eh Dinner C ork

Reichbart on gui-
Shlock Rock's
tar and Pete
Lenny Solomon:
Kahn on sax.
Providing Jewish
Drummer Jeff
lyrics to rock hits.
Frances, who lives
in Maryland,
grew up in Detroit.
The group uses the word "shlock"
for its name to mean getting the mt...ic
second hand and often asks audience
members to join in the singing or par-
ticipate in some way, on stage or off.
"Any song has to be recognizable
and have lasting musical value," says
Solomon, a 40ish former accountant
who previously presented chasidic
entertainers in a group he organized.
"I usually use rock and pop classics
because I don't know whether newer
songs will stand the test of time."
When Solomon does the original
writing, he works from inspiration.
"Sometimes, I can write a son; in
10 minutes, but it's taken me three
months to think of the idea," he says.
"Sometimes it takes me 18 months
to finish a song. Everything I write has
a Jewish message and something to
learn from the lyrics. Writing comedy
isn't enough. There has to be an edu-
cational message, too."
Defining his show as geared to fair ;-
lies, Solomon is making his first

LET'S

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11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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appearance in a Reform congregation as
he comes to Temple Israel and may give
a preview of his next recording, God
Sent Us E-mail, which is planned for a
September release with 13 new songs.
"We want our shows to bring pride,
identity and awareness," Solomon
says. "We're not political. We play for
everybody." ❑

Jon Simon will perform 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 24, at Temple Israel's
Schmier Chapel Chamber
Concert, and Shlock Rock will
perform 7 p.m. Thursday, June
28, at Temple Israel's Arlene June
Gottlieb Memorial Concert. Both
concerts take place at the temple,
located at 5725 Walnut Lake Road
in West Bloomfield. For more
information and complimentary
tickets, call (248) 661-5700.

Any Reason is a Good Reason
to Do Lunch With Us!

CALL FOR RESERVATIONS
248-932-8934
HOURS

Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:00 am-2:00 pm
Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5:00 pm-9:00 pm
Sunday Brunch: 11:00 am -2:00 pm
Sunday Dinner Buffet: 5:00 pm-9:00 pm

7295 Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield

IN MI

MI III •111

•

,

scene had lots of people who were
Jews of varying degrees. We weren't
religious, but we came from a Jewish
culture.
It wasn't an issue. Everyone was try-
ing to be one, to be the same, so I
never thought of it much at the time. I
identified more as an artist. Much later
I picked up that there was some kind
of Jewish thread throughout it all.

JN: What do you remember about
playing Detroit?
DG: Detroit was a major place for us.

There was always great music going
on. And we got major energy from
[Big Brother guitarist] James Gurley,
who was from Detroit.
Our first following, fans who were
consistent supporters, were from
Detroit, and whenever we got together
there were a lot of Detroiters around.
The "Detroit freaks" were our kind of
group. Gurley's wife, who was from
Detroit, was Jewish. [Big Brother gui-
tarist/vocalist and Musical director] Sam
Andrew had a girlfriend from Detroit,
and they were together for years.
We played at the Grandee Ballroom
[on Grand River] twice with the MC5.
It was a super Detroit event, Detroit
energy. It was a kind of battle of the

Pip/ J eri/Lc Y(///i

bands. We hung out with Wayne
Kramer and John Sinclair [of MC5] at
a house they had.
We also played once at Cobo Hall. I
remember being driven through Oak
Park and being told that it was the Jewish
section. It was kind of nice and reminded
me of parts of Brooklyn, Flatbush.

JN: The "Summer of Love" was also
the summer of Israel's Six-Day War.
How do you remember it?
DG: I remember watching it on the

news and haVing very ambiguous feel-
ings. We were anti-war in all ways,
always trying to see the alternatives.
We were focused on the anti-war
movement. Most of our benefits were
for the cause — make love, not war.
But today I sometimes find myself
going the way of Ariel Sharon. Maybe
we shouldn't give anything back. 111

6(} )

cVyeribriMIlie) , cried (-).YK;77e,77 ‘", # Oelf,

(

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•
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6263 ORCHARD LAKE RD., N. OF 15 • WEST

BLOOMFIELD • (248)855-3993

The "Spirit of '67 Tour," featuring
Jefferson Starship, Iron Butterfly
and Big Brother & the Holding
Company, visits DTE Energy
Music Theatre 7:30 p.m. Sunday,
June 17. $26.50 pavilion/$16.50
lawn. (248) 645-6666.

6/15

2001