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April 9, 2010
Magic in the Israeli classics
HaGroovatron will bring its energetic style to Vancouver.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
It took them a while to find their “groove,” so to speak, but since they did eight years ago, HaGroovatron have been re-energizing traditional Israeli music by creating their own rock, funk, reggae, country or jazz versions. With more than 300 performances since its renaissance as a Hebrew band, HaGroovatron will bring its festive, energetic style to Vancouver for the community’s celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut this year.
According to its website, HaGroovatron was created in 1996 by musician Ron Klein, on Kibbutz Mizra, in the Yizrael (Jezreel) Valley. It started “as a teenager band in the conservatory, playing covers for funk and soul materials in English,” HaGroovatron front man and lead singer Dror Ahava Romem told the Independent.
Musicians came and went from the conservatory, explains HaGroovatron’s website. In 1998, when most of the members went into the army, the school itself was finished, but HaGroovatron continued independently, with an ever-changing mix of soldiers, former soldiers and highschoolers as members.
The major transformative time in the band’s history came with the addition of Romem in 2002. He had the “idea of taking the old Israeli songs [Shirei Eretz Yisrael], and treating them as standards, as we call them in jazz, and the band agreed.”
The website relates how the group began by arranging “Ovdim Aleinu Avoda Ivrit,” a well-known song by the classic Israeli comedy troupe HaGashash HaHiver (HaGashgashim), and “Halleluya.” They then searched for other repertoire from the classics, remaining true to the spirit of the music, while exercising creative freedom. According to the group’s Myspace page, their influences range from Hagevatron and Naomi Shemer to Hendrix, funk, jazz ... “you name it.”
“Choosing the songs, I think, is the most important act in the creation,” said Romem. “Though in the arsenal of Israeli music there are thousands of songs, we try to filter the songs that ‘want’ to be played in this era. We search for old songs that the new clothing will fit them right. It’s a will to maintain the magic of the classic in the present and to create a ‘say’ of freedom and happiness; for example, taking a song like ‘Lu Yehi’ and turning it into a reggae style.”
The band’s website states that the new “Hebrew” HaGroovatron premièred this type of music at Animal Farm, in Kiryat Haroshet (Tivon). The stage was decorated with haystacks and old-style lanterns, and the musicians wore traditional folk-dancing outfits. Starting the concert with English songs, Romem then led the musicians into the Israeli oldies, and the audience loved it.
In honor of the first anniversary of the Hebrew HaGroovatron, the group privately produced a CD of five songs. Eventually, they decided to hold off on performing and focus on recording a full album. It took a year and a half to produce the CD – in the end, they connected with producer Avisar Savir, and together they finished the process. The self-titled CD was released in the fall of 2007, and also came with a DVD of clips from performances, a 20-minute documentary about the band and karaoke tracks for listeners to sing along with. In 2008, HaGroovatron recorded a second full CD, translated as The Road Goes On.
“We are working on original writing in the last year,” Romem said, “trying to keep the same energy of the classics (a hard job), and one of the songs, ‘Kama Tov,’ will be played in Vancouver, I believe.” Another of HaGroovatron’s original songs, “Onat Maavar,” can be found on Youtube.
HaGroovatron has had thousands of members since its inception, “but the truth is that, after it started to do the Israeli songs project, it became steady – just to mention that Itamar Gross was the keyboard player for the first band, left for a while and came back,” explained Romem.
In addition to Romem, coming to Vancouver will be Eyal Heller (guitars), Gross (keyboards), Dekel Dvir (drums), Guy Tuval (bass), Oded Meir (trombone, who does most of the brass arrangements for the band), Ofer Peled (saxophone and flute) and Arthur Krasnobayev Gershenzon (trumpet). The men form a diverse and multi-talented group, with many playing in other bands, even the symphony orchestra, and/or accompanying other popular performers.
According to their Myspace page, HaGroovatron incorporates costumes, props and skits into their shows. Romem shared a few songs from the playlist with the Independent: “Lu Yehi” (Naomi Shemer), “Sfirat Mlay” (Yossi Bannay and Shemer), “Tzarot Tovot” (Shimrit Or and Shalom Hanoch), “Ha’Bahurot Ha’Hen” (Yosi Gamso for Russian melody) and “the special ‘Pitom Kam Adam,’ with the lyrics of the Declaration of Independence.”
Yom Ha’atzmaut also happens to be Romem’s birthday, which is why, he said, his name is Dror, which means Freedom. This year will be a particular cause for celebration, as the singer turns 40. “So I’m excited,” he said. “Usually Israel is very happening on Yom Ha’azmaut, stages, shows and fireworks are all around – let’s see how it is in Canada.”
The community celebrates Israel’s 62nd Independence Day on Monday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts, 777 Homer St. Tickets ($14 plus service charges) are available from ticketmaster.ca or 604-280-3311. For the Supporter’s Package, which is partially tax-deductible and sponsors seats for people who otherwise would not be able to attend, contact Shelley Goldberg at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, 604-257-5100 or [email protected]. The show will include the JCCGV Or Chadash Dancers and other local performers.
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