Blog
By Michael Croland
DIY Shavuot Learning Fest, Including My “Vegetarianism in the Jewish Tradition” Presentation
Wandering Jews of Astoria hosted a learning fest for Shavuot last night. While I’ve enjoyed the massive, all-night version at the Manhattan JCC in years past, it was more intimate having a dozen people in a board member’s living room. In a very DIY manner, community members taught—and learned from—each other. While all my Jewish […]
Farewell, Punk Jews Facebook Group
The 2012 documentary Punk Jews shined a spotlight on alternative Jewish culture, including the Torah hardcore band Moshiach Oi! The team behind the documentary (director Jesse Zook Mann, producer Evan Kleinman, and co-producer Saul Sudin) did more than just create a great film. Dating back before the film’s release, they created a community for outside-the-box Jews, both with events and […]
Two Years Since the Book Was Published
Today marks two years since Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk was published. I did a one-year anniversary post, and now it’s time to recap everything that’s happened since! My article with the most reach was “Punk Bands Prove Shofar Isn’t Just for the High Holidays.” I wrote it for JTA (a wire service), and it was […]
Elisha Wiesel Discusses the Ramones, Nazi/German Imagery in Punk/Hardcore
Since Holocaust survivor and educator Elie Wiesel passed away in 2016, there have been a few articles profiling his son, Elisha Wiesel, and mentioning his punk background. Howie Abrams, author of Finding Joseph I: An Oral History of H.R. from Bad Brains, interviewed Elisha for Decibel, and the piece just went online today. The interview focuses on Elisha’s […]
Jewish Museum of Maryland Presentation & Na Nach Oi! Performance
At the Jewish Museum of Maryland on Sunday, I gave a multimedia presentation about Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk and Moshiach Oi! front man Yishai Romanoff performed a solo acoustic set (under the stage name Na Nach Oi!). The Baltimore Jewish Times had this to say about my presentation: “If being an American Jew […]
Updates on Key Bands
Key artists featured in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk—and this blog—have remained relevant. They are still playing shows, releasing music, and getting talked about in a variety of media outlets—including The New York Times. Here are updates from the last few months. On Thursday, Tablet‘s Unorthodox podcast featured Golem singer/accordionist Annette Ezekiel Kogan and violinist […]
10-Year Anniversary: The Shondes’ The Red Sea
Ten years ago today, the Shondes released their debut album, The Red Sea. Until their latest release, 2016’s Brighton, it was the Shondes album with the most overtly Jewish content. The rockin’ “Let’s Go” features a “Let’s go!” chant in both English and Yiddish (“Lomir gayn!“). Band members came up with the idea for “I Watched the […]
Short Jewish Punk Songs for the Shortest Day of the Year
Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. There’s so little daylight that every minute counts. It’s the perfect time to listen to under-a-minute Jewish punk songs! There’s a tradition of short punk rock songs that cut to the chase. Behold the Dead Kennedys’ “Short Songs” and Fat Wreck Chords’ 101-band compilation, Short Music for Short […]
Photos from 2006 Hanukkah Tour
My favorite Hanukkah memory is covering the Eight Crazy Nights tour for the Forward in 2006. The tour featured Yidcore, Jewdriver, and the Zydepunks as well as Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land. I attended shows on the first two nights of Hanukkah in San Francisco and Berkeley. After that tour, it was inevitable […]
Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird: The Butcher’s Share
Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird herald their new album as “klezmer-punk anthems for the revolution or the apocalypse,” with songs that “speak to the political moment as much as they address eternal struggles of class and liberation.” Kahn has often played with the past and the present, letting radicals and revolutionaries from yesteryear have […]
