While in LA, the Macaroons were tasked with finding the perfect Purim costumes for their show at the Echo. In the video above, they show you how it’s done.
While a slew of artists helped JDub bash Haman in NYC over the weekend, The Macaroons, the first JDub kids band, spent Purim in LA.
The band rocked their way through the songs on their upcoming record, Let’s Go Coconuts, and we’ve captured a few, including “Mezuzah,” “Magic Tallis Ride” and “Elijah.”
The Wailing Wall played at TT the Bear’s in Boston on Monday night, and I had the pleasure of being accompanied by my good friends Alana Skyring (drums, from The Grates) and Gabriel Birnbaum (saxophone, from Boy Without God, formerly of Eli “Paperboy” Reed and the True Loves). Our friend Dylan Metrano captured one of the more “out there” sections of the set that night, and I am honored to share this video with you.
A vastly different/gentler permutation of the band will be returning to TT’s on March 31st with Clare Burson.
Thanks to Heeb for tipping me off to The Moshiach Times Band, a group of teenybopper hunks out of Miami. Look at that skinny jean/Tzitzit combo!
Here’s a cool video of me freestyling with Palestinian Rap trio G-Town at the Willy Brandt Center in Abu-Tor, Jerusalem, as part of a series of Open Workshops and Sessions for Young People from Jerusalem. More details Here
A friend showed me the breathtaking trailer for Michael Knight’s new documentary Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, which I’ve included above. The film explores Michael’s unique relationship to his religion, while following the emergent culture of punk Islam, which the documentary alleges is partially due to Michael’s writing. Like Jericho’s Echo (a documentary about punk rock in Israel), it looks as if Taqwacore is a labor of love, a film that is at points both difficult and delightful as it struggles with handling and explaining concepts that seem to be naturally at-odds with each other.
“When he was 17, Michael Knight left his mother’s home in Rochester to study Islam at a Pakistani madrassa. It was his first act of rebellion – against his abusive, schizophrenic, white-supremacist father. Years later, burned out on the demands of religious dogma, Mike rebelled once more – by penning a Muslim Punk manifesto called The Taqwacores. His work of fiction struck a chord with young Muslims around the world and before long, real-life Taqwacore bands were creating a scene. This film follows Michael and his band of Muslim punks as they journey across the U.S. and Pakistan, transforming their worlds, their religion and themselves through the spirit of Taqwacore.”
DeLeon is back in NYC after 20 cities and 8000 miles with the magnificent Brazilian band Os Mutantes. As is our custom, we like to share a short video at the end of each tour to give you a peak at what life on the road is like. This time around, in honor of the pared down set we were performing, we shot ourselves playing a simpler version of our song “Almond Trees” in various locales around the country. Plus, our new friends in Os Mutantes joined in too!
We’re in Paris, and we’re really tearing things up. Need proof? Check this video of us doing our thing at Nouveau Casino!
Many thanks to David Israel for this clip of Hidden Melodies Revealed LA.
Happy New Year from Team JDUB!!!