Entertainment Traif: Musical Crimes Against Humanity Rabbi Akiba was once asked to list his musical influences. The early Bay City Rollers swiped the number-one spot, God came in a close second, and then of course—there was Traif. Yes, Traif. The band which single-handedly redefined the word heresy, rocked the Kotel, and remaneuvered Jeff Seidel’s moral mechitza four degrees southwards, all in one Omer. Traif, the only ban to be excommunicated since Spinoza caught Ethel Merman with her pants down. So what, one might ask, is this Traif? Well, it’s just that. Perennially unclean, non-Kosher, and definitely not the kind of band you’d want circumcising your first born. Not even with a streidel. Traif is (listed alphabetically and, coincidentally, in order of progressive vulgarity): Charles Brettner, bass; Dave Chaskes, lead guitar: Mike Katz, rhythm guitar; Jon Lovenburger, drums; and Steven Schub, pancreas. But more than this, Traif epitomizes that very ethical cream and moral fiber which has earned the <strong>Rothberg</strong> School its eternal recognition among all great institutions of higher learning, like the University of Damascus and Nachmud’s Welding Institute on 3rd Avenue in Shechem. Yes, we have shown the world what five brain-dead Hebrew University students can do with the sole knowledge of three chords, no place to practice, little equipment and even less talent. Create a musical insurrection is what they can do. Danceable blasphemy! Succinctly, unjustified arrogance with a beat. The very fact that this band, which in America wouldn’t even be able to get work renovating Scott Baio’s tupperware, can play at every major venue in Jerusalem, win Jerusalem’s Battle of the Bands, and get reviewed in the Jerusalem Post—well, let’s just say that either there’s ultimately no justice left in the universe, or God is severely tone-deaf. Traif, if needed to be understood at all, must first be placed in proper perspective. Traif was a visual art form. We were meant to be seen, never heard, and God forbid smelled. We never wanted to be “liked.” Only loved or hated. Consciously, we went for the extremities. Extremely graphic, extremely provocative, controversial, offensive, obnoxious—all that, yes, but most importantly, we made you dance. Steven Schub Cool Breeze Cool Breeze was a band dedicated to the concept that a bunch of North Americans could get together and play good music in Israel and still have fun. The hard-edged-fold-rock-bluesreggae-jazz-ska band, formed by rhythm guitarist Mike Rubin and harmonica player Dave Pemstein, captured second place at the Thanksgiving Battle of the Bands in Jerusalem, propelled by Resa Leinwand’s exceptional lead vocals and Simeon Hyman’s superlative guitar work. Covering tunes by REM, the Dead, Talking Heads, Katrina and the Waves, Dylan, and U2, Cool Breeze went through almost as many studio drummers as Spinal Tap. Apparently spoiled by success, the band reached an untimely demise and lives on only in our hearts and in its “Diplomats for Jerry” Kissinger logo. It was fun while it lasted. David Pemstein 42
^ •v* y a R! Chess Club Questionable Humor One of the most exciting extracurricular activities this year was the Chess Club. Dozens of overseas students participated, and in the well-publicized tournament with Tel Aviv University, scores of students, both foreign and Israeli, turned out in thejerusalem Theatre to cheer on the bespectacled masters of the ancient game. Several members of the Council of Hebrew University Chess Knights (CHUCK) have gone on to the upper echelons of Israeli chess competition. We wish them luck, and thank them for one of the most exciting chess seasons ever at the Hebrew University. I Yom Ama A recently established holiday in the State of Israel, Yom Ama glorifies the native Israeli attitude. Affirmed unanimously in the Knesset, Yom Ama falls every day of the week. If you take this seriously, you have probably sufferred a debilitating brain aneurism in the I recent past. Please see a doctor. y YAW ^