was some African dialect; the distorted, high-pitched vocals blend together into an almost indistinguishable sound, and my Hebrew’s not that great. In reality, he’s telling the story of the constantly downtrodden—what Israelis call “a fryer.” (Basically, a sucker. If you’re Israeli, you probably live in fear of being classified as one because everyone’s trying to screw you.)

Blow Your Head – Fred Wesley & The JBs
Fred Wesley has played trombone with Parliament, with Bootsy Collins, and, most famously, in the JB’s (that would be James Brown’s band, both with and without the Godfather of Soul). I got this track on a cheesy-looking compilation from 1988 called “James Brown’s Funky People pt. 2.” Whenever I need a little pick-me-up in the office, I turn this on. It opens with a wicked synth line, and then the drums come in and you can see the Funky People getting down. I either want to dance with them or sample this in a hip hop beat (which I’m sure has already been done to death).

Guess what Fred’s newest project is? Playing with JDub’s own Socalled – you can hear him on a track from Ghettoblaster called “(These are the) Good Old Days.”