Arts & Entertainment No Shame In These Shondes Indie-rock band with a Yiddish moniker performs in Ann Arbor. Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News Ann Arbor M embers of the Shondes call their current string of book- ings the Heartbreak Tour, but the four indie-rock performers really are quite happy about it. The heartbreak has to do with the theme of the quartet's second CD, My Dear One (Fanatic Records), filled with original songs about breaking up. The happiness has to do with performing across the country with songs that will be center stage Sunday eve- ning, May 30, at the B-Side in Ann Arbor. "Our Michigan audience will find a real- ly energetic performance by a group that connects with one another," says drum- mer Temim Fruchter, who works with Louisa Solomon (bass, lead vocals), Elijah Oberman (violin) and Fureigh (guitar). "We're mostly doing stuff from the new CD, but we're definitely doing a few songs from The Red Sea, our first album. Most of the songs from My Dear One were primarily written lyrically by Louisa, who [is reacting to] a breakup experience that she had." "Make It Beautiful;' the first single from the recording, is about calling on friends for support and writing music to help make it through rough times. "Lines and Hooks" has to do with anger and rage. "Miami" describes how a place can be forever linked with sad times experienced there. "Louisa brings lyrics, ideas and the seeds of melody for most songs, and the band writes the music together: Fruchter, 31, explains. "It's a collaborative process as we work on the instrumentals and backup harmonies. We jam with different ideas." The Shondes, based in Brooklyn, started with Solomon and Oberman, who had worked together in a disbanded group. The two were friends with Fruchter through political activism and encouraged her to develop drumming skills. The gui- tarist had been known to all three. The band name was chosen because of heritage, not style. "We all have strong connections to Yiddish so we were interested in finding a Yiddish word for the group name says Fruchter, who has studied piano, guitar and mandolin. "Shondes (which means disgrace) felt right and heartwarming because ifs what 111111. I Nate Bloom Or Special to the Jewish News Bruckheimer's Baby 0) Alt Mega-producer and former Detroiter Jerry Bruckheimer had mega hits with his Pirates of the Caribbean films, which were inspired by a Disneyland ride; and now he's back with a film, Prince of - Persia: The Sands of Time, loosely based on a classic video Jerry game, opening Bruckheimer Friday, May 28. Released in 1989, with groundbreaking fluid animation and an exciting storyline, the video game The Prince of Persia became a bestseller and was followed by many sequels. It was created by Jordan Mechner, now 44, who created his first video game in 1984 while still a Yale undergraduate. Mechner also writes and directs documentary films on serious subjects. - 52 May 27 • 2010 iN His father, Francis Mechner, 79, is a quite famous educational/busi- ness psychologist, who was born in Austria. Francis fled to France in 1938, then to Cuba in 1941 and finally to the United States in 1944. Trained also as a painter and concert pianist, he wrote the scores for his son's first videos. The film adapta- tion, based on a story by Jordan Mechner and Boaz Yakin, is set in Persia in the sixth century, just before the Islamic conquest. Jake Jake Gyllenhaal, 29, stars as a rogue prince who joins forces with a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton). Together they battle dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger that can release the "sands of time" and allow its pos- sessor to reverse time and rule the world. Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina co-star. Gyllenhaal a grandma might say if a family member did something embar- rassing. "While some of us may have done something that warranted the term, we're also proud of what we are and what we do. We ti t L know that sometimes a person The Shondes: Temim Fruchter, Lisa Solomon, Fureigh who speaks out or [acts] a little and Elijah Oberman unorthodox can be called a shonde for doing that, and so we thought there was As the group tours the country, they feel something nice in reclaiming the name." enhanced energy. They have performed in Although the band, as a group, does both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. not identify with platforms or issues, "We've started to write new material: members have linked themselves with says Fruchter, who studied poetry at the causes important on a personal basis. University of Maryland and is a contribu- Most prominent have been rights for tor to the just-released book Keep Your Palestinians and the gay community. Wives Away From Them (North Atlantic "Religion enters into our music: says Books; $16.95), which explores gender Fruchter, whose father plays in a simchah identity issues among Jewish women. band and whose brother plays in a Jewish "We're hoping to record again fairly experimental band. "My background is soon:, ❑ Modern Orthodox, and I have brought liturgical material into our songwriting. The Shondes appear 7 p.m. Sunday, "Our song Watched the Temple Fall' May 30, at the B-Side, 310 E. has the melody from Lamentations and Washington, in Ann Arbor. $5 stu- has moments of religious musical influ- dents; $7 non-students. (734) 214- ence, but these kinds of influences don't 9995; www.neutral-zone.com . come into the music that often." Sequel Time Sex and the City 2 opens Thursday, May 27. Based on the film's trailers, it looks like a TV sea- son's worth of plot twists have been Sarah Jessica encapsulated into a Parker 90-minute flick. This is what we know: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker, 45) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) are having some prob- lems with their two-year-old mar- riage. Carrie realizes some sparkle has been lost when she catches Big flirting with a sultry Spanish woman (Penelope Cruz). Then, in Abu Dubai, Carrie runs into old flame Aldan (John Corbett), and maybe sparks fly. Meanwhile, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) seems to be doing well, but Charlotte (Kristen Davis) admits mothering two young kids is tough. Finally, there's Samantha (Kim Catrall), who is back to her bed-hopping ways. The supporting cast includes Evan Handler as Harry, the Jewish lawyer husband of Jew-by- choice Charlotte, and Willie Garson, a straight Jewish actor who plays Stanford Blatch, Carrie's gay confi- dant. Evan Handler Parker, the mother of three young children, recently told Heat magazine: "I don't feel like [the glamorous and childless] Carrie — my life is so different, my choices are different. But I love her. I love playing her and everything about her — the good, the flawed, the mistakes, the bad choices." The magazine also asked Parker about Willie Garson her beauty regimen, and she said: "I don't have one. I feel old and tired! I have children I run around after. I try to walk as much as possible, and other than that I buy every cream possible." ❑