CD releases a Go Go Word from: Jake

Speaking of simchas. And dancing. As of late, there was a ton of good news from various members of the extended mima'amakim family - writers and musicians on our circuit. I'm sure we'll blog more on each one separately, but here's a quick taste, a-la post-musaf shul announcements.

Pey Dalid, holy hippie rockers, roots-reggae meet Grateful Dead meet Carlebach who've played with us a few times, most memorably at the New Moon Fest are now releasing their new CD, Garden of Eden. Pey Dalid energy is boundless. At that gig, the neighbors of the Carlebach shul came screaming in to turn the volume down (it was getting late), but the band shut their eyes and kept rocking steady until the song was finished. I was on the verge of madness, torn between the excellent music and administrative responsibility. Was really sublime. I was looking through their site, and saw this photo of almost-beardless Matisyahu jamming with them back in the day.

Matthue Roth, always a welcome guest at our shows and publications, is putting out a new book with Cleis Press this fall. The title is Yom Kippur A Go-Go. What? What about the title? It's very Matthue. I haven't seen the book yet, or even a galley, but the rumor has it, some excerpts may get recited at our journal release party in November.

Another one of our poets, JJ Gross, whose work will be appearing in the upcoming issue of the journal, wrote "Izzy Hagbah", a children's book to be published by an Israeli press. Got to love this cover.

Last but not least, Rashanim, who you may remember from the Def Midrash Jam, released a new CD "Masada Rocks" under the Tzadik label. All of the songs were written by John Zorn; band's leader Jon Madof reinterpreted the tunes. At our show, Jon was mostly reinterpreting "traditional Jewish melodies"... I think we got gypped, man! The last Rashanim CD got lots of much-deserved attention (Village Voice) and I bet this one will be getting some major reviews as well.