 Acapella got you down, what with all those blasted vocal harmonies and synchronized gestures? Do you miss the sound of thunderous drums, crunchy guitars, vintage keyboards, brash horns and deep, thumping bass that’ll make your ass blush? Does political correctness make you want to embark on a murderous rampage or at least give an old lady a wedgie? Are you Jewish or have you ever enjoyed an episode of The Daily Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, an Adam Sandler CD or a performance of The Producers? Do you agree that repugnant ethnic stereotypes somehow become funny when embraced by the very group they slander?
"Sean Altman and Rob Tannenbaum might be giants of Jewish joke-pop, but you can hear some Beatles in their risqué borscht-belting, not to mention a reverence for tradition." -NEW YORK TIMES
I would like to tell you about the debut CD "Unorthodox" from my comedy song duo, What I Like About Jew. It's a naughty CD. Not dirty, just naughty. Unless you're a Puritan or the Pope, in which case it's downright filthy. A CD like this on your iPod is like having your own, wee, alternate evil universe tucked between your cheek and gum.
Ironically, What I Like About Jew was spawned by the acapella community (ironic because my partner-in-crime, Rob Tannenbaum, can't even sing well, which makes the proceedings all the more deliciously vile). In 1998, I hosted an acapella holiday concert at the famous (now defunct) Bottom Line club in NYC. A few weeks prior, I ran into Rob, a college classmate, at the gym. He had written a nasty ditty called "(It's Good To Be) A Jew At Christmas", which I thought would be perfect to counterbalance the inevitable and unrelenting holiday cheer of the acapella show.
Rob and I performed the song at The Bottom Line, and sure enough, we were admonished by club owner Allan Pepper for singing the word "kike" onstage. At that epiphanous moment What I Like About Jew was hatched, and Rob and I vowed to reclaim "kike", "hymie", "heeb" and the other terms of our tribe's storied oppression in the same way that African Americans of the hip hop generation have admirably reclaimed the "n-word." (It's ok, you see, to employ the terms of one's own oppression, but not those of another's oppression. Thus I, as a Jew, can say "kike" 'til the cows come home ("Kike, kike, kike, kike, kikity-kikity kike. Wheee!"), but a Jew cannot utter the "n-word" unless he is also Ethiopian.
"Their songs are racy and funny and smart and affectionate, written for a generation of fully assimilated Jews who grew up on punk rock and 'South Park'" -BOSTON GLOBE
Our first co-write, "Hanukah With Monica", was composed soon after the Bottom Line brouhaha, in the "heady" days of President Clinton's scandalous second term:
The underwear she wore was so erotica (Monica!)
She liked to serve 'cause she was patriotica (Monica!)
She put that age-old myth to bed
'bout Jewish girls not giving head
The acapella-inflected recording enjoyed much national radio play and made its way around the brand new "internet." With a repertoire of only two songs, we launched What I Like About Jew at the Knitting Factory in NYC on Christmas Eve 1999 as a variety show, inviting other Jew and Jew-friendly songwriters to flaunt their wares on the loneliest night of the year for Jews. That event was an unexpected sellout success. Who knew there were so many bored Jews on Christmas Eve?
In the ensuing years we've added more naughty (ok, dirty) songs, performed all over the country, year-round, and have nurtured What I Like About Jew to its current status at the top of a growing heap of "edgy" Jew-themed acts. I find it peculiar, vexing, depressing and yet exhilarating that for the second time in my career I am a big fish in a very small pond. When do I get to be a big fish in a big pond?
"Sly and hilarious." -VILLAGE VOICE
Our debut CD, “Unorthodox”, makes a great gift for that special Jew in your life. Better yet, Rob and I are hitting the road to promote the record, so you have the rare opportunity to be delighted (or offended) in person. Either way, we hope you'll join us. With song titles like "Reuben The Hook-Nosed Reindeer", "Taller Than Jesus", "The Porno Made Me Do It", "They Tried To Kill Us (We Survived, Let's Eat)" and the circumcision ode "A Little Off The Top", you know you're in for a rollicking good time that will last you all the way 'til your next confession. All faiths are welcome, except Jews For Jesus, whom we skewer venomously in a song by that name:
Jew for Jesus - the phrase is pure deceit
It’s being a vegetarian for meat
I’d gladly baptize you in my toilet
For you, just like the bowl, are full of sh*t
April 2006 tour, sponsored by Heeb Magazine
Sat Apr 1 @ Higher Ground, Burlington, VT.
Thu Apr 6 @ Canal Room, NYC. CD release gig with a full backup band
Sat Apr 15 @ Triple Door, Seattle, WA.
Sun Apr 16 @ Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR.
Mon Apr 17 @ Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA.
Tue Apr 18 @ Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco, CA.
Wed Apr 19 @ Monterey Live, Monterey, CA.
Thu Apr 20 @ Tangier, Los Angeles, CA
Fri Apr 21 @ Tangier, Los Angeles, CA.
CDs, hats, shirts & gig details at http://www.whatilikeaboutjew.com
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