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Schmekel
Schmekel at Hampshire College (2012)
Schmekel at Hampshire College (2012)
Background information
OriginBrooklyn, New York, United States
GenresFolk punk, queercore
Years active2010–2014
LabelsSchmekel Music
MembersLucian Kahn
Ricky Riot
Nogga Schwartz
Simcha Halpert-Hanson

Schmekel was an all-transgender, Jewish folk punk band from Brooklyn, New York, known for their satirical lyrical material.[1] Eddy Portnoy of The Forward cited Schmekel as an example of the cultural movement "Queer Yiddishkeit."[2] Schmekel made their audiences more comfortable with transgender topics through jokes, but also often included lyrical references to obscure queer, Jewish, and punk content that only cultural insiders would recognize.[3] Hugh Ryan for The New York Times compared Schmekel's sound to Pansy Division and compared Lucian Kahn's songwriting to Jewish singer-songwriter and satirist Tom Lehrer.[1] The Advocate compared Schmekel to Pansy Division and Tribe 8,[4] and the book Listen to Punk Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre compared Schmekel's song "I'll Be Your Maccabee" to Pansy Division's song "Homo Christmas."[5] Schmekel's lyrics frequently referred to Jewish holidays, and their first album started with Kahn sounding the Yom Kippur "tekiah" and bassist Nogga Schwartz blowing a shofar[6] before launching into a punk song. The Jewish Music Resource Centre at Hebrew University of Jerusalem noted that Schmekel's music used "direct musical quotes from traditional Jewish melodies such as Chad Gadya, Ma'oz Tzur, and Al Chet".[7] Professor of Musicology Edwin Seroussi compared Schmekel's tongue-in-cheek allusions to prayers to similar inside jokes in Yiddish theatre and vaudeville at the turn of the 20th century.[7]

Schmekel performed with other Jewish punk bands local to Brooklyn, such as The Shondes,[8][9] at New York City venues like the Knitting Factory,[10] the Delancey,[11] Public Assembly,[12] and Otto's Shrunken Head.[13] They also played at colleges in the Eastern United States like Brandeis University,[14] Yale University,[15] State University of New York at Purchase,[16] Hampshire College[17] and the University of Mary Washington,[18] sponsored by Jewish and LGBT student clubs. Schmekel's egg salad sandwich logo was created by queer illustrator and punk rocker Cristy Road[19] while Schmekel was performing with her band The Homewreckers.[20]

Susanne Mayer of Die Zeit contrasted the celebrities at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's fashion exhibit PUNK: Chaos to Couture[21] with Schmekel's dirty song lyrics, antimilitarism, and criticism of same-sex marriage as bourgeois.[22] Schmekel broke up in February 2014 to focus on other projects.[23]

Members

[edit]
  • Lucian Kahn – guitar, vocals
  • Ricky Riot – keyboard, vocals
  • Nogga Schwartz – bass guitar, shofar
  • Simcha Halpert-Hanson – drums

Discography

[edit]
  • Queers On Rye – December 2011[24]
  • The Whale That Ate Jonah (Schmekel Music) – October 2013[25]

In literature

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In the Tales of the City novel The Days of Anna Madrigal (2014), the character Jake reports his love interest, Amos, flirting with the lead singer of Schmekel.[26]

Schmekel was part of a course at Hampshire College in 2015 about the creation of Jewish identity.[27]

In Jewish institutions

[edit]

According to an interview with Tablet Magazine, the different members of Schmekel participated in different amounts of religious observance but had all experienced difficulty in synagogue because of being transgender, which they addressed in their music.[28] However, in an interview with Jewcy, they expressed feeling accepted at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah and Nehirim.[11]

Other projects

[edit]

Following the group's disbandment in 2014, keyboardist Itai Gal (Ricky Riot) formed a new project called Itai and the Ophanim, which released a debut album, Arise, in 2019.[29] Singer and guitarist Lucian Kahn became a writer and game designer of tabletop role-playing games with LGBT, Jewish, and subcultural themes, making Visigoths vs. Mall Goths[30] and If I Were a Lich, Man.[31] Drummer Simcha Halpert-Hanson became a rabbi.[32]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hugh Ryan (November 25, 2011). "Schmekel, a Band Born as a Laugh". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  2. ^ Eddy Portnoy (October 19, 2011). "Transgender Jews May Be Nothing New". The Jewish Daily Forward.
  3. ^ Croland, Michael. Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. Connecticut: Praeger, 2016. p. 66.
  4. ^ "Reasons to Have Pride in 2012 Part 1". www.advocate.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Pulliam, June Michele. Listen to Punk Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO, 2021. pp. 104
  6. ^ Croland, Michael (August 23, 2017). "Punk bands prove shofar isn't just for the High Holidays". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Adelman, Eliahu (October 1, 2013). "I'm Sorry, It's Yom Kippur: Atonement through Punk (and Traditional Jewish Music)". Jewish Music Research Centre – Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  8. ^ "Out and About". The Forward. December 19, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Hanukkah Events – New York Magazine – Nymag". New York Magazine. December 14, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Check Out Mr. Transman 2011". www.pride.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Schmekel: Your Friendly Neighborhood All-Jewish, All Transgender Punk Band". Jewcy. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  12. ^ https://donyc.com/events/2012/6/28/queer-as-punx-w-gltr-pnch-schmekel-daddy
  13. ^ Binding of Isaac at Otto's Shrunken Head, retrieved March 24, 2023
  14. ^ "The Brandeis Hoot – Archive » Triskelion offers safe space, educational opportunities". Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  15. ^ "Trans/gender Awareness Week 2011 | Office of LGBTQ Resources". lgbtq.yale.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  16. ^ I Heart Str8 Men (But Not 4 Sex) at SUNY Purchase Queer Music Fest, April 2011, retrieved March 24, 2023
  17. ^ Homotaschen at Hampshire College 10/20/12, retrieved March 24, 2023
  18. ^ "A Positive 'Schmound' at the Underground – The Weekly Ringer". Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Schmekel: 100% Trans Jews". transjews.com. November 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Queer House Field Night". Time Out New York. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  21. ^ "PUNK: Chaos to Couture". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  23. ^ "So Long, Schmekel". The Forward. April 1, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  24. ^ Queers on Rye, December 1, 2011, retrieved March 24, 2023
  25. ^ The Whale That Ate Jonah, October 30, 2013, retrieved March 24, 2023
  26. ^ Maupin, Armistead. The Days of Anna Madrigal. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. pp. 84–85.
  27. ^ "Fall 2015 Course Descriptions" (PDF). Hampshire College. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  28. ^ https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/schmekel-transgender-punk-band
  29. ^ Presents, The Boston Synagogue. "Concert: Zach Mayer + Itai and the Ophanim". JewishBoston. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  30. ^ Joyce, Justin (June 2, 2021). "The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon". Polygon. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  31. ^ Eanet, Lindsay (May 12, 2023). "With goblins, spellcasters and holiday heroes, board game makers are imagining new Jewish worlds". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  32. ^ "Upon retirement, Temple Israel rabbi passing torch to new spiritual leader". Greenfield Recorder. July 9, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
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