The Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit
proudly presents an...
Exhibiting the works of
Award Winning Sculptor
Mixed Media
News
Sad&
Friday, Saturday
& Sunday
August 28, 29 & 30
12 Noon - 5:00 p.m.
6' Reviews.
On The Record
Julie Silver hopes she's getting close
to her first gold record. The
singer/composer, who's just released
her fourth CD, has always focused on
a Jewish audience but is moving in the
direction of a more secular career.
Interested in music since she was a
little girl, Silver grew up leading
songfests, went on to write contempo-
rary Jewish music and is celebrating
the release of her fourth album,
Beyond Tomorrow.
Odfirf
veut& eivAset
Artist's Studio is located at
3819 LaPlaya, Orchard Lake, MI
Orchard Lake Road to
Pontiac Trail go West 1/2 Mile
to Light at Old Orchard Trail
Go Right 2 Miles to LaPlaya
Free Valet Parking-Refreshments
For more information please call
(248) 683-4364.
• Otowie • 4.5ei,44 Stid ,•! 74,14ethwait Secoted 91444
1998 Tax Deductible Proceeds go to the JCC
8/21
1998
88 Detroit Jewish News
There have been some detours
along the way — working as a radio
DJ, for one — but the guitarist-vocal-
ist generally remains straightforward
about the career she pursues. With her
most recent recording, Silver is taking
on issues.
"The most important difference
between this particular CD and my
other three is that I'm trying very hard
to tackle issues that are very specific
and personal and at the same time
universal," said Silver, 31. "This is not
an album of holiday songs for chil-
dren.
"'Cut Me Down,' for example, is
about being invested in the lives of
other people, whether truthful or not,
how uninvested we are in our own
lives and how hurtful words can be."
Each song represents part of Silver
and captures a different time of her life.
Silver considers her career direction
as the coming together of two differ-
ent and early paths — experiences at a
summer camp in New England and
participation in NFTY (National Fed-
eration of Temple Youth).
"I went to camp from the time I
was 8 years old until I was practically
an adult," the performer recalled. "I
learned how to be a song leader,
explored music and became much
more confident as a
guitar player.
"At that time, in
the '70s, there was
some great music
coming out of Israel
and our country,
great contemporary
Jewish music, such as
the songs of Debbie
Friedman.
"As I grew older,
I became a leader in
the youth move-
ment and appreci-
ated the communi-
ty that music creat-
ed in very impor-
tant parts of my
life."
Although start-
ing out playing by
ear, she began to
take private
lessons in guitar and piano and
has been taking voice lessons over the
past five years.
"For me, school was something that
just happened while I was studying,
enjoying and learning music to
become a better performer," said Sil-
ver, whose first jobs were-teaching
music at her hometown temple and
leading singing at weekend youth con-
claves.
While working at a synagogue in
Lexington, Mass., a co-worker suggest-
ed she write songs about services and
holidays, and she found that she could
compose quickly and teach the songs
to her students.
"Evidently, I developed a name for
myself, and [I] never wanted for work
throughout college," Silver said.
"While I was a Spanish and economics
major at Clark University in Massa-
chusetts, I also performed at coffee-