Band plug... well, bragging about family, really

[holzman_tweed]

Yid Vicious is a Klezmer band. Those who attended my first wedding will recall that I like Klezmer enough to have paid the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble to play.

I think the CKE is the only Klezmer band not to have a name that is a pun or joke.

Anyway, there's something really cool about Yid Vicious. Check out the web page. I'll wait. The lady with the saxaphone in the middle? That's my second cousin Melissa Reiser. From the bio page:

Saxophonist Melissa Reiser left the relative comforts of a music teaching job (Luther College) to broaden her horizons: yes, she went back to grad school, like anyone eager to avoid signing up for the real world would do. With a masters in ethnomusicology (world music) now under her belt, Melissa has decided to keep going so that she can subjugate college kids to the sounds of places they can't find on a map. Her most recent venture involved camping in the sands of the Sahara, squashing scorpions, and attending nomadic raves while researching Tuareg music festivals in northern Mali. Melissa plays / has played in the Afro-pop band Kweku Ananse and the Sweet Vibrations, the big-band Ladies Must Swing, the Milwaukee-based contemporary ensemble Present Music, and classical venues such as the Milwaukee Symphony and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.

Comments

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Cool! Oh, there have been and continue to be Klez bands with non-pun/joke names (though humorous self-reference remains throughout the music). The literally named Klezmorim, the not-really-a-pun Klezmatics, the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, & so on.

I'll be looking at and listening to the Yid Vicious stuff soon as I have some free listening time. Thanks and congrats on having yet another cool relative!

[salsuginous.livejournal.com]

I love klezmer music so very much! I'd love to have a klezmer band at my wedding, but I'm super-overly-sensitive to Nathan and his side of the family. I tend to default to wanting to only have things that are more inclusive. IT's something that annoys him to death that I need to work on.

So. Very. Awesome that a family member is in a klezmer band! I'm definitely going to be picking up an album or three.

I happen to like the puns/jokey names of the Klezmer bands--and I've got to say that "Yid Vicious" is one of the funniest I've run across.

[holzman.livejournal.com]

The CKE got a very good reaction from Jew and Gentile alike at my first wedding. Considering the crap that most wedding bands play, I think there was no small degree of relief. If you do a band, someone who isn't going to try to be hip isn't a bad choice.

[salsuginous.livejournal.com]

We're looking right now on whether to do a band vs. Ipod. The ideal for me has been to find a Klezmer band who also does non-Klezmer jazz (if that even exists in this town. I think there might be only 1 Klezmer band in this entire city). We both want songs from the 30's and 40's. We've agreed that the very short recessional music would be traditional Jewish wedding songs. I think the next step is to just get Nathan familiar with Klezmer music to see how he feels about it. I can't get enough of Klezmer. Ever. I don't expect everyone else to love it like I do.

I'm ordering your cousin's Cds tomorrow. I can't wait to hear them!!

[hopita.livejournal.com]

Not exactly Klezmer, but you might want to check out The Shondes (http://www.shondes.com/) if you haven't already done so.

[m4gery.livejournal.com]

Am I the only person on the planet who has no idea what Klezmer is?

[holzman.livejournal.com]

Think of Klezmer as the Jewish version of Jazz. When we eventually get together, I'll play some for you.