Shir Madness – Jewish Music Festival

BY RITA BRATOVICH

It’s going to be Shir Madness at Bondi Beach when the Jewish Music Festival rocks Bondi Pavillion on Sunday.

Now in its seventh year, the festival has grown way beyond the humble expectations of Festival Director Gary Holzman, with this year’s line-up featuring 30 acts and including names like Dave Faulkner from Hoodoo Gurus, Steve Kilby from The Church, Mahalia Barnes, Bernie Hayes, Deborah Conway and many top shelf Australian performers.

Astute observers may notice some distinctly non-Jewish sounding names and genres in the program. Holzman explained: “We’re just highlighting the contribution Jews have made in all areas of music.”

Hence the broad approach to selecting artists for the festival: they had to either be Jewish (or have some Jewish band members); play music that is Jewish or has Jewish influence; or play music written by a Jew. The result is an eclectic mix of performers that will appeal to a wide range of people.

One of the highlights of the festival is Song Of Songs in which some of Australia’s singing elite choose a song written by a Jewish songwriter that has special significance for them. The playlist may end up surprising people.

“There are many, many [Jews] who have written some of the greatest songs of all time,” noted Holzman.

Last year Melbourne hosted the festival for the first time and, due to the enormous success, organisers have made the decision to alternate hosting between Sydney and Melbourne from now on.

Holzman is especially grateful to Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier for their involvement: “[Their enthusiasm] has certainly given us a much higher profile, and their contribution to establishing it in Melbourne is immeasurable.”

The festival offers a diversity of entertainment and one band that exemplifies this is Junkyard Beats. Israeli born leader Oded Prior is the Jewish connection, with other group members hailing from Asia, Brazil, and Australia. Their act includes drummers, dancers, acrobats and circus performers. It is predominantly a percussion group, but not in any traditional sense.

“The group is basically a junk percussion group. All of our instruments are made out of recycled material,” explained Prior.

The collection of improvised instruments includes hang drums, various lengths of plastic tubing, bowls and bottles filled with different levels of water, kitchenware, power tools – they’ve even had a jamming session with plastic bags.

Prior’s idea of bliss is a council clean-up: “I love junk, I collect it, I build it, I use it, I play it.”

In his workshops he encourages kids to be creative, resourceful and sustainable – to use what’s available in their backyard. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure…you can find music anywhere if you just open your eyes and open your mind, ” he wisely noted.

This make-do attitude has certain advantages. Recently they had a gig in Melbourne where mere hours before the show their gear still hadn’t arrived. “So we basically just went to Bunnings, like the night of the gig and just bought lots of stuff…broomsticks and some saws…” Prior casually recounted.

However, they may well have been able to perform even if Bunnings had been closed, since a key aspect of the show is body percussion.

“Body percussion is the oldest musical instrument in the world. It’s basically drumming on your body but combining movement with it, ” Prior explained. Every part of the body is played: foot, thigh, chest, face. Sounds are produced by clapping hands, flicking hollowed cheeks, stamping –basically doing anything that makes a noise.

Prior acknowledges his mentor in Israel, Navon Amos from the group Demente, as the inspiration for forming Junkyard Beats when he moved to Sydney two years ago. He also thanks his Jewish heritage for his inherent musicality.

Asked about Jewish content in their set, Prior pointed out that there is “Jewish humour” throughout, and then added: “We do have a drumming routine based on the Hava Nagila beat.”

One of Sydney’s most charismatic and colourful members of the fraternity has to be front-man of Sydney’s iconic Monsieur Camembert, Yaron Hallis. Instantly recognisable Yaron grew up in the world of musical theatre and clearly brings this to his stage (and life) performances, throwing himself into each song with theatrical abandon. Be it on stage, behind the bar or camera at Camelot, QIRKS or the Django Bar, or sharing his most eclectic of musical libraries on the airwaves, Yaron and company will brighten every day (sunglasses may be advisable!).

Benjamin Samuels comes from a very musical Jewish family. Having had music tuition since school, he plays saxophone and clarinet and will be performing with two separate bands at the festival: Azadoota and BeatLab.

Azadoota, which in Assyrian means “freedom”, is a dynamic, multicultural group of musicians who play original music composed by band leader, Robin Zirwanda. Born in Iraq, Zirwanda maintains a close affinity with his Assyrian background, outfitting the band in authentic Assyrian costume and frequently singing in the near-extinct Aramaic language. Yet, despite its gesture of traditionalism, Azadoota aims at having mainstream, broad appeal, with music influenced by jazz, latin, dance, folk and world music.

The group gained entry to the festival by virtue of its Jewish members including Zirwanda and Samuels. As for whether Jewish music will feature in their set, Samuels teasingly said: “It’s not gonna be a fully Jewish set but – there might be something.”

Samuels’ other band, The BeatLab, is a funk, hip-hop and groove collective with a fun, infectious energy.

“We really encourage dancing and good vibes…” said Samuels. He’s excited about playing with both bands as they provide an artistic balance between traditional folk and “funky and fun”.

The scope and calibre of the Shir Madness Jewish Music Festival program is testament to the rich, pervasive influence Jewish culture has had on Western – and world – culture and music. By all accounts, the festival will keep getting bigger and better. Mazel tov! (RB)

Sep 18, midday–10pm. Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach. $60-$85. Tickets & info: www.shirmadness.com