The Shondes
Encyclopedia
The Shondes are an indie punk band from Brooklyn, NY, best known for their brand of pop-rock, featuring Jewish influences and radical political messages, and for organizing and performing at benefit events for organizations such as Birthright Unplugged
, Jews Against the Occupation, and The Sylvia Rivera Law Project
.
Demo 2 -- March 2007
The Red Sea—self-released—January 10, 2008
My Dear One—Fanatic Records—May 8, 2010
Searchlights— Exotic Fever Records— September 20, 2011
's former band, The Syndicate broke up. They recruited guitarist Ian Brannigan, a friend they had met while the three attended The New School
in Greenwich Village
as undergraduates, and drummer Temim Fruchter
whom the three are said to have met while protesting the Republican National Convention
in 2004. They have shared the stage with Electrelane
, Rasputina
, MEN, Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria
) Franz Nicolay
(The Hold Steady
), Mary Timony
(Helium
, Wild Flag
), Erase Errata
, Amy Ray
(The Indigo Girls), Joe Lally
(Fugazi), Mecca Normal
, Bonfire Madigan, Party Line
, Lesbians on Ecstasy
, and more. The band has performed at festivals including CMJ Music Festival in New York City
, South By Southwest
in Austin, TX, North By Northeast
in Toronto, ON and others.
Two demo EPs were distributed on national tours in summer 2006 and spring 2007 and at South By Southwest
in 2007.
The Shondes self-released their debut LP The Red Sea on January 8, 2008. It was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn and produced by Tony Maimone
of Pere Ubu
and They Might Be Giants
. The album features guest appearances by Brian Dewan
on keyboards and was met with positive reviews.
In the fall of 2008, the band embarked on a nationwide tour in support of The Red Sea. Their emotional and energetic live set caused one critic to comment that "On paper, this band sounds like a train wreck, but in real life they are completely arresting....Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with riot grrrl piss and vinegar onstage...A lot of valid arguments have been made against overtly mixing politics and music — it takes the focus off important things like rhythm or, worse, excuses a band’s lack of talent or imagination. But those arguments don’t apply to bands whose politics become inseparable from the emotive quality of their sound."
In December 2008 Brannigan was replaced by new guitarist Fureigh. The new lineup made its debut at JDub Records
' annual "Jewltide" Christmas Eve party at Southpaw in Brooklyn
.
At the beginning of May 2010, the Shondes released their second album My Dear One on Fanatic Records. The band toured nationally to support the album, beginning at South By Southwest
in March 2010, though June 2010, receiving favorable critical response along the way.
In Fall 2010, The Shondes announced that their violinist, Elijah Oberman, had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. This resulted in the cancellation of a 7-week European tour. In early 2011, the band announced plans to move forward with performances at SXSW 2011, recording a new album (Searchlights, to be released in Fall 2011), and tour plans following the new record's release.
In August 2011, The Shondes announced that they had parted ways with Fanatic Records and would be releasing Searchlights on Exotic Fever Records on September 20, 2011. They toured nationally throughout September and October of that year, and ended the tour with a performance at a CMJ showcase in Brooklyn
.
said that The Shondes' mix of confrontational political punk and Jewish music created "a powerful new sound" and included Fruchter as one of "the Heeb 100" in 2007, while the magazine's blog asserted that in the contemporary Jewish music scene "it is quite possible that the Shondes are making the only music that truly matters" and called The Red Sea "the most anticipated Jewish record of the year." In June 2010, The Shondes were included in The Big Jewcy
.
The Red Sea features the song "I Watched the Temple Fall", one of the first songs the band wrote together, which arose from conversations about the meaning of the Jewish holiday Tisha B'Av
. The members of the band work with the New York City
activist group Jews Against the Occupation, an organization "advocating peace through justice for Palestine
and Israel
." Almost since its inception, the band has stirred controversy for the members' outspoken radical politics, particularly those centered around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
.
-The Village Voice
“Miami,” which starts off with Solomon angrily demanding, “Did you leave me on Venice Beach?” over rumbling drums, is about a very specific breakup, but — like all great songs — it could be about anyone being abandoned, anywhere. They are a Jewish band, and they’re playing klezmer modalities and time signatures, but you could not know any of that and still think the song you’re listening to is the best song you’ve heard in years.
-The Forward
Complex song structures intertwined with direct, inquisitive lyrics...It's haunting and it's eerie, yet it's rousing. The Shondes are a twisted carnival film noir
come true. —CMJ
"The Red Sea," is a visceral work...their moody songs are redolent of a time in the early '80s when punk fractured into something more tuneful and complex...a political band whose music is as strong as its message is a rare treat. -The Chicago Tribune
Riot grrrl radicalism wed to classically structured songs, distortion pedals, clashing vocals, and powerful lyrics. -The Village Voice
Ready for an indie break out....radical politics, inspired riffs, textured harmonies and pure sex appeal. -Curve Magazine
This is a band that rocks as if they just don't give a fuck but has crafted their art in a manner that shows they clearly do. -Earfarm
Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with Riot Grrrl
piss + vinegar... —Venus
Much critical response has focused on the unique performance style of each member. Louisa Rachel Solomon
had been called "a front-woman to fear and fall in love with." A reviewer at The Shondes' Atlanta stop on their 2008 Fall tour commented that Solomon "charged at the mic as if to push the song forward with her body." The same reviewer said that Elijah Oberman "played...violin with such physicality that he sometimes crumpled almost to the ground around his instrument." Another reviewer commented that "Elijah Oberman has that rare mastery of post-punk violin playing that only seems to come along once in a generation."
Birthright Unplugged
Birthright Unplugged was designed as a response to the popular Birthright Israel trips.The name "Birthright Unplugged" is a spin on the Birthright Israel program, whose name and organization are founded upon the idea that Jews have the right to visit the Holy Land...
, Jews Against the Occupation, and The Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project is a legal aid organization based in New York City that serves transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people. The organization was formed in August 2002 by attorney and transgender civil rights activist, Dean Spade...
.
Discography
Demo 1 -- July 2006Demo 2 -- March 2007
The Red Sea—self-released—January 10, 2008
My Dear One—Fanatic Records—May 8, 2010
Searchlights— Exotic Fever Records— September 20, 2011
History
The Shondes formed in early 2006 after violinist Elijah Oberman and bassist Louisa Rachel SolomonLouisa Rachel Solomon
Louisa Rachel Solomon is the lead singer of The Shondes, an indie punk band from Brooklyn, NY. Solomon is outspoken about being a Jewish musician and opposing the occupation of Palestine...
's former band, The Syndicate broke up. They recruited guitarist Ian Brannigan, a friend they had met while the three attended The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
as undergraduates, and drummer Temim Fruchter
Temim Fruchter
Temim Fruchter is the drummer in The Shondes, an indie punk band from Brooklyn, NY. Fruchter is outspoken about being an Orthodox-raised Jewish musician and opposing the occupation of Palestine. In 2007, Heeb Magazine listed Fruchter as one of the Heeb 100....
whom the three are said to have met while protesting the Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
in 2004. They have shared the stage with Electrelane
Electrelane
Electrelane are a British all-female indie rock band, formed in Brighton in 1998 by Verity Susman and Emma Gaze. The band comprised Susman, Gaze, Mia Clarke, and Ros Murray. Their music draws from wide range of influences including Neu!, Stereolab, Sonic Youth, and The Velvet Underground...
, Rasputina
Rasputina
Rasputina is a cello-driven band based in New York that is renowned for their unconventional and quirky music style as well as their fascination with historical allegories and fashion, especially those pertaining to the Victorian era....
, MEN, Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria was an indie rock/emo band originally from Madison, Wisconsin, later residing in Brooklyn, New York. Named after the German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke, they formed in the late summer of 1995 and released five full length albums, a live DVD, numerous live recordings, and EPs...
) Franz Nicolay
Franz Nicolay
Franz Nicolay is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is perhaps best known for playing the accordion and the piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and playing keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010...
(The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
), Mary Timony
Mary Timony
Mary B. Timony is an American independent singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and violist. She was a member of the bands Helium and Autoclave, and currently plays in Wild Flag.-Biography:...
(Helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
, Wild Flag
Wild Flag
Wild Flag is an American four-piece group based in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.. The group consists of Carrie Brownstein , Mary Timony , Rebecca Cole and Janet Weiss...
), Erase Errata
Erase Errata
Erase Errata is a band from San Francisco, California. They often name experimentalists such as Captain Beefheart, The Fall, and the Minutemen as inspirations...
, Amy Ray
Amy Ray
Amy Elizabeth Ray is an American singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released four albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemon Records....
(The Indigo Girls), Joe Lally
Joe Lally
Joe Lally is a bass guitar player, vocalist and label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.-Fugazi:...
(Fugazi), Mecca Normal
Mecca Normal
Formed by Jean Smith and David Lester in 1984, Mecca Normal is a two-piece indie rock band from Vancouver, Canada. Smith writes lyrics and sings in a style that is often confrontational and laced with feminist themes; Lester's melodic yet dissonant guitar swirls and loops around her vocals...
, Bonfire Madigan, Party Line
Party line
The phrase party line may refer to:*Party line , an informal term for the agenda of a political party*Party line , a system where multiple telephone customers are connected to the same phone line...
, Lesbians on Ecstasy
Lesbians on Ecstasy
Lesbians on Ecstasy is an electronic band from Montreal, Quebec.The band toured across Canada and the U.S. with Le Tigre before the release of their first recording.The first album, the self-titled Lesbians on Ecstasy was released on October 26, 2004...
, and more. The band has performed at festivals including CMJ Music Festival in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in Austin, TX, North By Northeast
North by Northeast
North by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....
in Toronto, ON and others.
Two demo EPs were distributed on national tours in summer 2006 and spring 2007 and at South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in 2007.
The Shondes self-released their debut LP The Red Sea on January 8, 2008. It was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn and produced by Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone
Tony Maimone is a bass player, producer, and engineer who lives in Brooklyn, New York.He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss...
of Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
and They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
. The album features guest appearances by Brian Dewan
Brian Dewan
Brian Dewan is an artist who works in many media, including art, music, audio-visual performances, decorative painting, furniture design, poetry and musical instrument design. He has produced three albums of songs and concertized extensively as a solo artist, as well as having performed in various...
on keyboards and was met with positive reviews.
In the fall of 2008, the band embarked on a nationwide tour in support of The Red Sea. Their emotional and energetic live set caused one critic to comment that "On paper, this band sounds like a train wreck, but in real life they are completely arresting....Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with riot grrrl piss and vinegar onstage...A lot of valid arguments have been made against overtly mixing politics and music — it takes the focus off important things like rhythm or, worse, excuses a band’s lack of talent or imagination. But those arguments don’t apply to bands whose politics become inseparable from the emotive quality of their sound."
In December 2008 Brannigan was replaced by new guitarist Fureigh. The new lineup made its debut at JDub Records
JDub Records
JDub Records is a non-profit record and event production company striving to build community through new and innovative Jewish music and cross cultural musical dialogue.-History:...
' annual "Jewltide" Christmas Eve party at Southpaw in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
At the beginning of May 2010, the Shondes released their second album My Dear One on Fanatic Records. The band toured nationally to support the album, beginning at South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in March 2010, though June 2010, receiving favorable critical response along the way.
In Fall 2010, The Shondes announced that their violinist, Elijah Oberman, had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. This resulted in the cancellation of a 7-week European tour. In early 2011, the band announced plans to move forward with performances at SXSW 2011, recording a new album (Searchlights, to be released in Fall 2011), and tour plans following the new record's release.
In August 2011, The Shondes announced that they had parted ways with Fanatic Records and would be releasing Searchlights on Exotic Fever Records on September 20, 2011. They toured nationally throughout September and October of that year, and ended the tour with a performance at a CMJ showcase in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
Influence of Judaism
Of My Dear One, The Jewish Forward said: "They are a Jewish band, and they’re playing klezmer modalities and time signatures, but you could not know any of that and still think the song you’re listening to is the best song you’ve heard in years." Heeb MagazineHeeb Magazine
Heeb was a Jewish magazine aimed predominantly at young Jews. The name of the magazine is a variation of the ethnic slur "hebe", an abbreviation of Hebrew. However, in this case, the word "heeb" seeks to function as empowerment for the Jewish community, thus eliminating the hatred associated with...
said that The Shondes' mix of confrontational political punk and Jewish music created "a powerful new sound" and included Fruchter as one of "the Heeb 100" in 2007, while the magazine's blog asserted that in the contemporary Jewish music scene "it is quite possible that the Shondes are making the only music that truly matters" and called The Red Sea "the most anticipated Jewish record of the year." In June 2010, The Shondes were included in The Big Jewcy
Jewcy
Jewcy is an online magazine and user community. The site was launched on November 15, 2006. The Guardian has described Jewcy as "a cultural icon" and "at the forefront of a reinvention of Jewish identity by young US Jews."...
.
The Red Sea features the song "I Watched the Temple Fall", one of the first songs the band wrote together, which arose from conversations about the meaning of the Jewish holiday Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
. The members of the band work with the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
activist group Jews Against the Occupation, an organization "advocating peace through justice for Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
." Almost since its inception, the band has stirred controversy for the members' outspoken radical politics, particularly those centered around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
.
Critical response
The Shondes make bold, brassy lonely-heart rock with the snarl and swoon of classic '90s Northwestern indie—all riot grrl bluster, K Records sentimentality, and a keening, wailing violin that's more Nirvana Unplugged than Raincoats unhinged....Separating themselves from Sleater-come-latelys, the Shondes have a little bit of steampunky clatter underneath their crunching riffs and a keen ear towards the Jewish music that raised each of its four members.-The Village Voice
“Miami,” which starts off with Solomon angrily demanding, “Did you leave me on Venice Beach?” over rumbling drums, is about a very specific breakup, but — like all great songs — it could be about anyone being abandoned, anywhere. They are a Jewish band, and they’re playing klezmer modalities and time signatures, but you could not know any of that and still think the song you’re listening to is the best song you’ve heard in years.
-The Forward
Complex song structures intertwined with direct, inquisitive lyrics...It's haunting and it's eerie, yet it's rousing. The Shondes are a twisted carnival film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
come true. —CMJ
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
"The Red Sea," is a visceral work...their moody songs are redolent of a time in the early '80s when punk fractured into something more tuneful and complex...a political band whose music is as strong as its message is a rare treat. -The Chicago Tribune
Riot grrrl radicalism wed to classically structured songs, distortion pedals, clashing vocals, and powerful lyrics. -The Village Voice
Ready for an indie break out....radical politics, inspired riffs, textured harmonies and pure sex appeal. -Curve Magazine
This is a band that rocks as if they just don't give a fuck but has crafted their art in a manner that shows they clearly do. -Earfarm
Old-world romance elegantly intertwined with Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
piss + vinegar... —Venus
Much critical response has focused on the unique performance style of each member. Louisa Rachel Solomon
Louisa Rachel Solomon
Louisa Rachel Solomon is the lead singer of The Shondes, an indie punk band from Brooklyn, NY. Solomon is outspoken about being a Jewish musician and opposing the occupation of Palestine...
had been called "a front-woman to fear and fall in love with." A reviewer at The Shondes' Atlanta stop on their 2008 Fall tour commented that Solomon "charged at the mic as if to push the song forward with her body." The same reviewer said that Elijah Oberman "played...violin with such physicality that he sometimes crumpled almost to the ground around his instrument." Another reviewer commented that "Elijah Oberman has that rare mastery of post-punk violin playing that only seems to come along once in a generation."
External links
- Official Website
- The Shondes on Facebook
- [ The Shondes] on Allmusic
- The Shondes on ReverbNation.comReverbNation.comReverbNation.com is a web site, launched in 2006, that focuses on the independent music industry. It aims to provide a central site for musicians, producers, and venues to collaborate and communicate.-Innovations:...