REALITY SHOCK is Izzy Kieffer drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals The Hesh piano, organ, assorted keyboards, vocals David Hirsch bass Mike Cohen saxophone
... and periodically joined by Avner Levy guitar Marty Laskin clarinet, saxophone Roni Nalvin percussion Ruby Harris violin, harmonica Steve Lopresto bass, guitar, vocals Tim "King Predator" Boyce guitar
影響
BB King,
the Blues Brothers,
Bob Marley,
Booker T. & the MGs,
Bruce Springsteen,
Crazy Eddie,
the Diaspora Yeshiva Band,
Emil Leuchter,
Eric Clapton,
James Brown,
Mona Rosenblum,
R' Shlomo Carlebach,
Ray Charles,
Roy Buchanan,
Sam & Dave,
Southside Johnny,
Tom Waits,
Toots & the Maytals,
the holy city of Jerusalem,
the not-so-holy city of Asbury Park,
the wanna-be-holy city of Brooklyn,
and, acharon acharon chaviv, Hakadosh Baruch Hu
Hailing from Jerusalem via Asbury Park and Flatbush, REALITY SHOCK is the duo of Izzy Kieffer and The Hesh, playing "a potent mishmosh of rock'n'roll and middle eastern music, with a twist of Jewish humor." If you think of it as rock-soul-blues peppered with a healthy dose of Middle Eastern and Central European spices (think of hamburgers with zchug, zaatar, tehina, paprika, and perhaps a bit of schmaltz), you'll begin to get the idea.
The original version of Reality Shock began when Heshy and Izzy met in 1982 while attending a yeshiva (Orthodox Jewish religious) high school catering to English-speaking students in Jerusalem. They became friends after discovering a mutual love for the Blues Brothers movie and music; life imitated art, and they decided to form a band together. The band played together for two years, after which all the members went their own separate ways. Izzy and Heshy, however, stayed in touch over the years, jamming and recording together even when other commitments prevented them from performing live together. Eventually they found themselves in the New York metropolitan area; they played in a number of bands both together and apart in New Jersey and New York. The projects they worked on together went by various names, most notably Freedom Is Priceless (after a song Heshy wrote while in the Israeli army) and The Unorthodox (which described their religious outlook), but eventually Izzy and Heshy decided to return to their roots and re-establish the name Reality Shock as a name for the ages.
Stopping by to wish you a Chag kosher v'sameyach! L'shana Haba'a B'Yerushalayim Habenuya!!
