Archive for April, 2009

April 28th, 2009

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Got out on the boat this week on a gorgeous day - 74 degrees! The water wasn’t quite as warm, but the excitement of being on the lake with my buddy, Darin, (the old keyboard player in the band) was enough to get me to jump in and ski …. twice! It was FREEZING and it was AWESOME!!! Darin went barefooting which was also super cool. So that was the highlight of the year!

The last 2 weekends were particularly electric. We had really moving Shabbat Alive services in both Clearwater, FL and Champaign, IL. Tons of community participants and lots of magic moments. Rodeph Sholom in Tampa was packed and had tons of energy with lots of USYers fueling the show. Then yesterday in Austin was inspirational with the J-Serve teens who had spent their day helping the underprivaledged in the community - then rockin out with us later in the day. The airline lost half our bags, so it was nail-biter, but we got our bags minutes before the show and made it happen! It always seems to work out.

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April 14 - 2009

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

This week we’re crankin away on vocals and back up vocals for the new album. My favorite part of the whole recording process is backup vocals - sort of the icing on the cake - the part where me and Denny are just having fun, no pressure, super creative, and silly. I’m totally excited for next weekend - getting back to Tampa and some much needed warm weather after a freezing April spring here in St. Louis. I’m really looking forward to singing with Cantor Jen Duretz who I’ve had so many awesome experiences with at Camp Coleman and Ramah Day Camp. I’ll also see some old friends there which is always cool.

Saturday night at Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis was incredible - as it has been for the last 5 years running. In this ‘dismantling racism’ seder with Jews of color we tell the story of African American oppression in America and eat the ritual foods of African American slavery instead of the ritual foods in the Jewish seder. We sing Negro rituals and traditional Jewish melodies and explore the commonality of Jewish and African American history of oppression, strength, and hope. Also, Cornerstone Baptist Church choir, one of my favorites, was there singing too - great to see old friends! The whole evening ended with a beautiful Havdalah. I started the day going to the zoo with my 2 boys, Kobi and Tal, and my father which was a treasure. This couldn’t have been a better way to end the day and reignite my hope for both my family and the future of the world…. slightly heavy thoughts, but this is actually how the day felt to me!

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