Yaakov Chesed in Florida
It’s funny how so many things go wrong when we do local shows, but when we go down to Florida for a 4 gig stint we have zero logistical problems. No missed or delayed flights. No equipment issues. No one got sick. And we were very early for each show. Maybe it’s because we have less distractions on the road (believe it or not). Whatever it might be, we had a great time in Florida and want to give a big shout out to the Klein family of Miami for bringing us down. Here were some of the highlights (feel free skip to the bottom for the important part):
-The first night there we went to see the Marlins beat the (poor) Mets in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch- oy. While we got free tickets, we were stunned to find that parking was free at the stadium! This was obviously a big deal for people ued to paying around $20 for parking at sporting events.
-There is an abundance of Kosher Krispy Kremes in South Florida and for those of you who don’t know: “Krispy Kreme is the official doughnut of Yaakov chesed” TM
-While were talking about food- After our show in Boca Saturday night we got to Miami at about 12:30 am and were very hungry. We randomly stopped at a CVS to get some nosh….and to our shock and delight there was a Kosher grill joint open next door!….Reading that back we realize that’s probably not that exciting to anyone reading this and might not be worthy of the exclamation point, but we were very hungry, in a foreign land, and were resolved to cereal and milk. We hope you kind of see why we got as excited as we did.
-We were warned that the boys at WYSH could get a little wild, and even with that we were still a bit shocked with all the moshing, pile-ups, and by the mechitzah getting knocked over. But it was still a great show and huge thank you’s to Roni Rabb and Shira Englander for all their help (and to Rabbi Tershwell for letting us use his house). On a side note we must mention that the boys the Hebrew Academy in Miami were pretty awesome with their acrobatics.
-Michazzel still amazes us with his ability to fall asleep on any couch at any Shabbos meal in any state or country (he was 2 for 2 this time).
OK and now for the more important part:
-For one of our shows (a benefit bat mitzvah concert for ALYN Hospital) we had to play a bunch of new covers- Viva La Vida, Summer of 69, How to Save A Life, to name a few. They went over really well. We also played our ever popular “Sweet Home Yerushalayim” as well. We got to thinking ,and we are now discussing recording some “shlock” songs. We’re also working on an A Cappella track or two. We’d love to hear you feedback about this.
And don’t worry, we’re still writing original Jewish rock as well.
Hey guys,
First of all, I’m a big fan of your music. Keep it up! Which brings me to my second part: I’ll be honest, I don’t think “schlock songs” are really your style. You guys have a unique flavor of Jewish music, combining rock elements with traditional Jewish styles, and that’s very refreshing. “Shlock” stuff has been done before, and I think it goes against your grain to do stuff like that. For me as a fan, I don’t know how much I’d like to hear that. But as a musician myself, I can appreciate the desire to break against the grain and do something different.
So hey, do what you do, you know? Do what feels right.
Looking forward to next album!
Reuvain
anything by you guys would be amazing, but “shlock” is a great idea (as long as it’s not as cheesy as some of those songs) and a cappella- i’m a *big* fan of it, and to hear some by yaakov chesed would be awesome!!
I was checking our your music on iTunes. I was stunned when I noticed that the folks at Apple put your music under Christian & Gospel.
I am shopping for the San Diego concert. We have Kosher Krispy Kremes here also. I will try to get you some if you promise to eat them because no one else will.