Re: article on Avraham Rosenblum and Diaspora Yeshiva Band

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

At 02:39 PM 10/27/00 -0400, you wrote:
>There is an interesting interview with Avraham Rosenblum, founder of the
>Diaspora Yeshiva Band, in this week's Jewish Press. It's on the web at
>http://www.jewishpress.com/showit.asp?id=85.
>
>It seems AR and DYB are making a kind of comeback, spurred in part by a
>re-release of their recordings sponsored by Carmel Wine.

I get e-mail from former Diaspora Yeshiva Band members every few months talking 
about how revolutionary they were, and how they have pioneered "the most 
creative form of new Jewish music," the setting of religious songs to familiar 
rock melodies. They also claim to be early klezmer revivalists now.

I say, "now," because I was in Israel when they started, "klezmer" simply 
wasn't a word that was used, nor an area that was researched--even Giora 
Feidman, from what I remember (which may not be the reliable tool I wish it 
were) was labeling his albums with words like "Jewish traditional", not yet 
using the term "Klezmer". The Diaspora Yeshiva folks did play what =was= a 
then-new fusion of nign and rock, and it =did= offend some traditionalists, 
much the same way that Christian Rock wasn't always (and to some, probably 
still isn't) acceptable to Christian Fundamentalists, but revolutionary? 
Relevant to most Jews? I dunno. Back then, it was part of something more 
paradigm-shifting, which was the way that the folks at the Diaspora Yeshiva 
maintained a full counterculture lifestyle while also adding an overlay of 
Judaism. I have fond memories, for instance, of one typical afternoon when a 
friend took delivery of controlled substances from a couple of diaspora yeshiva 
folks, one of wh
om gave us a Talmud lesson while the other began parsing the (then-new) 
Dylan-Band live album and explaining its kabalistic significance. 

I've gone back and listened to my old LPs, and I think the music is pretty much 
what I remember--bluegrassy, folky, some rock elements, and lots of simple 
nigns. Americans may be more familiar with their kin, the Fabrengen Fiddlers or 
the Country Klezmers. Nice music, sure. A comfortable bridge between two 
worlds, reasonably. And religious kids really like Shlock Rock a lot, but 
revolutionary? A creative edge of Jewish culture? I dunno.

I'd be interested in hearing other people's take on it. And, for the band's 
sake, I'm glad that people continue to express interest and former band-members 
continue to make the music they love....

ari


Ari Davidow
ari (at) ivritype(dot)com
list owner, jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org
the klezmer shack: http://www.klezmershack.com/

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