Cafe Finjan 2010

Thumpers! We know it's been a while since you've heard from us. Alan was in Israel for a while, and we've been spending lots of time in the studio prepping new tracks for your biblegum pop enjoyment. But never fear! We are back out and rocking again with Cafe Finjan, coming up this Thursday on the Loyola University campus. Here is the info on this unique, exciting event that we're so proud to be part of - see you there!:

Café Finjan is a series of interfaith arts exchanges begun in 2002 as part of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI). The series establishes points of contact, and nurtures a greater understanding between Jews and Muslims of Chicago while creating spaces for people of these diverse backgrounds to come together and give voice to their identity and experience as part of a larger community.

The theme of the upcoming Café Finjan is “2020 Vision”.

This dynamic evening, featuring performing artists and interactive audience participation, will explore both a common vision for the future (a vision for the year 2020) as well as clarity of vision (20/20) with regards to the challenges we face and the complexity of our identities.

Thursday, Feb. 4th

7-9:30pm

at the Loyola University/Mundelein Center Auditorium

1020 W. Sheridan Rd

$5 suggested donation

Where in the world is Stereo Sinai?

We'll give you a hint: it's NOT North by Northeast. Haha.

So far, we're having an amazing time at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX. Meeting tons of cool people, and seeing countless bands (good and not-so-good) all over the city. This photo is us proudly displaying out hard-earned wristbands, which allows us to have even more fun the rest of the weekend. Stay tuned to http://myjewishlearning.com/blog/ for updates and adventures from your favorite Biblegum Pop duo in the People's Republic of Texas.

Chill Download for the CCH Update

Our campaign to raise money for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has ended- thank you to everyone who participated. We managed to raise just over $100 on behalf of the CCH through downloads of our old English tune "Eleven Below"!

Here is the most recent post about Stereo Sinai on the CCH blog.

Let's not let this be the end, though! The CCH continues to provide an invaluable service to our community. If you are interested in helping them out further, go to their donation page and contribute whatever you can. Or, check out their upcoming concert, HopeFest, on March 21st.

Music making a difference. It's a beautiful thing.

Stereo Sinai Fashion

Stereo Sinai is now sponsored by Ella Klara: Powerful Clothing by Design!  Take a look at these unique, beautiful, and wonderfully comfortable pieces that I can't wait to wear on stage...






Check out EllaKlara.com for more designs for men, women, and children!

Nice Day for a Green Wedding

Stereo Sinai got married on Sunday! (To each other, of course.) The ceremony was held on Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees. As all good Thumpers* know, Stereo Sinai is committed to keeping our operations green, from downloads to dresses. Here are a few of the ways we kept it eco-kosher...

• Instead of getting a new gown, I went vintage with a cool 60's number from Silver Moon Vintage.


• A tree was planted in Israel in honor of each of my six beautiful bridesmaids.


• Each of our guests got a place card made from seed paper so they could go home and plant their names.


• Alan's dad Neal built the entire chuppah (wedding canopy) out of stuff he found in the basement, lights and all.


• We served no poultry or red meat and had lots of vegan options.


• All of our invitations were printed on 100% recycled paper.


• My engagement ring and both our wedding rings were made ethically from recycled metals.

There were other touches, but we won't go too much into it. There are all kinds of great resources on green weddings; I like greatgreenwedding.com if you're in the market.

We have to give a huge shout-out to our amazing wedding band, Shtreiml, who totally rocked the house!

Also, major props to the incomparable Matthue Roth who blogged about the ceremony on MyJewishLearning's Mixed Multitudes!

So now that we're hitched, there's more biblegum pop to come- check back soon for new downloads and announcements...

*Stereo Sinai fans- it's a spin on the term "Bible-thumper."

Pioneers!

Yet another example of how music is saving the world.

"Pioneers for a Cure" is an amazing project-

In an effort to raise funds to support organizations pioneering new methods in
cancer treatment and research, some of today¹s top Jewish musical artists are
recording the music of the pioneers of Israel ­ the soundtrack to Jewish
life during the early to mid 1900¹s. Proceeds from the project will be
distributed to the cancer charity selected by each artist.

(from PioneersforaCure.org)

Watch out for more updates on the release in early 2009, as well as Stereo Sinai's contribution to the project! Proceeds from our song will go to the American Lung Association.

In the meantime, enjoy this little sample from fellow Pioneer Mr. David Broza...

Losing Words

I tried to blog about the tragedy in Mumbai on Sunday. I tried writing about how my parents, Alan and I heard the news, how my friend in India (who's safe, thank G-d) knew the family, how Dido's "Thank You" was playing inexplicably somewhere in the background as we watched CNN...but I couldn't get it out.

This morning I saw this post by Alan's and my friend Matthue Roth on My Jewish Learning's Mixed Multitudes. I'm copying it here- I think he says it better than any news article ever could...

After Mumbai
by Matthue Roth • December 1st, 2008 8:39 AMCategory: Daily Life & Practice, History & Community, Ideas & Beliefs
A reader wrote in, asking me to post this article, which is the most complete account I’ve found so far of the siege against the Mumbai terrorist attack.
It’s been a long Thanksgiving weekend. I know, today’s Monday and we’re back in work mode, but it feels like the weekend isn’t over yet. It was a hard holiday; harder for other people than for us, but thinking that doesn’t make it any easier. At our Thanksgiving table was my cousin’s boyfriend, who’s from Mumbai and whose parents are safe, but who still hadn’t heard from his friends; my wife, whose sister is scheduled to go on vacation in India later this week and who’s still thinking of going; and all of us, most of whom aren’t religious, though we’ve all been guests at a Chabad house at one point in our life or another.
It’s scary. It’s mind-boggling, and anger-inducing, and it’s pretty messed up. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact point of origin for our sadness — another terror attack, another few hundred people killed — but the sheer mass of casualties, together with the randomness of the attack itself, which targeted Americans and Britons but took the form of bullets sprayed into crowds of people, gives me a place to start.
As the reports poured in, conflicting reports gave us hope. I was twittering about it all day. I hit refresh on the New York Times frontpage with a frenzy I hadn’t felt since 9/11. I was addicted. I wanted to know what was next. Like watching a TV show on DVD, I wanted to keep popping in discs, watching the episodes one after the next. We left to go to my uncle and aunt’s for dinner. My uncle and I sneaked away to his laptop, refresh after refresh. I finally stopped twittering with the news that the survivors had been rescued. I could breathe again.
The next morning, we got a call from a friend with the news. The siege was not over. But the bodies had been recovered.
Itta and I both lost it. She pulled the car off the road and we both cried. Her uncles, her friends and most of her cousins ran Chabad Houses. All over the world, they were supposed to be the refuges of innocence, the place you ran away to whenever you needed something. Sure, some Chabad House rabbis are insane — you almost have to be, to set up camp in a random city and open your door to whatever strangers come knocking. But by and large they are selfless people. Itta kept saying, “They had a deal with God. God was supposed to protect them.” And, yeah — God kind of screwed this one up pretty badly.
On one hand, there’s the miracle of the rabbi and rebbetzin’s almost-2-year-old son, Moishe, and his escape. On the other — if God let their son escape, why not everyone else? And why not the hundred-and-whatever other people who were killed?
Right now I’m watching my daughter boogieing to Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy,” one of her favorites. Times like these, you don’t question where you get your wisdom from; you just take it. Prince is doing a dramatic voiceover: “Life means forever and that’s a mighty long time/But I’m here 2 tell u, there’s something else: The afterworld.”
I’m trying to wrap my head around it. We spent Shabbos with Rabbi Shem Tov, who said that, as good people, we can question what happened — and we almost need to — but there’s no way that we can understand it. It’s impossible, he said, for the human mind to comprehend the way God operates. We don’t know how the world stays balanced, and why evil has to exist in order to let good continue to exist too. But it’s hard not to look at the result of the equation — crazed terrorists: 1; good people: 0, and lying in a pool of blood — and keep up the good faith.

ANOTHER New Video, Upcoming Show!

There are many exciting things going on this Thanksgiving weekend...

 

We are thrilled to announce that we are releasing a brand new video for our song "David and Goliath," which for anyone who couldn't make it to the incomparable Latke-Hamantash Debate, that was the song Stereo Sinai played to kick off the legendary battle.  Here's the awesome animation courtesy of Green Feather Films:

David and Goliath from Stereo Sinai on Vimeo.

 

Also, Stereo Sinai will be playing once again at the Red Line Tap this Sunday, this time alongside two crazy-cool singer-songwriters, Benjamin Ezra and Sincerely, Iris.  What better way to round off Turkey Day weekend!  Here's the info:

 

Sunday, Nov. 30th

8:00pm

Red Line Tap

7006 Glenwood Ave, Chicago

$5 admission

 

More shows, videos, and breaking news to come.  Till then, have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Stereo Sinai Rocks the Great Debate

It's an age-old question: which is truly superior? The latke, in all its greasy glory, or the hamantash, with its (sometimes) gooey cookie-goodness? The answer will be revealed to us next Tuesday night at the University of Chicago's 62nd Annual Latke-Hamantash Debate. Stereo Sinai will be kicking off the event with some rockin' tunes worthy of this epic showdown. Also appearing will be Hillel's own Rhythm and Jews and the always awesome Mr. Kevin Coval.

To get a taste (no pun intended) of what the Great Debate has to offer, I present the following...b'teyavon!

Absurd!

The Idol Factory

Alan and I once tried out for American Idol.

I'll give you a minute to digest that.

[Whistling...checking watch...okay.]

It was actually kind of an interesting experience- being herded into Soldier Field with literally thousands of other deluded hopefuls and, probably, some actual undiscovered talent. Random groups of otherwise unrelated people would break out into television theme songs. And don't even get me started on Amethyst (I kid you not) who sat next to us insisting, for six full hours, on repeatedly rehearsing the first two lines of her warbled rendition of the classic jazz tune "At Last." Oy.

When you try out for American Idol- and you will, you know you've thought about it- you don't get to see Paula, Randy, and Simon right away. You have to pass through a few layers of producers and interns/lackeys first. Those who made it get a yellow sheet and move on to the next level. I remember jokingly saying, "Look Alan, if you get a Golden Ticket you can see the factory where the American Idols are made!"

Apparently there are those Israelis who feel the same way about their country's version of the show, "Kochav Nolad (A Star is Born)." Below is short animation which offers a refreshingly quirky take on the whole process. Enjoy!

The Art of Nepotism

My cousin Stephanie happens to be a brilliant artist, in addition to a charming and lovely young lady. Not that I'm partial or anything. Posted here is a portrait she did of her equally awesome parents.


Stephanie has more drive and heart and enthusiasm than almost anyone I know. Nothing, including her autism, can stand in her way. I really admire her.

My Tent is Your Tent

I'm now in my second year of a masters program at the venerable Spertus College of Jewish Studies (thereby solidifying my already unquestionable status as an uber-Jew) and in class we've been talking a lot about engaging different kinds of Jews. How can we be more welcoming to intermarried couples? Or more accepting of converts? Growing up I knew my fair share of both groups- they were an important aspect of my family's tiny, unaffiliated synagogue- but the American Jewish community as a whole has classically had some, well, let's say discomfort in dealing with these populations. We're working on it. Most of us.

Isaiah, on the other hand, had all this down ages ago. Go figure. Our guest lecturers, the brilliant and talented Jewish social scientists Fern Chertok and Len Saxe, passed out these verses from the prophet:

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations, spare not; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.

Isaiah 54:2

These prophets, man. They tell it like it is. Or like it should be, rather.

The challenge, the call to action, in these verses is kind of daunting. We've got to make our space of acceptance both bigger and sturdier, every one of us. We've got to be as welcoming as Abraham and Sarah. No problem, right? Well, I can tell you there's at least one class of graduate students who still have a question or two. But we're working on it. All of us.

Voicing Opinions

Last Saturday morning a young woman who I'd never met before came up to me after Shabbat services and said, "Your voice elevated my davening last night." Whoa. It was such a staggering compliment that all I could do was blubber out a weak thank-you before tripping over myself and forgetting to tell her my name when she offered hers. Way to go, self.

It's bizarre to juxtapose this incident with Stereo Sinai's most recent encounter with the doctrine of kol isha (literally "the voice of a woman")- namely that an online Torah program was initially excited about playing our music to their listeners, and even offered to interview us, until they, well, heard us...heard me. It's happened before, it will happen again, and I say with only a trace of bitterness that I understand.

The common denominator in these accounts is important, though: voices are powerful. They can distract and inspire, all at the same time. I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

Stereo Sinai in the FutureTense

For anyone who has yet to check out PresenTense- be it the org, the Institute, or the publication- do so immediately. Few deal with Jewish life in the here and now in a more thoughtful, integrative, and creative way.

PresenTense has been settling into the Chicago scene well- most recently with the launch of a series they call FutureTense. Stereo Sinai's own Alan Jay Sufrin was featured at this kick-off as one of three "disruptors" in the field of Jewish arts and culture. "Disruptors" are young innovators who make a point of disrupting the status quo in their field. So Alan and Stereo Sinai, along with the Chicago hip-hop institution Kevin Coval and holistic artist Shayna Bracha Farber, helped facilitate a dialogue about the current state, and future, of Jewish expression. It was an interesting discussion if a bit disjointed; the topics ranged from the use of Hebrew language and Jewish "authenticity" (whatever that means) to Jewish survivalism and elitist tendencies. Deep, man.

These kinds of conversations don't happen nearly often enough, but it looks like Chicago's off to a good start.

What do you mean no one dies?!

When I come back from my relatively frequent trips to Israel, I usually haul with me a hefty stack of Israeli CDs. This past time, though, I decided to branch out a bit and get some classics of Israeli film. (Most of these movies are, well, self-indulgent, hyper-critical, and tedious, but Israeli cinema has started coming in to its own with beautiful films such as Walk on Water and Ushpizin. Slowly but surely...)

So Alan and I pulled out one of them for last night's entertainment: Halahakah, or, "The Troupe." The film was essentially a dramatized look at life in the Israeli army around the time of the War of Attrition. Young love, jealousy, and the typical rivalries among talented friends punctuated the otherwise flimsy story of an army band's rise to local stardom. It was a cute film. But I couldn't help but think the whole time...when are they going to kill off a character? Shouldn't they just get it over with? Come on!

When the film came to a heartwarming close with a slow-clap-worthy performance of the Eurovision hit "Halleluyah," I felt a little guilty. Really? No one dies? It was kind of jarring, and refreshing. Whaddya know, a happy ending...

Song Spotlight: "Dance" Featuring Matthue Roth

You transformed my sorrow into dancing. You unraveled my sackcloth and filled me with happiness[.] so that I might sing tribute to You and never stop. HASHEM is my G-d, I will thank You forever. [Psalms 30:12-13]

הפכת מספדי למחול לי פתחת שקי ותאזרני שמחה: למען יזמרך כבוד ולא ידם ה' אלקי לעולם אודך: [תהלים ל:יב-יג]א

Exciting news, Thumpers! The latest addition to the Stereo Sinai catalog, "Dance," is ready and rarin' to download. I'm especially psyched about this one cuz it shows off a couple of my favorite nice Jewish boys.

First of all, this is the first tune we've posted where Alan is taking on lead vocals (not bad, eh?). Not to worry, it won't be the last...

Secondly, Stereo Sinai got the awesome opportunity to collaborate with our first guest artist on this tune! He's a crazy talented friend of ours- writer/slam poet/rebel-mensch Matthue Roth. Matthue writes with the kind of startling sincerity that makes you catch your breath and remember you're alive. After you hear the song, you're gonna want more. Be on the lookout for a post on Matthue's latest young adult novel, Losers. Also check out the soundtrack of his previous book (it's about time books came with musical accompaniment), a kung-fu fashionista manifesto called Candy in Action. Alan's tune is called "Candy on the Catwalk."

Alan and I love what Matthue did with "Dance." We think you'll dig it too.

I try to talk to G-d every chance that I get
When I don't know what to pray, I just say where I'm at
Thanks for eating, breathing, teething, or just being my Creator
Thanks for taking me out, and bringing me back home later

People always run to You, when they feel depressed
And they tune You right out when they're doing their best
'Cause this world is a mess
I can't stay 'till the end
Then I place my request and it starts to make sense

Thanks for stuffing in my breath so that I can breathe out
When I'm out and about and I feel real devout
I remember Your rain makes every blade of grass spout

You gave me basically everything
From my body and my soul
To my questioning
You're the reason that we praise
Your'e the reason that we cry
Raise us up
Let us sleep
And when it's the right time
We die

That's all there is
That's all there is
That's all there is...

(You took my grief
Unmade the mess
Opened up my darkened clothes
And turned them to a sack of happiness)

You created this world and everything in it, too
So that means every time I dance, I'm dancing with You

The Waters of Babylon

My parents lost a record collection to a minor flood many many moons ago. They might not mourn the loss so much anymore, but sometimes I do. Coltrane! Springsteen! C'mon, when you hear it on vinyl, that's the real thing...

But I know this is petty. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your entire home to unbridled waters, only to find out it might happen again.

Gustav rages away on the heels of Katrina, leaving so many with no choice but to leave. Iowa is still recovering from its major flooding. Meanwhile, half-way across the world (and unbeknownst to most Americans), hundreds of thousands of Indians have had to flee their homes to escape rising flood waters in the northern state of Bihar. It's too much.

On behalf of all those who are still in motion and still looking for a safe place until they can come back home, I leave you with this:

May it be Your will, Eternal our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, to bring us to our destination in life, in joy, and in peace, and then to bring us back home again in peace. Guard us from all enemies who may lurk along the way, and protect us from all dangers that may be coming our way. Bless the work of our hands, and may we find favor and grace in Your sight and in the sight of all those whom we meet on this trip. Please hear this prayer of ours, for You are the G-d who listens to our prayers.
-Tefillat Haderech, the Traveler's Prayer

There are some reliable non-profits in India doing excellent work, as well as those in the States working on behalf of flood victims. Anyone reading this who is in a position to help, please do.

The Triumphant Return!

Stereo Sinai is back from a fabulous time in Baltimore (or Balti-murder as it is sometimes affectionately called) and BEC Fest. The show was great- pics to come! Many thanks to our friends at Beth El Congregation who were extremely gracious hosts and put on a really fun event. Much love to our friend Ariela, who put up with us all weekend in a most wonderful way.

Now back to business in the Windy City...

Yes, But, Good for Which Jews?

Jews are awfully fond of asking the question "Is it good for the Jews?" and bickering endlessly about the ensuing hypotheticals. It's our favorite sport, and we do it with Olympian finesse and fervency.

But some Jews skip that part and go right on to the answer, which is often a resounding "no."

There are two fairly recent cases where Hasidic men, one actor and one singer, have been forced to walk away from critical opportunities in their careers because of communal pressure. One is an actor, Abe Karpen, who was slated to play alongside Natalie Portman in the upcoming film "New York I Love You," and backed out after his children's education was threatened. The other is a singer, Lipa Schmeltzer (yes, really). He was scheduled to hold a concert singing his Jewish tunes at Madison Square Garden- with separate seating for men and women, no less- and had to cancel.

What? What is going on here?

Jews have always struggled between the desire for community cohesiveness, which can morph oh so quickly into isolationism, and the desire to be part of society at large, which wields the danger of- dare I say it?- assimilation. I get that. It still bothers me, though. Why must we withold G-d-given talent from the world for the sake of a hypothetical?