JDub Records

September 14, 2010 (Tuesday), 7-9 p.m.

Galeet Dardashti’s The Naming CD Release Party - NYC.

With full band, SYREN Modern Dance, and video art from Lustre.

Mycale –the all-female John Zorn Vocal Project– (Basya Schechter, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Malika Zarra and Sofia Rei Koutsovitis) opens the show

Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
New York, NY

The Naming is the new multi-disciplinary work (original music, dance, video art, storytelling) by Persian Jewish vocal innovator Galeet Dardashti. Dardashti draws on the Eastern music deep in her bones to transform the ghostly outlines of Biblical women into full-blown flesh-and-blood personalities. She unites her grandfather’s iconic Persian classical music with a deep connection to Jewish poetry and song, creating lush electronica-edged Middle Eastern music in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Persian.  Dardashti’s music not only brings Biblical women to life but also gives voice to today’s Middle Eastern women.  The Huffington Post calls the album “a heart-stopping effort.”  The CD launches in September 2010 with release parties in NYC and Philadelphia.

Tickets

Galeet Dardashti
www.galeetdardashti.com

Jdub Seeks Part-time Outreach Coordinator in Los Angeles

JDub seeks a part time (12 – 15 hours a week) coordinator in Los Angeles to support JDub’s local programs and build the organization’s presence in the arts & Jewish communities.  JDub is a not-for-profit forging vibrant connections to Judaism through music, media, and cultural events. JDub promotes Jewish music and artists through a record label, national event productions, and an artist fellowship and instigates conversation and community via Jewcy.com.
 
We are looking for an entrepreneurial, self-motivated teammate who enjoys being a part of new Jewish culture and can help us expand the Los Angeles Jdub community .  The coordinator will work with a team primarily based in New York to develop 3-5 unique events in LA over the next 12 months.
 
Our ideal candidate has experience in concert/event production and/or marketing/communications and is engaged with digital media and social networks. Candidates should be familiar with new Jewish culture, enjoy networking and be comfortable jumping into new experiences.

Responsibilities may include:
Scouting new venues for potential Jdub/Jewcy events
Assisting with event creation and production
Attending community meetings
Strengthening and/or building new relationships with Jewish community lay leaders and professionals
Participating in weekly staff meetings (via phone)
Acting as an ambassador for the Jdub /Jewcy brand

Ideal candidates will have:
BA or experiential equivalent
1 – 2 years experience in an office environment (internships or entry level)
Availability for up to 15 hours during normal business hours Monday through Friday, but also have flexibility to occasionally participate in evening events (meetings, concerts, programs etc)
Proficiency in Microsoft Office
Energy, a sense of humor and an outgoing personality
Knowledge of music/entertainment a plus!

Please send your resume and cover letter to Dan@jdubrecords.org with “LA Outreach Coordinator” as the subject line.

The Wailing Wall received a great review today on Pitchfork from writer Joshua Klein.  In the review Klein writes of “The Low Hanging Fruit”  the new album from The Wailing Wall as:

“No Old Country kitsch fest. Rather, Rifkin goes deeper and broader, invoking the Bible as an anchor but opening up beyond the standard Judeo-Christian axis. Influences here include Qawwali drones and Hindu chants to go with his folk-rock echoes of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.”

Holy Shit, they compare him to Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan, that’s one hell of a compliment!

But the review gets better:

“There’s an undeniable poetry to Rifkin’s words as well, which certainly helps convey the personal nature of this particular musical journey. Admittedly, when it comes to pop culture, religion is the ultimate low-hanging fruit. A sprinkle of theology can easily, lazily convey a hint of import or profoundness even where none exists. But for all its time-tested signifiers, Rifkin’s struggle to find meaning in life rings honest and compelling.

What’s more impressive than Rifkin’s introspective voyage, however, is the confident way he flits from tabla and sitar vibes on “Bones Become Rainbows” to the austere guy-with-guitar of “For C.M.R.” (where he manages to out-nasal Dylan), or from the sunny folk-rock of “Dandelion” to the harmonium bliss of “Fear No Apple, Fear No Flood”. These songs flow together with convincing inspiration. If the results themselves are ultimately less inspiring than they are admirable, that likely has less to do with Rifkin’s craft and more to do with the album’s meditative nature. After all, he’s the one on the road to revelation. We’re just the spectators, curious to learn where he finally ends up.”

The Pitchfork approved Low Hanging Fruit is available from Amazon and iTunes and JDub

The above picture you’re looking at isn’t a B&W image of the Grand Canyon, or something taken from space, instead, its the grooves of an ordinary vinyl record, magnified 1,000x.  The lumps and other bumps you see on the otherwise smooth looking surface is dust, which is why it pays to keep those records clean!  The image was captured under an electron microscope by Chris Supranowitz, a researcher at the University of Rochester.  Just another reason vinyl is cool.

Vanity Fair recently published a list of the top earners in Hollywood for 2009 and six out of the top ten names not surprisingly are Jewish:  Bay, Spieldberg, Phillips, Stiller, Abrams and Bruckheimer.  The list only includes people attached to the creative process (Producers, Directors and Actors) so there is no telling what the list might have looked like were agents, managers and executives also included.  With Jewish culture’s historical ties to Vaudville, the Yiddish Theater, Literature etc, it’s not surprising that many people of Jewish background have chosen to enter “the industry” and been successful at it.

“Holy Rollers,” a film inspired by true events about and Israeli drug dealer who in the late 90’s used young Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn to smuggle ecstasy from Europe into the United States and staring Jesse Eisenberg, of “Adventureland,” was one of 16 films selected from a pool of 1,058 to compete and make its debut at Sundance this month.

The film is one of the most anticipated of the festival and from the synopsis, it sounds pretty cool:  “Sam Gold (Eisenberg), an insulated Hasid on the cusp of manhood, is frustrated by the constraints of his beliefs and his father’s poor business decisions. When Sam is presented with an opportunity to make some real money smuggling Ecstasy between Amsterdam and New York, he cautiously accepts it—and quickly finds himself seduced by the allure of the secular world. Caught between life as a smuggler and the path back to God, Sam and his worlds begin to unravel.”

According to director Kevin Asch, who spoke about the filme to indiewire, “The film is very nonjudgmental in its approach to the closed culture. We were very explicit to everybody involved about our desire to not exploit the Hassidic community. At the same time there are moments, like Justin Bartha’s character smoking on Shabbos, where we had to look at the faults and choices of real people.”

Should be a good one.

Started by George Costanza to combat the commercialism of the Holiday Season, today is Festivus.  The holiday, as portrayed in the Seinfeld episode includes practices such as the “Airing of Grievances”, which occurs during the Festivus meal and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. After the meal the “Feats of Strength” are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned.
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In this corner, newly elected liberal Jew Al Franken, In that corner, former liberal Jew now sorta liberal sorta conservative independent Jew Joe Lieberman.  The issue, Healthcare, the result, smackdown.

During a floor speech yesterday afternoon while discussing Healthcare reform Lieberman runs out of his allotted 10 minutes.  When he requests more time to finish his speech, Franken denies him.  Then the Senator from Arizona, John McCain goes all “Oh No You Didn’t,” on Franken.  Pretty awesome all around.  I guess this is what our law makers do all day…

Exciting News!  JDub’s using Ez Texting’s group sms marketing service to keep you in the loop.  Keep up with us via text message!  Text the word JDub to 313131, and get on our list to receive texts about concerts, parties, promotions and more.

Amid Thousands of Santa’s, Hanukkah Harry stood proud!