Cancellations and celebrations

June 10, 2010 - 8:46 AM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Politics, Pop Culture 

Dana International - cancellations in Turkey and Spain, celebrations in Tel Aviv

While it may not be surprising that a number of international artists like the Pixies and Gorillaz Sound System cancelled their shows in Israel following the IDF raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla of ships last month, the aftermath has also affected Israeli artists.

In the last couple of days, concerts by the popular Idan Raichel Project have been cancelled in Turkey, the country which seems to be the angriest at us. Another show, by metal band Orphaned Land, which mixes Arabic and Jewish-musical and cultural themes in their music, were also axed from the upcoming Sonicsphere Festival, featuring Metallica, Megadeth and a slew of other leading hard rock bands.

Evidently, the security company responsible of the June 25th Istanbul festival announced that it couldn’t guarantee the band’s safety following the deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey following the Gaza flotilla incident.

In a statement on their Web site, the band, which opened up for Metallica at their Ramat Gan Stadium show last month, called Turkey their second home, and that while they didn’t agree with the decision to pull them from the lineup, they understood and respected the situation of not wanting to put other bands at risk.

“You have to know that we feel safe and we 100% wanted to come despite all, to play for the purpose of peace, friendship and brotherhood of our nations… We promise you all that we will make the maximum efforts to schedule new dates in Turkey very soon. We personally feel safe; we don’t need any kind of security, surrounded by all of you makes us safe,” the band wrote.

And, in the latest cancellation, famed entertainer Dana International had a concert in Ankara, Turkey cancelled, and has been booted from the annual Gay Pride parade concert in Madrid.

The cancellation came after organizers asked members of the Israeli Gay-Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Association not to attend due to security issues.

In a column she wrote in today’s Yediot Aharonot, Dana expressed regret at the cancellations, both her own and those of the foreign artists who bailed, and said that music and politics should not be mixed.

She added, however, that there’s enough major talent in Israel without any help from abroad, and jumped aboard a planned gala concert later this month at Park Hayarkon or Rabin Square initiated by the Culture Ministry and featuring the country’s top performers to specifically prove that point.

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Tel Aviv battle of the bands

November 6, 2009 - 9:41 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

spitfireIt was an opening line that did not forebode well.

“You picked an interesting night. Almost all the entries are metal,” said Bryan Steiner, greeting me at the bar of the Barby club in Tel Aviv Sunday night.

Steiner was referring to the 16 musical acts which were set to perform two songs a piece in the hopes of going on to the Israel finals of the Global Battle of the Bands Challenge. Steiner, the head of Blue Sun Records, along with promoter Carmi Wurtman and Barby owner Shaul Mizrahi, organized Israel’s participation in the event for the first time.

Over a dozen qualifying heats have taken place in October and November throughout the country with scores of Israeli bands vying to head to the finals taking place on Wednesday. The Israeli champion then goes on to the world finals in London on December 13, competing against the finalists from 36 other countries, with the winner receiving an artist development package worth $100,000.

Along with Sderot-based musician and producer Avi Vaknin, and Ziv Goland, a musical arranger for Dana International, I was asked to be one of the three judges for the event. However, unlike the high-profile American Idol model of in-your-face judging, we were allotted comfortable back-of-the-room tables and a scorecard to rate the entries from 1-20 and to provide written constructive criticism.

Battle of the bands have taken place for as long as there have been rock groups. Even in the mid-1960s, local high school bands would perform against each other at sock hops and on TV talent shows. One of the highlights of my college education in the late 1970s in Boston was attending the annual Rock & Roll Rumble held at the venerable punk club The Rat, where young hopefuls would wield “guitars like switchblades” in order to lay claim to the title of Beantown’s best band.

Turns out that not much has changed in 30 years. Despite the digital age of downloads and the gradual disappearance of CDs, the fading on the radio of guitar-based rock & roll in favor of studio wizardry hip hop, pop and dance music, and music in general receding as a number one priority among the social network-crazed youth culture, there’s still a lot of guitar slingers out there – of all ages.

The Barby was swarming with a mostly rambunctious teen audience – many of them bused in from Modi’in, where a good number of the competing acts hailed. The high school-aged entries, which made more than half of the 16 contestants stood in contrast to the half-dozen or so ‘older’ bands of adults, including one bass player who was even older than me, and a singer-songwriter, Yasmine Ariel who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

According to Steiner, amateur and professional musicians were eligible to sign up for the Challenge, with the only requirements being the ‘bands’ consist of two to eight members, all the music is live with no playbacks, and the songs are original compositions and not cover versions.

Regretting the fact I neglected to bring ear plugs, I took my seat, ready to face Steiner’s prognosis of a head banging evening. And indeed, there were a good number of acts – like Rockweiler (guess their genre) and Behind the Sun that looked and sounded like they learned everything about music in the back seat of Wayne and Garth’s car in Wayne’s World. Long hair flying in circular motions to the thunderous beats, they were parodies of a genre invented to be a parody.

Yet, there was something fresh and innocent about it nonetheless, as if despite the years of watching music videos and playing RockBand to get their moves just right, these kids were feeling music’s primal power and creating their own magic, no matter how derivative.

A big revelation for me was how musically tight and well-rehearsed every band was – this was no ‘hey, let’s enter the competition and write a song’ operation. While the lineup was male-dominant, women were represented by two high school bands featuring female singers of the Pat Benatar variety, a third with an incredible 16-year-old female lead guitarist, and the aforementioned Yasmine.

Particularly eye-opening were the school-age musicians, who must have been playing since they were kids and waiting for this day. It was a little sad that they’ve had to latch on to the music that their parents grew up with and many of their moves and riffs are mechanical regurgitations, but it was uplifting to see that another generation has caught the rock and roll bug.

When each band played, some singing in English some in Hebrew, its fans stormed to the front of the stage holding signs, pogo dancing and moshing in a show of solidarity. The audience also received scorecards, and like on American Idol, it was their vote, not the judges which ultimately determined the winner.

My top pick was a young four-piece band called Hageveret Harishona who performed sparkling guitar power pop with precision three-part harmonies . But chosen by the majority and headed to the finals on Wednesday is Spitfire 07, one of the female-led Modi’in high school bands. They were a ‘great for a high school band’ entry, and I gave them high marks for their spunky, arena rock performance and stage presence, while citing their lack of originality.

But they were unsurprisingly the audience favorites, with singer Meit Botton, dressed in Joan Jett black and reaching all the vocal shredding high notes, darting around the stage in various ‘rock chick’ poses.

While it’s unlikely they’ll be headed to London for the international finals, you can be sure the members of Spitfire 07 will keep their victory on Sunday night close to them for the rest of their lives. Even though there’s nothing new under the sun, rock & roll is still alive in Tel Aviv.

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Jerusalem via Los Angeles

December 10, 2008 - 8:54 AM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture, Travel 

Even though I recently spent three weeks in Los Angeles on an arts journalism fellowship, I couldnt escape Israel, which followed me like a neon sign on my back.

Nah, I'd rather see High School Musical 3

Nah, I'd rather see High School Musical 3

* On my very first day, walking out of my Hollywood hotel toward the closest pharmacy to pick up some sundry items, I walked past the fabled Kodak Theater near the corner of Hollywood and Highland.

Starry eyed and smiling, I peered at the glass-covered poster advertising the upcoming attraction, expecting to find the Grammy/MTV/VMA/Peoples Choice or some kind of awards. But guess who the next performer was? Our own Shlomo Artzi.

* This being an arts fellowship, we were hobnobbing with, well, artistic types theater directors, choreographers, architects, musicians, etc. So, when I introduced myself – next my colleagues from the NY Times, The World, Studio 360 and the like -as being from Israel, I didnt get the stock response about terror and is it safe there and the conflict.

The former Yoram Cohen

The former Yoram Cohen

It was usually, Oh right, you have that popular transsexual singer there, Dana something. I made a point of informing them that not only do we have Dana International, but we have another up and coming transsexual singer, Aderet.

* On our personalized tour of the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) led by their chief curator, I noticed an eavesdropper hovering in the background, listening in. He seemed like a normal-looking fellow, probably interested in learning more about the art. When the director of LACMA came out to greet us, we did the introduction thing, and I identified my position and home country of Israel.

A few minutes later, the stranger sidled up to me, and in Hebrew whispers, Youre Israeli? Me too. My names David, Im a painter, he said, handing me his business card. If you have any time, call me and well have lunch. Well, alright, Dave.

What, Bibi's not running in this election?

What, Bibi's not running in this election?

* US election day was one of our days off. So I sauntered off with a colleague from the BBC to the nearest polling station to write a color story for my paper. Walking up to random voters in line, I identified myself as an Israeli journalist and asked them questions about their feelings and emotions on election day.

One after another, without prompting, voiced their support for Barack Obama and the change he represented. After all, this was Hollywood.

Undaunted, I kept on searching for a McCain supporter to provide some balance. I finally found the golden ticket when I reached a middle-aged, goateed man who responded to my introduction with a hearty Ma Nishma ( how you doin?). And naturally, I had found a staunch McCain man.

* At a fellowship buffet dinner with some top Angelenos in the artistic community and in city planning, we were hob nobbing and discussing our days visit to see the artistic projects being undertaken in Skid Row, the downtown LA area that thousands of homeless call home.

Dan, a top city official, was explaining how certain parts of the downtown area were being regentrified, and more affluent professionals were moving in. On his street, he said, was a truly international bunch who delved into all kinds of creative projects. There were graphic designers, Croatian choreographers, a couple of Chilean sculptors living next door, an Indian chef across the way, and at the end of the street lived a couple who used their house to shoot and produce adult films.
Theyre our neighborhood pornographers, he said. As a matter of fact, he added, looking my way, I think theyre Israeli.

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