JDub Records

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!

The tour is over, Soulico’s back in Israel and I’m back to sitting at my desk in JDub World Headquarters.  Faces were rocked off, people fainted and everyone danced their asses off.  Soulico arrived in the US ready to party and those who attended were not dissapointed.  From performing with Ceci Bastida in LA and MC Zulu in Chicago to rocking a packed costumed crowd in Denver, partying with Emory Students in Atlanta, playing late into the night in Miami and watching the Mercury Lounge in New York get down, the tour was incredible.  Thanks to all that came out, we had an amazing time sharing this music with you and hope you had as good a time as we did.

Below is some more great video from the tour.

Soulico With MC Zulu Performing Queen of Hearts:

Soulico in Denver:

So my bags are packed, the tour is set and I’m about to head out on the road with Soulico for the Exotic on the Speaker album release tour.  We’ll be hitting 10 incredible cities, and I’ll be blogging from the road about the whole experience.

Anyway, that’s me on the right in the picture above, DJ Rob of Soulico is on the left,  and if you see me at one of the shows, snap a picture and send it to info@jdubrecords.org with the subject, “I found Adam,” we’ll send you some cool JDub swag, including the new Soulico CD!

Here’s where you can find me:

Soulico on Tour:

10/26 DC @ JStreet, Rocking the Status Quo Party
10/28 LA @ Spaceland w/Ceci Bastida & Lyrics Born
10/29 Seattle @ Chop Suey
10/31 Denver @ Walnut Room
11/1 SF @ 330 Ritch w/ Toph One
11/2 Chicago @ Empty Bottle w/ MC Zulu
11/3 ATL @ Apache Cafe
11/4 Emory University (Students only)
11/5 Miami @ The Vagabond (((Shake)))
11/7 NYC @ Mercury Lounge
11/8 DC @ Lotus Lounge
11/10 Boston @ House of Blues

A million Circumcisions are performed in the US every year, but more people are beginning to ask, is Circumcision a healthy practice, or an antiquated ritual?  Over the past few years, the debate has gotten louder and New York Mag has decided to take it head on in their most recent issue.  The magazine highlights arguments for and against, and displays this diagram of how the practice is peformed:

They also highlight a new Jewish practice called Brit Shalom, that many liberal jews, concerned with Circumcisions side effects, now practice.

Via NY Mag:

“Brit Shalom is a relatively new and increasingly popular, if still rare, ceremony designed for parents who want to participate in a key part of the Jewish tradition while foregoing circumcision. Essentially a bris without the cutting, the ceremony involves a naming rite for the baby, prayers spoken by the rabbi, and an explanation of the name from the parents, if they so choose. It’s a way of  ‘welcoming the child into the Jewish people,” says Rabbi Peter Schweitzer of the City Congregation of Humanistic Judaism on the Upper West Side. Although the vast majority of rabbis would vehemently disagree, Schweitzer maintains that circumcision isn’t a requirement of Judaism. “If you’ve committed to raising your child Jewish, that’s really all that matters to us,’  he says.”

How do you weigh in?  Is this still something Jews should practice or can this new Brit Shalom ceremony replace it?