Teruah - The Israel National Radio Interview

I was on the radio today! Israel National Radio to be precise. I was interviewed by Ben Bresky for his weekly music show, The Beat. I'm a big fan of the show, so it was great fun to participate. The interview was recorded last Thursday and, I'll admit, I wasn't as prepared as I'd wanted to be. I'd been on the road for work the two days before hand and my concentration was shot. I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT JEWISH COWBOYS. ARGGH! But I had fun and hopefully it sounded ok. I got to name check some of my favorite groups (sorry if I left you or your favorite out, I didn't have much time). I talked too fast and too much. No big surprise there. Anyway, if you'd like to hear it, you can go to the download it or listen now. My bit starts about halfway through.

Because of the time difference between the US and Israel, I lost track of when it was going to be aired. I actually found out when I got a nice email from a Beat listener who wanted to chat about definitions of Jewish music. I'm a bit skeptical of the value of definitions but between the two of us we came up with "Music that celebrates or recognizes Jewish life or comes from a Jewish artistic impulse." It doesn't say much, but it doesn't remain altogether silent.

One irony of the interview is that it was recorded and aired during the Three Weeks, a traditional period of mourning where frum Jews don't listen to music (and don't have weddings, haircuts...). The result is that Ben opened the show with some poetry readings and didn't play any of the music I had picked out. Timing is everything. As the music tracks and videos I've posted lately demonstrate, I'm neither frum enough or clever enough to be Three Weeks compliant here at Teruah. I'm glad that Ben is and I'm going to steal his idea of showcasing Jewish poetry during next year's Three Weeks. But, no music for me.

Update: Ben emailed with the link to his web page for the show and say that we should "save the mp3 and share it, spread it, etc. The mp3 should last about 6 months." I've already downloaded the mp3 so if you want a copy after it's pulled from the Israel National Radio website, just give me a yell.