Welcome to the 2008 Jewish Music Festival

Golem

Listen to Warsaw is Khelm

Golem appears in...

Contrary to popular belief, Golem is neither a towering Jewish Frankenstein who defended the Jews of 17th Century Prague, nor a creature from Lord of the Rings. Golem is a 6 piece Eastern European folk-punk band.

Fronted by Annette Ezekiel – singer, accordionist, and 5-foot powerhouse; with vocalist, tambourine player, crazy-man Aaron Diskin; violin virtuoso Alicia Jo Rabins; trombonist extraordinaire Curtis Hasselbring; elegant upright bassist Taylor Bergren-Chrisman, and unstoppable drummer Tim Monaghan, Golem’s sound evokes wisps of old-world elegance filtered through the successes and disappointments of new-world dreams. Spending nights in Lower East Side immigrant-owned bagel shops and summers in Eastern Europe, Annette collects Jewish, Gypsy, and Slavic folk songs, and, with Golem, rewrites, adds, edits, and rearranges them along the way. These are the songs to which Eastern European grandparents danced over a century ago, and now Golem has its unwrinkled fans moshing to the same pulsing beats.

Unrequited love stories? Check. Drunken dances? Check. Warnings to future sons-in-law? Check. Dysfunctional families forcing kids to sell bagels on the street? Golem has ‘em all. And they may be in Yiddish (or Russian or French), but when Golem wails that the rent is too high, everybody understands.

Founder and visionary leader of Golem, Annette Ezekiel (vocals and accordion) is an eccentric linguist, fluent in five languages, who avidly researches Eastern European music, dance and literature. Through research and travel, she brings material to the band and adds the twist of rock and roll that is Golem.
Singer of the enigmatic rock band Challenge of the Future, Aaron Diskin (vocals) brings his wild vocal stylings and abundant charisma to the Yiddish songs of Golem.

A trombonist, guitarist and composer, Curtis Hasselbring (trombone) mixes up his musical life by playing everything from jazz to country rock to electronic. He has recorded and toured internationally with many leading artists including Medeski, Martin and Wood, Ron Sexsmith, Frank London, Carter, Anthony Coleman and John Zorn.

Alicia Jo Rabins (violin) started with classical study, and then continued on to punk rock. Lately she’s been tearing it up on klezmer (and Southern old-time) fiddle. Alicia released her solo album Sugar Shack in 2003 and can be seen with The Mammals and Underbelly.

Taylor Bergren-Chrisman (contrabass) started performing and recording at age 13. He is indebted to his great teachers Timo Shanko and Mark Helias. He currently performs in The Rare Bird Rhumba Ranch and Las Rubias del Norte while continuing to deepen his knowledge of the traditional music of Eastern Europe, North Africa, Cuba and the U.S.

Tim Monaghan (drums) is from New Haven, CT and has lived in New York for three years. He began as a classical pianist, before moving on to drums. He currently attends the New School, studying jazz with such masters as Billy Hart, Buster Williams, and Gerry Hemingway. Tim performs music from numerous countries and styles, from rock band Jack to jazz/rock/musical debauchery with Rickshaw Mama, as well as leading the improv noise band the Roars.

Golem Website