Here is the 395th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Sept. 29, 2012. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Featuring: Dave chats with Oscar-nominated songwriter Al Kasha. Plus: Inside Broadway, Dave Says Bye to Andy Williams, Saturday Segue (teef), Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection (subway savagery), Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (Time in Mind).
Host: Dave Lefkowitz
Guest: songwriter Al Kasha, Dave’s wife Joyce
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN 00:35:30 INSIDE BROADWAY – News 00:54:30 Sponsors 01:03:30 SATURDAY SEGUE – Teef 01:46:30 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’s RABBINICAL REFLECTION – Subway Savagery 01:54:00 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (time in mind) 02:17:30 GUEST: Al Kasha 02:58:30 Weather & Friends 03:03:30 Reminiscing with Joyce 03:11:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Sept. 29, 2012 Playlist: “Butterfly” (00:11:30), “The Days of Wine and Roses” (00:14:00), “Lonely Street” (00:16:30), “Moon River” (00:19:00), “In the Arms of Love” (00:22:00), “Speak Softly Love” (00:25:00) & “Can’t Get Used to Losing You” (00:28:00; Andy Williams). “Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair” (Barbra Streisand; 00:49:30). “New Teeth” (01:12:30; Robert Klein), “Teeth” (01:21:30; Kristin Hersh). “Give Me Novocaine” (Green Day; 01:25:30); “Novacane” (Beck; 01:29:00). “Dentists” (01:33:30; Bill Cosby). “The Tooth Fairy and the Princess” (01:41:00; Husker Du). “Love Sick” (01:56:30), “Trying to Get to Heaven Before they Close the Door” (02:02:00), “Make You Feel My Love” (02:07:00), “Not Dark Yet” (02:10:30; Bob Dylan). “We May Never Love Like This Again” (02:16:00) & “The Morning After” (02:55:30; Maureen McGovern).
Al KashaAndy Williamsteef in a moufRabbi Sol Solomon
Dave Lefkowitz chats with Oscar-winning songwriter Al Kasha.
Topics include: The Brill Building, The Towering Inferno, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Segment originally aired Sept. 29, 2012 on the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.
Sad Note: Our friend of the Daverhood, Al Kasha, passed Sept. 14, 2020.
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)2012 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com More information on Rabbi Sol Solomon: http://www.shalomdammit.com
RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #44 (9/23/2012): Atonement
Aired September 22, 2012 on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0N1WRgt1zc
Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of September 23rd, 2012.
Repent! Repent! The end of the world is nigh! Repent!
Just screwing with you. We’ll be around for awhile longer, but it’s always good to take one day out of the year and apologize for all the crap we pull every other day of the year.
Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is not a get-out-of-gehenna-free card. You don’t confess and magically find yourself absolved and awarded with a Starbucks Gold Card. Like it or not, you are still the same schmucky you. But at least you have taken a few hours to reflect upon your weaknesses, to wonder whom you might have hurt, and to ask God to take a little pity and keep you in the book of life for one more year.
Notice, I put God on the tail end of that sentence. That is no disrespect to you-know-who. And by you-know-who, I mean God. That’s why I said “you know who” `cause I just mentioned him by name, so you’d know who – he’d be fresh in your mind. If I’d meant Buddah, that would have been a surprise, you would not have known who. Or former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman – that would have really come out of left field, you couldn’t possibly have guessed who. Unless you were God, who knows everything. He would know who. And in this case, it would be He. Horton would hear a who, but he wouldn’t know which who he heard. Unless God told him. He would say, “Horton, you’re hearing me. Now go hatch an egg. And tell Maisie she needs to atone.”
Which brings me back to my original point: the day of atonement is for people. We pray to God, we ask God’s forgiveness, we repent our sins. But we do this, not just to assuage the rage of a disappointed God, but to become better people. To realize that our actions have consequences that affect everyone around us. If we lie, if we cheat, if we buy retail, we create unhappiness in other people. Sure, most of them deserve it, but that’s not our call to make.
If you shoplift a dress from Ann Taylor, does HaShem care? Maybe, maybe not – he’s busy. But the security guard in the store who’s paid to watch the merchandise: he cares. The employees who make lower wages because lost income affects the bottom line – they care. The family members who see you in that dress at the holidays – they don’t care; they don’t even know it’s stolen. But they still call you a slut because the dress is too small and the color kind of whorish.
Unlike the Catholics, Jews atone, not because of our fear of the next world, but out of love and respect for the people in this one. Yes, in the Kol Nidre prayer, we ask God’s pardon from promises we couldn’t keep, and yes, we don’t eat for 24 hours – which for Jews is a torture worse than being trapped in an elevator with the Dance Moms. Far be it from me to say that Jews shouldn’t afraid of going to hell – or worse, West Hempstead, but as Jean Paul Sartre proved: hell can be other people. This is the planet we’re on for however long we’re on it, so if we are forced to think twice about how we treat our fellow travelers, maybe they will do the same for us. And that makes a better planet for everybody.
So this Yom Kipper, when it’s 4:30 in the afternoon, and you’re tired, and you’re grumpy, and your breath smells like something that malformed in Jerry Stiller’s tuchas, remember that you’re there to do better, to be better, or at least to try harder.
This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York. Lather, rinse, repent.
Here is the 394th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Sept. 22, 2012. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Featuring: Dave chats with legendary radio deejay Carol Miller;Rabbi Sol Solomon chats with author Stephen Schochet (“Hollywood Stories”); Inside Broadway; Saturday Segue (atonement); Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (like in “Rolling Stone”); Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection (atonement).
Host: Dave Lefkowitz
Guests: deejay Carol Miller, author Stephen Schochet
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN 00:10:00 SATURDAY SEGUE: Atonement 00:29:30 GUESTS: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Stephen Schochet 01:21:00 Sponsors 01:33:30 GUEST: Carol Miller 02:24:30 INSIDE BROADWAY (news) 02:38:00 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION: #44: Atonement 02:45:00 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (atonement) 03:14:00 Friends 03:17:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Sept. 22, 2012 Playlist: “I’m Sorry” (00:10:30; Brenda Lee). “Apologize” (00:13:00; Peter, Paul & Mary). “All Apologies” (live acoustic; 00:15:30; Nirvana). “Who’s Sorry Now?” (00:19:30; Shooby Taylor). “Atonement” (00:21:30; Lucinda Williams). “Celluloid Heroes” (00:27:30; The Kinks). “Fame” (live “Stage” version; 01:14:00; David Bowie). “WPLJ Medley” (01:28:00; Pat St. John). “Oh Carol” (02:21:30; Neil Sedaka). “Summertime (Reprise)” (02:31:00; Porgy and Bess2011 Broadway cast w/ Audra McDonald). “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (live “Before the Flood” version; 02:46:00; Bob Dylan & the Band). “Delia” (02:49:30), “Roll On John” (1962 version; 02:55:00), (03:06:00; Bob Dylan). “My Sweetheart” (WPLJ Theme) (Focus).
Rabbi Sol Solomon chats with author and Hollywood expert Stephen Schochet.
Topics include: Hollywood stories, film, movie stars.
Segment originally aired Sept. 22, 2012 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)2012 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com More information on Rabbi Sol Solomon: http://www.shalomdammit.com
Dave Lefkowitz chats with veteran New York radio host Carol Miller.
Topics include: commercial radio, WPLJ.
Segment originally aired Sept. 22, 2012 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)2012 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com
RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #42 (6/10/2012): 2012 Tony Awards
Aired June 9, on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SvBP6aCB8o
Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a special Rabbinical Reflection on the 2012 Tony Awards.
You know, I look at the 2011-2012 Broadway season, its mix of classic revivals, ultra-modern musical imagery, fabulous roles for strong women, the return of Disney, intelligent and socially conscious new plays – what an array! And yet, I can’t help thinking . . . what’s with all the goyim?
I mean, of course, there are Jews everywhere; this is Broadway. Without Jews and faigeles, West 45th Street would just be Starbucks, Duane Reade, McDonalds, a bigger Starbucks, a pretzel stand and a third Starbucks on the corner. And you’ll see Jewish names connected to a host of Tony nominations, from the Gershwins and Sondheim to actors Danny Burstein and Judy Kaye and Lifetime Achievement winner Manny Azenberg. He should win a special Tony just because he never changed his name to Manfred Azalia III.
So it’s not as if this a Jew-free jubilee. Still, I’m seeing way too much Jesus this particular Broadway season. First of all there’s Jesus Christ Superstar, with all the Jews going, `Crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.’ I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not my idea of entertainment. And as if one Jesus Christ musical weren’t enough, there’s also a revival of Godspell, written by a Jew, no less. Whatsamatter, Stephen Schwartz? Moses not good enough for ya? Abraham? Isaac? The prophet Zephaniah? Use a little imagination. I realize Andrew Lloyd Webber already took Joseph, and you can’t do Sampson and Delilah because there’s already a musical called “Hair,” but still . . .
Other faiths are well represented on Broadway: Sister Act has nuns, The Book of Mormon has Latter Day Saints, Leap of Faith had evangelicals, Wicked has witches. So why are we left out? Where’s the marquee that reads, “Now Playing: `Pushy Complainers’?”
Where are the Jewish in this year’s Tony-nominated shows, hah? You won’t find `em in Once, about an Irish folksinger and a Czechoslovakian. It’s got that big song “Falling Slowly.” (sings) “Falling slowly, falling slowly” – Jews don’t fall slowly; we fall straight down and break a hip.
There’s Newsies, the Disney show about striking newspaper boys. You’d think a musical about New York unions would be full of socialist Yids. But no. They have one major character, Davey, who’s so obviously Jewish, they might as well put him in a fur hat and call him Shichmichail. He’s thoughtful, he’s intelligent, he’s passive-aggressive and something of a pussy. But do they mention his religion at all? No, all traces of Eastern Europe have been magically erased from this secondary role.
Same thing in Death of a Salesman! Arthur Miller – Jew. Director Mike Nichols – Jew. Willy Loman – ehhhh.. nondescript American. Unspecified racial heritage. You know, Dustin Hoffman may not have been the best Broadway Loman, but at least his Willy had a circumcised willie. And what about the next door neighbors: Charley and his son Bernard. No religious affiliation? No menorah in the back window even? Bernard is a friggin’ lawyer! Broadway, what are you hiding? Let Jews be Jews.
Where are the Jews in the other shows? You got the musical Lysistrata Jones which is all about great athletes. Obviously, no Jews there. Evita, about Argentinians – and we all know who moved there after the war. Frank Wildhorn, a landsman, he wrote a musical, Bonnie and Clyde. Okay, we don’t want them to be Jewish. But One Man, Two Guvnors? I’d rather see “Two Jews, Four Opinions.”
Oh sure, Jews are alluded to in other shows. Venus in Fur – anything with fur, you’re basically talking my people. Porgy and Bess has a character called “Crown,” which reminds us of all the fine Jewish dentists. Stick Fly, which is pretty much what a mohel does. And lest we forget, Spider-Man, which took eight months to open. Kind of like a Jewish girl’s legs.
I’m not saying every show has to be Fiddler on the Roof or The Zulu and the Zayde, but let’s not forget, or forghettoize, the tribe of people without whom Broadway could hardly exist in its present form. Apart from the hilariously dysfunctional Jewish family in The Lyons, overtly Jewish characters are strangely and sadly absent from this season’s Broadway contenders.
Of course, off-Broadway, I did my own show, Shalom Dammit! An Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon, which is hilarious and brilliant and coming back to New York in August. For more information, visit shalomdammit.com. And there’s currently a show in New York called “Old Jews Telling Jokes.” I think that’s wonderful. I just hope it doesn’t move to Broadway and star Mel Gibson, John Galliano, Louis Farrakhan and Spike Lee.
Anyway, I would like to close my little benediction by congratulating not just the Tony nominees but all the fine people who do great work on and off-Broadway, whether recognized or not. Maybe a kindly usher, a stage manager who can be a zillion places at once, a conductor with magnificent finesse. They all contribute to that moment when the curtain parts and steals our hearts. Bravo and mazel tov.
(c)2012 TotalTheater. All rights reserved.
This has been a theatrical Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York.
RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #43 (9/9/2012): New Reviews
Aired September 9, 2012 on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoX71_XOpKQ&feature=youtu.be
Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of September 9, 2012.
You know, I worried when I was bringing my show, Shalom Dammit!, back to New York, that off-off-Broadway would not be ready for me, that I would slink away with my tuchas between my legs, older, sadder and wiser.
Well, I am older and sadder, but not wiser! I had a wonderful time doing my show at the Roy Arias Theater Center for two weeks last month. We did 18 shows – chai! – and we had the perfect mix of audiences: young people who thought they were seeing Seinfeld, old people who thought they were at Yom Kippur services, and middle-aged people who paid bupkis for their tickets, fell asleep, then went home at intermission to watch “Ice Road Truckers.”
But somewhere in there, we had people who got it. Audiences who laughed and clapped, or laughed and had the clap, or simply rode the wave of comedy, anger and education that is Shalom Dammit! An Evening with Me. Best of all, the critics were nearly unanimous in their accolades. I may not know much, but I do know that when critics hand you accolades, you make accolemonade.
These are just some quotes from real theater critics in their reviews of my show. “A stimulating and exhilarating experience!” Roy Sander, BistroAwards.com. Oh wait, he was talking about his new shower head.
Irene Backalenick, 90-year-old theater critic for Jewish-Theatre.com, wrote: “Shalom Dammit! calls to mind the more political, biting commentators of another ilk. We think of Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Mason, Jerry Seinfeld!” Wow! Of course, she left out Pigmeat Markham, but nobody’s perfect.
Ed Malin, of New York Theater.com called me “humorously self-loathing,” which is only half right: I loathe everybody. But he also said, “If you are looking to laugh at yourself a little, and others a lot more, this would be a good show to attend.” Well, who isn’t looking to laugh at others? Republicans, lawyers, people with lupus – they all come in for their share of giggles.
And how about this from “Two on the Aisle” TV host, Leslie (Hoban) Blake: “Wildly funny and intentionally abrasive – think Tom Lehrer.” Whoa, Tom Lehrer! Leslie, I am not worthy, I am not worthy, I am – okay, I’m a little worthy, but to compare me to the greatest comedy songwriter since Rod McKuen – if you count intentional and unintentional – I can only bow my head very low and say, “hmm . . . what the hell is that on my shoes?”
Now, not everyone is a fan. Some people were offended. Especially the fat ones. Some people didn’t like my poking fun of the absurdity of all religions. Some folks objected to my calling Arab leaders vicious, dishonest, magic-carpet-riding, Satan-worshipping terrorists. Actually, nobody objected to that, but still. . . there were grumbles. Joel Benjamin of TheaterScene.net wrote, quote, “Rabbi Sol Solomon makes many valiant points that are completely on the mark, but his need to shock with profanity, body-function humor and sexual innuendo undermine him.” Sexual innuendo? Moi? I have a bone to pick with you, Joel Benjamin. I can’t believe you’re being so hard on me. I just think you’re being a dick-ensian prude. Penis.
But seriously, Mr. Benjamin goes on to suggest that, quote, “One less poop joke and a lighter touch would have served his mission better.” Okay, which one? It’s like Mozart with too many notes. Which poop joke hits the fan? The one about the pile of poop in a field? The one about my gastroenteritis? The one about getting explosive Taco Bell diarrhea last night? No, wait, that wasn’t a joke, I was still wiping this morning.
Mr. Benjamin, with all due respect, I feed on poop! Contrary to Mary Poppins’s diagnosis that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, I say a bucketful of shit helps people laugh, forces them to exhale and not be so uptight, and then allows me to bring my message to the masses, and my mass to the messes. If I want you to pay attention, I’m gonna use exactly the words and the phrases that will make you take notice – even if it means lobbing Yiddishisms, bad puns, and even scatology. After all, I’m not a Scath-olic.
But to his credit, even Mr. Benjamin notes that I have a “genuine spark,” an untameable whirlwind of passion. Which would shock the hell out of my wife, let me tell ya. So I thank him and all the critics and audiences who came to my show and let me practice my special brand of Judaism on them.
You’ll be happy to know I am in the process of re-shaping the show into a one-act – so no one can escape at intermission – and to make Shalom Dammit! even better for touring and bringing back to Manhattan. I will leave my last words to the theater journalist and author Iris Dorbian, who called my show, “uproariously funny. Will make your sides split with laughter while making you think. A rare combo!” Actually, that happens anytime I watch Fox News, but I’m still grateful for your compliments, your attendance, your applause, and your money. Just in case you forgot I was Jewish: thank you, paying customers, for your money.
–> https://davesgoneby.net/?p=29338
This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, TempleSons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York.
Here is the 393rd episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Sept. 8, 2012. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Featuring: Dave starts his 10th season with – what else? – a mix of talk and music.
Host: Dave Lefkowitz
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN 00:05:00 DAVE GOES OFF – UNC Radio 00:25:00 DAVE SAYS BYE – Scott McKenzie & Hal David 01:09:00 INSIDE BROADWAY, pt. 1 – news (01:09:30) 01:15:30 Fire Drill! 01:26:30 INSIDE BROADWAY, pt. 2 – more news (01:26:30) and reviews (01:36:30) (The Last Smoker in America 01:37:00), Clybourne Park (01:41:30), Peter and the Starcatcher (01:46:30) 01:50:00 Sponsors and technical difficulties 02:05:00 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (Tempest) 02:38:00 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #43 – New Reviews 02:44:00 SATURDAY SEGUE – 9/11 02:52:00 Thanks & Friends & Weather 02:58:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Sept. 8, 2012 Playlist: “San Francisco” (00:28:30), “Take a Moment” (00:33:00), “Like an Old Time Movie” (00:41:00), “Going Home Again” (00:53:30), “1969” (01:16:30) & “Dear Sister” (Scott McKenzie; 01:19:30). “Upstairs” (00:34:30) & “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” (00:57:00; Promises, Promises, 1968 Bway cast w/ Jerry Orbach & Jill O’Hara). “What’s New, Pussycat?” (00:38:30; Tom Jones). “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself” (00:44:00; Elvis Costello). “Kokomo” (The Beach Boys; 00:46:30). “Always Something There to Remind Me” (00:50:00; Naked Eyes). “Early Roman Kings” (02:07:00), “Under the Red Sky” (02:12:00), “Cry Awhile” (02:16:00), “Duquesne Whistle” (02:21:00), “God Knows” (02:26:30) & “Po’ Boy” (02:29:30; Bob Dylan). “Tower Song” (Townes Van Zandt; 02:44:00). “New York City” (Maggie & Suzzy Roche; 02:47:00). “Until Tomorrow” (Juliana Hatfield). (pictured: Dave, Scott McKenzie, Hal David, Peter and the Starcatcher, 9/11, Bob Dylan on the back cover of “Tempest.”)
Dave Lefkowitz
Hal David
Scott McKenzieThe back cover of Dylan’s Tempest9/11Rabbi Sol Solomon
Here is the 392nd episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, July 14, 2012. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Featuring: Dave celebrates the 100th birthdate of Woody Guthrie. Also: a phone call from his wife Joyce, Inside Broadway, Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later, Saturday Segue (Roger McGuinn).
Host: Dave Lefkowitz
Guest: Dave’s wife, Joyce
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN 00:05:00 GUEST: Joyce 00:36:30 SATURDAY SEGUE – Woody Guthrie’s 100th Birthday 01:10:30 INSIDE BROADWAY (news (01:10:30); Perfect/Change (01:21:30)) 01:40:30 Sponsors 01:48:00 SATURDAY SEGUE – Roger McGuinn 02:13:30 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (Songs to Woody) 02:49:30 Friends 02:55:00 DAVE GOES OUT
June 14, 2012 Playlist: “UNC Fight Song” (00:26:30); “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” (00:31:00), “Song to Woody” (02:15:30), “The Grand Coulee Dam” (02:18:30), “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie” (02:21:00), “Pretty Boy Floyd” (02:28:00), “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt” (02:32:30) & “This Land is Your Land” (02:38:30; Bob Dylan). “Talking Dust Bowl Blues” (00:36:30), “Jolly Banker” (00:52:00), “Rye Whiskey” (00:58:00; Woody Guthrie). “Do Re Mi” (00:41:30; John Mellencamp). “East Texas Red” (00:46:30; Arlo Guthrie). “Philadelphia Lawyer” (00:55:00; Willie Nelson). “This Land is Your Land” (01:00:30; Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie & Sweet Honey in the Rock). “I Can Live with That” (01:25:00; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, 1996 off-Broadway cast w/ Daniel Burstein & Melissa Weil). “5D (Fifth Dimenson)” (01:50:30) & “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (02:06:00; The Byrds). “You Bowed Down” (01:53:00; Roger McGuinn). “The Ballad of Easy Rider” (01:57:00; Richard & Linda Thompson). “Could’ve Been Anyone” (02:02:00; Aimee Mann). “This Land is Your Land” (03:00:00; Odetta, Arlo Guthrie & Will Geer).
