Adam Gardner of Guster and
Dave Schneider of the Zambonis

comprise the LeeVees,.

Those LeeVees

Rock musicians

celebrate

'

Chanukah with

wit and joy

in new album.

- December 1 . 2005

Don Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

rowing up — I'll admit it
— I often found myself
having some Christmas
spirit," says Adam Gardner, musi-
cian and nice Jewish boy from
Jersey, talking about Hanukkah
Rocks, the first album by the new
group the LeeVees. "Now we'll
have a little turnaround; non-
Jews can have a little Chanukah
spirit:'
Gardner, lead singer of the
acoustic-pop all-Jewish three-
some Guster, and Dave
Schneider, of hockey-obsessed
band the Zambonis, created the
LeeVees to make cool Chanukah
music and have some fun. And
the Chanukah party is coming to
Adat Shalom Synagogue 7:30

G

p.m. Tuesday, Dec 6, for the
group's only Michigan — and
synagogue — appearance on its
North American tour.
"I'm excited to play a temple
gig;' Gardner says, adding that
when they realized they would
be touring to support the album,
he was looking forward to hav-
ing concerts at synagogues and
Jewish centers. But it's a sign of
the mainstreaming of Jews and
the openness to Chanukah from
non-Jews that most of the
LeeVee's appearances are as an
opener for Canadian supergroup
Barenaked Ladies in large facili-
ties like convention centers and
theaters. (Barenaked Ladies lead
singer Steven Page also is Jewish;
the group's album Barenaked for
the Holidays, which came out last
year, includes several Chanukah

songs scattered among its mostly
Christmas selections).

Birth Of A Band

The LeeVees were born in the
back of a tour bus, with Gardner
and Schneider bemoaning the
lack of contemporary Chariukah
songs and deciding to do some-
thing about it. "We wrote our
first two songs in an hour, and
the writing chemistry was amaz-
ing," Gardner says. "The songs
just flew out of us. It was really
done in eight days, because we
liked being able to say it, but it
was also a logistical necessity"
since that was all the time the
two musicians had together.
"There aren't many Chanukah
songs to draw from:' Gardner
says, though it's certainly not for

a lack of people to write them.
"Where were the great Jewish
composers? Where was
Gershwin? Where was Irving
Berlin? Why no great Chanukah
song, like "White Christmas"? he
asks. "We're no Leiber and
Stoller, but we had to give it a
,
shot."
Gardner has his own theory
about Jews and music. Think bar
mitzvah.
"It's not a coincidence that
there are a lot of Jewish musi-
cians out there Gardner says. At
a young age, you're on the bimah,
which is really a stage, and you
perform in front of a lot of peo-
ple and sing."
With lyrics like "If goys can eat
a chocolate bunny, why can't we
eat chocolate money?" from the

LeeVees on page 69

65