November 2011 – Dave's Gone By

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #30 (11/27/2011): Questions

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RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #30 (11/27/2011): Questions

aired Nov. 26, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By. youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODe2DzzTDMI

Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of November 27th, 2011.

A week ago, I was able to premiere my one-man, two-person show, Shalom Dammit!, an Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon, at the Norton Theater of the University of Northern Colorado. It was a magnificent experience with audiences laughing, asking questions and treating me with undisguised bitterness and hostility.

I doff my yarmulke to all the technical and creative people who helped Shalom Dammit! take the biggest leap at the university since that fat Asian kid jumped off a fraternity roof last summer. It was a tremendous amount of work, but I think the results speak not only for themselves, but for people who shouldn’t speak until they’re spoken to. It was that kind of show.

During the process of putting Shalom Dammit! together, I was asked many questions, not all of them anti-Semitic. I thought I would share some of the answers with you so that you might understand what went into this experience, which I hope to bring to New York, Miami, Sheboygan – anywhere with Jews and a sewer system.

I was asked why would I share – or inflict – this show on an audience. First of all, it was cold outside and tickets were free, so who’s complaining? Also, it is confusing being a Jew in modern America. We are tied to our family traditions and ancient values, but we are also tempted by everything from X-Box on Shabbos to the triple-X boobs on Sasha Grey. Every Jew makes his own decision as to how much to follow and how much rings hollow. My show is a glimpse into what goes into making those choices. How are modern Jewish Americans pulled towards crazy rules drawn up 400 years ago, how do we interact with our Christian, Muslim and Republican brothers; how do we get past the Holocaust without getting over the Holocaust; and how do we convince the goyim that Bernie Madoff, David Berkowitz and Paulie Shore are Jehovah’s Witnesses?

I have also been asked whether Shalom Dammit!, which includes a few naughty words and a smattering of adult content, reflects badly on my people and even fosters anti-Semitism. The answer to that charge is: I don’t have to encourage anti-Semitism; there’s enough of it without my help. If Jews feel bad about themselves, well, ambivalence and unease are part of the modern Jewish psyche. We’re never completely comfortable and never 100 percent happy. Because we don’t have the ready means of support that non-Jews can always turn to, like alcoholism and professional hockey. That said, no one watching my show will have any misconceptions about where I stand as a Zionist, a proud Jew, a secular humanist, and a victim of chronic prostate pain.

“Dear Rabbi,” writes another fan, “Do you ever get stage fright?” Absolutely. In fact, when I performed the show last Monday evening, the stage manager was shocked because I peed seven times in a half hour. And I don’t know how many times before I got onstage.

And finally, an audience member asked me whether my frank words about Christianity and Jesus might rub goyim the wrong way. I can only reply that I tell the truth as I see it, and that if Jesus Christ has a problem with it – I’m here, he can hit me with lightning, he can drop a meteor on my head, he can send me into cardiac arrest – come on, I’m waiting. If he’s really the savior, he can make a miracle, show me the error of my – Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!!! I have hangnail on my pinkie; wow, I didn’t see that before. I need to soak that.

Well, anyhoo, it is on to the next step with my show, Shalom Dammit!. If you think my hilarious evening of comedy would be right for your local theater, community center or mortuary, please get in touch. Or if you are a producer with much more money than taste, this is your chance to bring my thoughts to the thoughtless. Email me: Shalomdammit_at_aol.com, that’s shalomdammit_at_aol.com.

It doesn’t have to be Broadway. It can be like Mickey and Judy in a barn saying, “Hey, let’s put on a show! A really dark and offensive show with a lot of Yiddish in it.” But, come on, what do you expect in a barn, Jersey Boys? Greedy bastards.

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches.

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Dave’s Gone By Interview (11/26/2011): PETER SCHICKELE & Rabbi Sol Solomon

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Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews musician and PDQ Bach archivist Peter Schickele

Topics include: classical music, Schickele Mix, radio, PDQ Bach, comedy.

Segment originally aired Nov. 26, 2011 on the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Note: Interview segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast.

All content (c)2011 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com
More information on Rabbi Sol Solomon: http://www.shalomdammit.com

Dave’s Gone By #368 (11/26/2011): SCHICKELE MIX

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Here is the 368th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Nov. 26, 2011. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Host: Dave Lefkowitz
Guest: Peter Schickele

Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon chats with musicolologist Peter Schickele and offers his Rabbinical Reflection on his own stage show, Shalom Dammit!. Plus: Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (classical music), Inside Broadway, Book Reviews (Patti Smith & Bob Mould), Saturday Segue (shopping).

00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN
00:37:30 INSIDE BROADWAY – News
00:50:00 DAVE’S GONE CULTURAL – Book Reviews (Patti Smith (00:50:30) & Bob Mould (01:01:30))
01:24:00 GUESTS: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Peter Schickele
02:19:30 Sponsors
02:27:30 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (classical music)
02:53:00 Friends
03:09:00 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION on Questions about his stage show
03:14:30 DAVE GOES OUT

Nov. 26, 2011 Playlist: “Window Shopping” (00:14:30; Hank Williams). “Window Shopping” (00:17:00; Lisa Loeb). “Shopping” (00:20:00; Pet Shop Boys). “Shopping” (00:23:30; The Jam); “Shopping” (00:27:00; Barenaked Ladies). “Shoppin’ for Clothes” (00:30:00; The Coasters). “Shop Around” (00:33:00; Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). “Bonnie and Clyde” (00:40:30; Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot). “See a Little Light” (01:05:00; Bob Mould). “Fuga Meshuga” (01:21:30), “Howdy There” (from “Oedipus Tex”) (01:50:30) & “Iphigenia in Brooklyn” (02:08:00) & “Love Me” (Peter Schickele/P.D.Q. Bach; 03:16:30). “Saigon Bride” (01:36:00; Joan Baez). “Tombstone Blues” (live; 02:30:00), “Hard Times in New York Town” (Witmark demo version; 02:34:00), “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” (“No Direction Home” version; 02:36:00), “Handy Dandy” (02:42:00) & “If Dogs Run Free” (Bob Dylan; 02:46:00). “You’ve Got Possibilities” (02:55:00; Linda Lavin). “Wedding Vows” (Karon Blackwell; 03:03:30).

Rabbi Sol Solomon and David San Miguel on the set of Shalom Dammit!

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #29 (11/13/2011): Shalom Dammit! Live

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RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #29 (11/13/2011): Shalom Dammit! Live

Aired Nov. 12, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube clip: Shalom Dammit! Live

Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of November 13th, 2011.

I would like to invite you all to my show, Shalom Dammit! an Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon, which is getting a workshop production next week at the University of Northern Colorado. We call it a “workshop” production because then it doesn’t have to be any good. If it IS good, mazel tov, tell your neighbors; if it stinks, hey, it’s a workshop; we’ll fix it when we get to New York.

Shalom Dammit! is a one-man, two-person show with comedy, music and a lot of yelling. It’s my sermon on the joys and tribulations of American-Jewish life in the twenty-first century. I’ll teach the audience some words in Hebrew and Yiddish, I’ll talk about different religions and how each one is more meshuggeh than the next, I will delve into the reasons Israel has endured 60 peaceless years with her Arab neighbors, and I will touch on such touchy topics as the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, assimilation, alienation, and Barbra Streisand.

There’ll be music, courtesy of my keyboardist, David San Miguel, a nice, churchgoing boy – I know, I know, but YOU find a Jewish piano player in Greeley Colorado. And there’ll even be a question-and-answer session with members of the audience who will have a once-in-a-lunchtime opportunity to “Ask the Rabbi.” Of course, this being the great plains, I’m sure the first question will be, “What’s a Rabbi?” But we’ll cross that cross when we come to it.

And speaking of questions, you might be asking why you should bother to come see me in person if you can hear me every week on the radio? The answer is…well, I don’t really have an answer to that, but I will say tickets are free, so there’s incentive right there. Also, there’s a shape to Shalom Dammit!, an arc that takes two-plus hours to mold, contextualize and present as a unified entertainment. In other words, it’s free – so what the hell do you have to lose?

Shalom Dammit! An Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon plays November 21st and 22nd, the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, at the Norton Theater of the University of Northern Colorado. Seating is first-come, first-disturbed. On both nights doors open at 6:30 for the 7 o’clock show.

For more information, visit ShalomDammit.com. Don’t bother calling the University, they’re trying to keep as low a profile on this as they possibly can. Just come to the Norton Theater, Tenth Avenue near 19th Street, and prepare to be challenged, tickled and surprised. And that’s just by the coeds in the sororities across the street, heh heh. But don’t bring the kids! Because of language and content, my show is not suitable for children. Or anyone really, but by God, I’m doing it anyway.

Who knows? In a year or two I could be on Broadway charging $150 for tickets. I won’t get it, but I could charge it. So see my show now, November 21st and 22nd at UNC, and be Solomized.

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches. Unwrap your candies now.

Dave’s Gone By #367 (11/12/2011): HELLO DERE

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Here is the 367th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Nov. 12, 2011. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Host: Dave Lefkowitz

Guest: Marty Allen

Featuring: Dave chats with veteran comedian Marty Allen. Plus: Inside Broadway (Man & Boy), Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection (on Shalom Dammit! live), Saturday Segue (coaches) & Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (covers).

Note: Marty Allen passed Feb. 12, 2018.

00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN
00:35:00 INSIDE BROADWAY (news (00:35:00); Man and Boy (00:54:00)
01:11:00 GUEST: Marty Allen
01:55:00 Sponsors
02:04:30 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later: covers
02:45:30 Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection on Shalom Dammit! live
02:51:00 Dave Goes Off – A Sound Opinion on Tom Waits
03:04:00 Friends
03:09:00 DAVE GOES OUT

Nov. 12, 2011 Playlist: “Coney Island Baby” (00:13:30; Lou Reed); “There’s a Coach Comin’ In” (00:20:00; Paint Your Wagon 1951 Broadway cast); “Mystery Train” (00:22:00; Neil Young); “Earache My Eye” (00:24:30; Alice Bowie/Cheech & Chong); “Centerfield” (00:27:00; John Fogarty); “Venus in Furs” (00:48:00; Velvet Underground); “The Punch-Drunk Fighter” (01:07:30) & “The Golf Pro/Let’s Face the Music and Dance” (01:49:00; Allen & Rossi); “Love is a Four Letter Word” (02:07:30; Joan Baez); “Seven Days” (02:12:00; Ron Wood); “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” (Cat Power; 02:17:00); “Can’t Leave Her Behind” (stephen Malkmus & Lee Ranaldo; 02:24:00); “What Good Am I” (02:26:00; Barb Jungr); “Chimes of Freedom” (02:30:00; The Byrds); “I’m Still Here” (02:49:30; Tom Waits).

Frank Langella & Adam Driver in Man and Boy

Dave’s Gone By Interview (11/12/2011): MARTY ALLEN

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Dave Lefkowitz interviews comedian Marty Allen

Topics include: comedy, Allen & Rossi

Segment originally aired Nov. 12, 2011 on the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Sad Note: Our Friend of the Daverhood, Marty Allen, passed Feb. 12, 2018 at age 95.

All content (c)2011 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #28 (11/6/2011): Kardashian Divorce

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RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #28 (11/6/2011): Kardashian Divorce

Aired Nov. 5, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube clip: Kardashian Divorce

Shalom Dammit, this is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of November 6th, 2011.

It is not just the weather that is turning cold, my friends. News broke this week that celebrity model and spokesperson Kim Kardashian will be divorcing her basketball-player husband, Kris Humphries, after being married exactly 72 days.

Now, I could comment about the evanescent nature of celebrity marriages, or make easy, late-night jokes about the carnage of the Kardashians’ cartoon carnality-turned-carnival, or I could point out the danger of letting surface attractions overwhelm deeper concerns, or I could rue the cluelessness of a society that elevates a woman of no discernible talent or accomplishment to the level of television royalty, or I could chastise the venality of media – which debases a spiritual human event into an orgy of marketing, advertising and self-absorption, or I could simply say, I told you so, because we all could have told her so.

But really, the point I most want to make about the Kim Kardashian divorce is…

Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

I don’t care…do you care? You shouldn’t care. Who cares?

Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

(to the tune of Adon Olam) Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

Everyone, get a life! Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares?

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches.

Dave’s Gone By Interview (11/5/2011): PHYLLIS NEWMAN

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Dave Lefkowitz interviews actress Phyllis Newman

Topics include: Adolph Green, Subways are for Sleeping, Bells are Ringing, theater, Broadway.

Segment originally aired Nov. 5, 2011 on the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

All content (c)2011 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Interview (11/5/2011): WYLIE GELBER of Dawes

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Dave Lefkowitz interviews Dawes band bass player Wylie Gelber

Topics include: Dawes, music.

Segment originally aired Nov. 5, 2011 on the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

All content (c)2011 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By #366 (11/5/2011): OPENING DAWES

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Here is the 366th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Nov. 5, 2011. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Host: Dave Lefkowitz

Guests: actress Phyllis Newman & Dawes bassist Wylie Gelber

Featuring: Dave chats with two-time Tony-winning actress Phyllis Newman and with Wylie Gelber, bass player for the roots band, Dawes Plus: Inside Broadway (reviews of The Judy Show & Voca People), Saturday Segue (time changes), Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (times a-changin’), and Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection on the Kardashian divorce.

Note: An audio glitch glitch towards the one-hour mark rendered about five minutes of the program unrecorded but did not affect the rest of the broadcast or audio archiving.

Note: Phyllis Newman passed Sept. 15, 2019.

00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN
00:08:00 Dave on Dawes
00:25:30 DAVE GOES OFF on Daylight Savings Time
00:29:00 SATURDAY SEGUE: time changes
00:53:30 GUEST: Phyllis Newman
01:19:00 AD: Shalom Dammit – An Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon
01:21:00 INSIDE BROADWAY (news (01:21:30), The Judy Show (01:27:00) & Voca People (01:30:00)
01:49:00 GUEST: Wylie Gelber
02:20:00 Sponsors
02:23:30 Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection on the Kardashian divorce
02:27:00 Friends
02:32:00 Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (times a-Changin’)
02:46:00 DAVE GOES OUT w/ Joyce Weil

Nov. 5, 2011 Playlist: “My Girl to Me” (00:16:00), “Time Spent in Los Angeles” (01:37:00), “The Way You Laugh” (01:41:30), “Come Back to a Man” (01:45:00), “How Far We’ve Come” (02:13:30) & “When My Time Comes” (02:54:00; Dawes); “Time to Ring Some Changes” (live) (00:29:30; Richard Thompson); “Turning Time Around” (00:32:30; Lou Reed); “Beat the Time” (Edie Brickell & New Bohemians; 00:37:00); “Time Precious Time” (00:40:00; Lindsey BUckingham); “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” (00:44:00; Eva Cassidy); “What’s New at the Zoo” (00:50:00; Do Re Mi 1999 off-Broadway cast); “Casual” (01:16:00; Julius LaRose & Phyllis Newman); “Black Crow Blues” (02:32:30), “Where are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)” (02:35:00) & “Highlands” (excerpt, 02:42:00; Bob Dylan).