Last Thursday afternoon I met illustrator Drew Friedman at the Society of Illustrators to talk with him about his book trilogy, Old Jewish Comedians, and his two-floor show filled with portraits of every old Jewish comedian you can imagine. We sat on the showroom floor steps, right in between a bunch of 7th graders on a school trip who came to view Friedman’s amazing portraiture. While they probably knew very little about the characters lining the walls, Friedman knows everything about old, comedic Jews. In fact, he’s a master.

Friedman grew up in New York City and was born into a prominent artistic family. His father, satirist and writer, Bruce Jay Friedman, opened many doors for Drew to pursue his drawing, professionally. Friedman, who burst on the scene in the 1980s, is most well known for his impeccable ability to portray realistic parodies of public figures and personalities.

That day, Drew was gearing up for a panel exhibit, “From the Borscht Belt to Seinfeld,” which was inspired by his walls of drawings and sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities. Comedians Larry Storch, Bill Persky, and Tom Leopold would all attend later that evening to celebrate Jewish comedy and its impact on our Jewish identity. I spoke with Drew about his impressive career, pissing off Woody Allen, and meeting his childhood idols.

How did you get into drawing and portraiture?

I’m from a creative family. My father is a creative writer, a humorist, a playwright, so there was always that creative thing going on, but I didn’t want to be a writer. I didn’t want to compete with him; he was very funny. I loved comic books and MAD Magazine, so early on I wanted to be a contributor to MAD. That was my goal, and eventually I became one of the usual gang. I was obsessively drawing from early on. I was always hunched over my desk, just drawing. I drew all over desks, books, notebook; I couldn’t get enough. I was also always interested in old comedy and stuff I’d see on T.V. It wasn’t like I grew up thinking, ‘oh what do I want to do someday?’ All I wanted to do was draw. I was obsessed. I wasn’t fit for anything else.

As you got older and started portraying all these public figures, was it propelled by an interest in exploring the human experience coupled with fame?

No, basically just an interest I had when I was a kid. I loved the Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis, and The Marx Brothers, and I still love them. I love the same things I loved when I was a kid, nothing changed. And that’s what this show represents. I love these comedians’ faces. My little secret is that I’m not crazy about all the comedians in the show. Some of them I don’t think are very funny. But most of them I do love.

Depending on if you like someone or not, do you think that comes out in your representation of them?

It shouldn’t, but it probably does. It does when I draw politicians; Dick Cheney, how could I not? Or George W. Bush or Sarah Palin. If I go overboard with liver spots or what not, it’s not meant to be mean, it’s just trying to be as honest as possible.

Several years ago you drew Woody Allen for the New York Observer and he was not happy with the portrayal. Part of me understood why he got a bit upset. While being an unbelievable and very funny photo, it almost looked like he had a disease or something, with all of the marks on his head.

You’re right. Well, sometimes I go overboard, I admit it.

But at the same time, it seems like some comedians can’t take it when people actually poke fun at them.

Well some of them are very touchy. Woody especially. When I heard Woody was upset, I was upset, because I loved the old Woody Allen movies back when he was funny. I’m not so crazy about him anymore. I don’t know if he was naughty lately or what, but I’m more offended by his lousy movies. So yes, of course I felt bad when I heard he didn’t like the picture. He was hired by the NY Observer to write an article, and they thought he was going to be a regular, but when he saw my drawing, his assistant said, “he’s never going to work for you guys again.” But the editor was so cool, he said “fuck it, it’s a great drawing.” But usually it’s the opposite, where they fully embrace the picture. Like, Jerry Lewis, he loved his. 

I read somewhere that someone compared your skill to an X-ray machine, which is a pretty cool compliment. Your ability to really see through people and show those qualities on their face is amazing.

Somebody else said that what Drew does is tough love. Even Robert Klein, when he came to the opening of this show, looked at his portrait and said, “that’s kind of brutal.” I said, “are you upset?” And he said, “No, I’m upset because it’s downstairs!” The layout of the show is in deference to the older comedians. The older comedians are upstairs, so I told him that since he’s one of the younger-older comedians, he’s downstairs. He was cool with it.

How long does a portrait take you?

Three to four days. I was doing these portraits in between assignments, so I wasn’t under pressure or under a deadline so I could take my time. But I had a whole year to do the first book before it was due to the publisher.

What are you working on now?

I have a book coming out in July on comic book heroes, specifically the men and women who drew comic books from the 30s to the 50s. I tried to get away from the Jews, but I got sucked back in, because most of them turned out to be Jewish. The most talented people are Jewish, right?

What can we say?

We just can’t avoid it! We know that. I was like, ok, I guess I’ll draw the people who drew comic books. I have a past with a lot of them because when my father was a magazine editor, he sat right next to Stan Lee. So he knew him pretty well and I got to know him when I was a kid. Then I had guys like Harvey Kurtzman and Will Eisner who were legendary comic book guys as teachers at The School of Visual Arts. The book is called Heroes of the Comics.

I think it would be funny if you did portraits of all the crazy pop stars today, like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry.

It would be funny if I aged them. I’ve gotten a lot of ideas people think I should do. For example, imagine what middle-aged comedians like Adam Sandler would look like when they’re older. Or wives of Jewish comedians, or old Italian and black comedians. But yours is good. The thing about it is that it would do well, and I don’t want mine to do well. Why would you do books of old Jewish comedians? I don’t want to pander to the kids, though lots of young kids liked this trilogy. The books have been embraced by all ages, which is nice. 

You worked for legendary magazine, MAD and manufacturing company, Topps. To me, they represent this time period filled with specific, boyish goods that no longer appear relevant to our society. Little boys don’t really trade cards anymore. Do you think that technology has aided in the withdrawal of these interests?

I could speak for myself; I don’t know any kids who read MAD anymore. It’s just a different world now where everything is on the Internet. So trading cards, are being aimed more towards collectors, rather than the general public. I don’t really pay attention to it too much–I just do what I do–but yes, it’s a different world. In the old days MAD was my bible, I could not miss an issue. But you’ll never hear from me, “oh it used to be so great then.” I’m sure it’s great today in a different way. I’ll die out with the old ways, I don’t mind.

I know you’ve met so many of your idols, but who are three that you were extremely excited about or who surprised you?

I’ve met and drawn a lot of people and most of them have been happy with the results. The biggest surprise for me, were guys who you hear have a horrible reputation and ego, like Jerry Lewis. And he’s been incredibly sweet with me on the phone. He calls and inquires what I’m doing and working on. I don’t hear any ego from him. He’s very sweet and low key. We have great conversations. Another guy is Howard Stern. You hear things about him, but he’s been incredibly nice to me and supportive. He hired me to illustrate two of his books. He still hasn’t made it over to the show yet. He’s so busy with American Idol or whatever he does, but he’s trying to get over here. I’ve had a great experience with him. When people meet me, they’re interested in what I do, so it’s not like I’m a fan approaching them. I wait for people to approach me, because you can get disappointed when you seek out your idols. Another guy is Robert Crumb, who’s not the most sociable guy. Fan boys come up to him and he can’t be bothered. But he’s another guy who has been very supportive to me over the years and seems to love what I do. He’s my favorite artist, so it’s mutual admiration.

Are you into any younger artists today that channel your style?

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I see artwork and I hear from other people, “this guy is drawing like you,” and I’m fine with it. I don’t see any direct rip-off’s, maybe the stipple stuff that I used to do. I tell people, don’t do it. It’s highly time consuming and affects your eyesight. I had to give it up because I was doing more and more assignments and it was just slowing me up to much. I didn’t want to turn things down, so I gave it up 20 years ago. I was stippling for Spy Magazine in the 80s, and after that my work started appearing there, and the New York Times and Rolling Stone were constantly calling.  I had to figure out how I would be able to make deadlines.

Do people commission you do to themselves or their family members?

I get that occasionally, but I don’t really like doing that. Some people ask, “can you draw my husband or my kids?” It’s not really my thing. I’ve rarely done it, so people don’t assume I do regular people, whereas other artists do. I haven’t done that yet because I like drawing interesting faces, and the most painful thing to do is draw someone with a blank expression. When I used to do a lot of assignments, art directors would send photographs of the celebrity or politician, and occasionally they’d send just a blank smiling face looking straight at the camera. That’s of no help to me.

I’m drawing Kevin Spacey next week for the New York Observer cover, and I told the art director not to send me anything because I can just come up with the stuff myself. And I did. I found the right angle I wanted to use on him and that’s it.

Do you study these people the way you would study someone you’re interviewing?

No, I like to just approach it as I’m starting it. Even when I’m illustrating for Entertainment Weekly for TV show characters like, Friends, they told me they’d send tapes of episodes. I told them not to, because then I wouldn’t want to draw them, because I know I’m going to hate that show. Just send me the assignment, but don’t ask me to watch the show, or a movie. I don’t want to go there.

What is your favorite movie?

My wife asks me sometimes, what’s your favorite movie? Your favorite song? I don’t have a favorite song or movie, but I have a favorite wife and a favorite artist, Robert Crumb. Oh, favorite movie, I don’t know. I guess Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I’ll go on the record. Oh look, I just scared the kids away.

Doubt it. They’re just confused and on a school trip.

I was at Marywood University in Pennsylvania recently and gave a talk–hopefully some of the stuff I’ll talk about tonight–and these kids just sat there with their blank faces, staring at me. I was like Milton Berle, anything? Jerry Lewis, nothing? They had no reaction. They were looking at their computer screens and looking up at me with no expression. I was like, should I push the envelope and talk about Milton Berle? And my wife was looking at me, like don’t do it. Marywood is a Catholic university, so I had to hold off on it. And for this talk, I’m going to have to hold off on certain things too, because it’s sponsored by the Department of Humanities, so all these humanities people are going to be here. I have to behave myself, which is going to be hard. I hope people are fighting and screaming and throwing punches. I hope there’s some chaos.

(Image credit: Kipp Friedman)

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I sat down for a latte with Rachel Antonoff at Café Grumpy in Chelsea on a Wednesday afternoon. Antonoff has been busy preparing for her Spring 2014 fashion line and video, traveling back and forth to Los Angeles, and generally being a busy, young fashion designer.

Antonoff grew up in central New Jersey, and attended the Professional Children’s School in New York City. After realizing at a young age that theater wasn’t her calling, she went on to pursue writing, and soon after that she began to dabble in fashion. She sent some photos of her and a friend’s designs, wide-eyed and naive, to Teen Vogue, and the rest is history.

She greeted me with a hug. We had both just attended weddings with no plus-one invite, so the conversation began from there. We went on to discuss siblings (her brother is Jack Antonoff of Fun, who happens to date Girls’ Lena Dunham), neighborhoods, and her likes and dislikes.

Her Spring 2014 lookbook will premiere on Style.com’s Video Fashion Week, next week, and her video for the line will be available on her website.

Were you always into fashion? What led you to become a designer?

Not at all. I actually always and still do have a list of things I want to do and be. And weirdly enough this was not even on that list. I fell into it really late, sort of, in terms of when people find their careers. I really wanted to be a writer, actually. I was freelance writing around the city, and of course, I always loved clothes. Now I know that I was always designing, I just didn’t realize that’s what I was doing.

I design best when I’m jogging, usually, when I just daydream. And what I’m wearing in the daydreams is what I try to extract and make. And now I know that that’s my process.

What’s your favorite article of clothing?

I am drawn to dresses because they’re easy, and I’m actually not a great stylist, which is interesting. I really don’t have a solid idea of what to put with what. I don’t ever feel like one of those people who looks put together, so a dress is an easy way to accomplish that. But really, especially now that I work in this field, I mostly want to be really comfortable all the time. I don’t do well with middle ground. I either go all the way with something or not at all. So I’d rather not try at all and wear sweats, which is why our sweatshirts came out and it’s working out well.

They are super cute. What’s the vision behind your Spring 2014 collection?

Thank you. Spring 2014 is themed “crush” and we are editing the video right now which will premiere on Style.com’s video fashion week, next week. I’m really excited about it, and my video as well. It’s all sort of inspired by the feeling of having a crush and how you think about what you want to wear for your crush.

There’s a song “He’s a Rebel,” by The Crystals. Maybe it’d be a good fit for your video.

Sounds amazing. I’m going to write it down. We’re actually scoring this right now so maybe it will work out.

Your collections are inspired by a variety of eras, most notably the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. If you could go back in time, which era would you live in and why?

Style-wise or life-wise?

Both.

Well life-wise, to be honest, as a woman, I think you’d have to be insane to live in any other era than this one. Or if I could choose the future, then hopefully that. I certainly wouldn’t want to go back in time when it comes to general civil rights and stuff like that.

But style-wise, I may have to continue with this time, only because it seems like in so many past eras, while the style for women was really fun to look at, it may not have been as fun to wear. I feel like it’s a common answer to say women just looked better, and you were expected to dress up. That’s exactly why I wouldn’t want to live there. I’d like to look at pictures of it, but I don’t think I’d want that responsibility everyday of having to.

You and Jack are a power sibling team. Is he your number one go-to for advice?

Always, yes. We’ve always talked about everything and advised each other on everything for as long as I can remember. So there’s extremely few things I can imagine in like that I would not seek out his advice on. If there is advice to be sought, his would be the first. He’s great.

What made you switch from runway shows to video?

The shows were getting really expensive and over the top, and again with not wanting to have to half weigh things, I would rather not do one, then to compromise. I guess that’s not my best attribute, but I know that what we were spending was a fraction of what most people spend on presentations, and it was still through the roof. We had to realistically look and ask, are we increasing sales by having these? What really is the value? How else could we accomplish this? And Lena [Dunham] had the great idea for the video, and I loved the idea. And so at first I thought maybe I should do that and a show, but we should definitely do that. But then the more I thought about it, I figured we should take our funds and use them in one place and really make it great. I felt really disappointed at first, sort of like it was admission to failure. But then as we filmed the video and then when I saw it I realized it was actually, a video is a presentation that lasts forever.

I love that you use your mom, grandmother, and friends in your videos and presentation as models, displaying all shapes and sizes. It brings a realism to fashion that most people designers don’t. I wonder if you did runway still, if that would be different.

Thank you. Right, I don’t know, I mean I have a lot of issues with that. I feel like fashion is the same as any other creative art and for some reason its one of the only of the creative arts that’s viewed in this totally eye roll inducing fluffy, stupid way. I think a lot of it is unwarranted, but then there’s so much that goes on within fashion—for the most part we’re not doing ourselves any favors, to dispel this “Zoolander-ish” persona. And obviously it’s an age-old thing with the weight and size issue, but it is such a problem; it’s so gross, and I just don’t want to play any part in it.

Describe Rachel Antonoff’s “girl”?

I think she has been every girl, which kind of ties in to what we just talked about. I really like the idea that there are things my mom could wear, my grandmother could wear, and more specifically, I think the Rachel Antonoff girl definitely doesn’t take fashion too seriously. It’s not an elitist thing, its just fun, and about feeling good about yourself, as well as dressing for yourself.

What music are you into?

So much! I’ve always loved Broadway musicals and still listen to a lot of that. You know who I just discovered? Sky Ferreira. Have you heard any of her music?

Ummm…heard of her, but not really.

I know! I hadn’t either, because, exactly. That was my thought on the way to this wedding last weekend. It wouldn’t have even occurred to me to listen to her songs, and then for some reason it did. I listened to two of her songs, an old single and a new, and I don’t understand why she’s not hailed as a genius artist of our time!

What’s your favorite Broadway show?

Pippin. What’s yours?

Gypsy.

That’s probably my second favorite.

Favorite designers?

Miu Miu, Mary Benson, Melissa Coker for Wren, Band of Outsiders and Chanel.

Are you spiritual, and what’s your relationship with Judaism?

I am spiritual, I have to say, though, I’m not very religiously inclined, specifically. I guess I have to affiliate myself somewhere between agnostic and a humanist. I think whats here on the planet is magical enough and amazing. I don’t know what I believe regarding other things, but I feel so open to it. I do love the culture of Judaism. We observed holidays and went to Solomon Schechter. My mom grew up “Conservadox” and my dad grew up Reform, and we were somewhere in between.

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Spotlight On: Grouplove Drummer and Producer Ryan Rabin
Spotlight On: Jayson Littman, Finance Guy Turned He’bro Founder
And many more…

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Indie rock/pop band Grouplove captured music fans’ hearts with their 2011 single, “Tounge Tied,” and they’re set to release their second album, Spreading Rumors, on September 17.

The funky and energetic quintet’s sound is a dreamy mix of pop, rock, and dance. I spoke with Ryan Rabin, Grouplove’s talented Jewish drummer, as he prepared for the group’s Seesaw tour, which kicked off on Monday, September 9, in Seattle, WA.

Rabin comes from a musical family (his dad was the guitarist and vocalist in the rock band Yes) and has been playing the drums for as long as he can remember. We chatted about Grouplove’s unique new tour plan (fans have the option to see them in a club or a church), as well as Rabin’s musical influences.

It seems serendipitous how the members of Grouplove all came together. How did you meet and realize you were all musically on the same track?

It was about four summers ago. For various reasons we all ended up individually on the island of Crete in Greece at an art residency in a little village. We met there, and we were all at very different places in our lives, but also all in the same transitional phases. We made friends and bonded over music but never actually played or collaborated together while we were there. About a year after we initially met, everybody visited me in Los Angeles. They were from all over—Christian Zucconi (vocals, guitar) is from New York. Hannah Hooper (vocals, keys) is from San Francisco, Sean Gadd (bass, vocals) hails from London, and Andrew Wessen (guitar, vocals) is also from Los Angeles.

They came over to hang and we ended up recording a couple of songs in my home studio. It was just supposed to be that one day, and it turned into two months of recording. Everybody moved into my parent’s house and we just kept making music together. Then we realized it was something really special and we didn’t want to pass it up and that’s when everybody kind of sold everything and moved out to LA to actually make the band work. That’s the short version!

You guys are gearing up for the Seesaw Tour, which kicked off in Seattle this week. It’s a two-night city tour with one electric show and one acoustic, which is an awesome idea. Who came up with it?

It was actually our manager’s idea. Many songs on both of our albums were initially formed on the guitar or the piano. For a band like us that’s frequently on the road and does a lot of event giveaways and private shows for radio station winners, we already have a bit of experience getting the songs down to some of their original forms. Our manager came to us and said why don’t we do a two-night show where one night is full electric sound, and the next night we strip it down and take it to that bare bones level where the songs started. We thought it was a cool idea and something our fans would really gravitate towards. Besides being in smaller clubs then we were used to and being closer to the fans, it’s cool for them to be able to experience the songs in a way that most fans don’t get to. Our lives shows are usually so energetic, and you kind of just get to let go of yourself as a performer, so I’m curious to see how it’s going to translate when the vibe is a bit more chilled out. The acoustic sets will be at offbeat places like a church, an old lodge in a cemetery, and other underground venues.

What have been some of the greatest differences in the creative process of your first record, Never Trust a Happy Song, and your new album, Spreading Rumors?

It was definitely a more cohesive process this time around. It was much more collaborative. We were coming off three years of touring when we made Spreading Rumors. For Never Trust a Happy Song, we hadn’t toured much at all before making it, so in general we are a better band and better at playing together from all of the touring experience, so we capitalized on that. We didn’t really take a break after touring ended, we just went straight to the studio. It sounds like a tighter union and more of the songs were written together at the same time rather than bringing our individual ideas to the group and having them put their spin on it.

What inspired the title Spreading Rumors?

It originated a while ago from something that someone in our crew said to us at but we had forgotten. It was a long time ago and we sort of forgot about it. Then someone on our tour brought it up six months later when we were about to record do the album. We were thinking of weird funny names and then the title Spreading Rumors came up. It kind of stuck with us, and as we made the album it started taking on actual meaning for all of us and represented our process, and how the songs sort of spread like a rumor. They take on as they’re being written, and then as they’re released they take on a new life for everyone in the band and everyone who listens to the songs and interprets them in their own way. It’s about that objectivity and how songs take on a different meaning for all of us.

Your music video for “Ways to Go” stars a fake Kim Jong-Un as a young boy. Where’d that idea come from?

The director brought the idea and we thought it was so cool how a song can completely change someone’s perspective on a topic and bring that childhood innocence to someone. We also thought it was such a funny idea. The song sort of encompasses that innocence and vibe of selfish memory.

You grew up in a musical family. Tell me a bit about your musical trajectory and how you learned to play the drums.

My grandfather was a musician and so is my dad, so music has been in my family for a long time. My dad is a very accomplished guitar player and he never actually pushed me into music, which is why I think I wanted to do it so much. I have no idea why I picked up drums instead of guitar, I think I would have had a much easier time and the right access to people if picked up guitar, but I always gravitated towards the drums and piano. When I wanted to make music it was encouraged and supported and I think that’s what helped me develop into the musician and producer I am today.

How has your Jewish identity influenced your life and music?

In my life, Judaism has always been about tradition and family. There are so many different facets of Judaism within my family. We have reform Jews, atheists, and also Orthodox cousins who live in an Orthodox community in South Africa, so we really run the gamut of different levels of Judaism and how we consider religion and tradition. It was always important to celebrate family. We still do Shabbat when we’re together and really recognize the traditions. I think they’re important and Judaism has always been a part of my life.

Who are some of your and Grouplove’s musical influences?

For Grouplove, the influences are all over the place because we all have different tastes. For some reason that’s why the band works creatively. But I grew up listening to classical music that my parents would play to get me to go to sleep, and I think my first album I ever bought was Further Down the Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. I’m still a huge fan of Trent Reznor and I think a lot of his techniques have influenced me. There’s some stuff he did on that album that just really pushes the boundaries, especially for that time, I the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Even musical arrangement-wise it was so outside of the norm of the time but still he managed to have a massive hit single and album so I thought that was really cool. Further down the line I got more and more into pop music like Michael Jackson. I think I lie in the two extremes. One side Nine inch Nails, one side Michael Jackson.

Right. As a pop lover, what did you think of Justin Timberlake’s performance on the VMAs?

It was a little long for me. I would have liked a little more ‘N SYNC to be honest, but I think he’s an amazing artist and he has really great songs. That’s what matters at the end of the day. It’s about good song writing, regardless of the genre.

Completely. What’s the coolest spot your played so far and where do you hope to play?

I always remember this festival called Optimus Alive! in Portugal. It was our biggest show at the time. It was our first time at the festival on the main stage, we played right before Blondie and Coldplay. No one really knew who we were, and it was just an incredible show. The fans in Portugal are so supportive. The power went out in the middle of another song and it was a crazy feeling. For a while Coachella was a dream festival to play at because I’ve been going for the last 10 years, but I think it would be pretty cool to play the Hollywood bowl in LA, since I’ve seen such great shows there like Radiohead and Nine inch Nails.

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The post Spotlight On: Grouplove Drummer and Producer Ryan Rabin appeared first on Jewcy.

Forget the High Holidays—Jayson Littman, the 35-year-old founder of He’Bro, is gearing up for the High Homodays on September 21st. No, I’m not kidding.

He’bro is a gay Jewish event promotion group in New York City that aims to bring together gay Jews (and non-Jews) who want to meet, mingle, and hopefully land their Jewish dream husband. Littman, who began playing matchmaker in 2007, formerly worked in finance, but has taken a break to commit to He’bro full-time.

Littman grew up in what he calls a “black-hat” Orthodox community, and struggled with his gay identity for many years until the inception of He’bro, which celebrates all sexual identities and honors their Jewish background. He wrote an essay for Tablet earlier this summer about his decision to get a tattoo on his “T-spot”—his Tefillin spot.

Where did you grow up and what was your relationship with Judaism?

I grew up in Washington Heights in an Orthodox community. There are two communities, which consist of Yeshiva University and then the Breuer’s community, which is the more “black-hat” German-Jewish community. We grew up in the black hat community. I went to Breuer’s Yeshiva from kindergarten through high school. When I was in 11th grade my family moved to the Midwood section of Brooklyn and after high school I went to Israel for two years, where I became even more black-hat than I already was. Then I came back from Israel and I continued Yeshiva in Brooklyn while I started shidduch dating, and then I was in college at night to get my bachelors in business.

Tell me about He’bro

I started He’bro six years ago. The concept came about from the Jewish Christmas Eve straight party, the Matzo Ball. I was living with three straight roommates on the Upper West Side, and every Christmas Eve I would have some gay friends over because we didn’t want to go to the Matzo Ball anymore. Then my three roommates got married, and I moved into a studio that could fit at most eight people. So I contacted a local gay bar and told them I needed a space for 20 or 30 people, and asked them to open that night, because they were supposed to close. The owner was also Jewish, and gave me one floor to use. It was 2007, when Facebook was blowing up, so I created an event on Facebook and then it just kept multiplying. Over 200 people ended up coming. The police had to shut it down because it was over capacity. And I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something here.’

The next year I contacted a larger place called Splash, a gay night club, and the owner said they usually aren’t open on Christmas Eve, and that the gay market was already niche and hard to fill. A bartender happened to walk by and said he worked at the Matzo Ball every year and explained how successful it was, which swayed the owner. They agreed to do marketing and advertising, I promoted it, and the party ended up attracting more than 500 people. I realized there was a business here, so I started doing it on the side and decided to expand to other parties throughout the year. Our main party is Christmas Eve, the second biggest is High Homo Days, which is our High Holidays party. We do Homotaschen for Purim, and Cederlicious for Passover. 

So you’re making money on admissions?

Yes, just admission. I’m feeling confident about others things I’m doing over the next year to expand the business nationally.

Cool. Like throwing parties in other cities?

Since the parties have started getting publicity I get emails from all around the country from gay Jews asking, ‘Hey can you do a party in Montana?’ and I say, ‘There aren’t enough gay Jews!’ But then I also get emails from major cities like Chicago and California. New York has the largest gay Jewish population. I’m planning a big winter party retreat in Miami.

I’m now dividing He’bro between destination parties and trips. You’ll be the first to know about this actually, we’re doing this party in Miami, the working name of the trip is ‘Jewish Boys Gone Wild,’ its going to be our first national party. In the gay community they have all these destination parties. Theres ‘Gay Days,’ which is when Disneyland goes gay for the weekend. There’s one in Miami called the ‘Winter Party,’ and one in New York called the ‘Black Party.’ They have all these other gay destination parties, why not have a ‘Jewish Boys Gone Wild’, a whole weekend retreat. It will allow people from other states to have the He’bro experience. People have started to fly in for our regular parties, because it’s really unique experience.

I bet. Especially for people who live in the middle of nowhere.

Exactly. Even from nearby cities, people arrange buses and cars to come in from Philly, D.C., and Boston. I actually just came from a meeting with a travel agency about the Miami trip, which is scheduled for winter 2014/2015.

We’re also doing Tel Aviv Pride this coming summer. Tel Aviv has really blossomed from a Pride perspective. I’m also starting to produce the ‘Mr. Nice Jewish Boy Pageant,’ which will be here in New York with celebrity judges.

Who do you hope will judge?

I’m targeting Joan Rivers and Andy Cohen. I’m starting to expand He’bro from just parties to trips and other small productions. I can do ‘Mr. Nice Jewish Boy Pageant’ in every major city, and then have a Mr. Nice Jewish Boy USA.

Have you been a successful matchmaker? Have many couples have met through He’bro?

I know about five couples who are dating, or moving in together from our He’bro parties, which feels really good. Its funny because not all of them are Jew/Jew couples, some of them are Jew/non-Jew couples. We have this term ‘bagel chasers,’ or ‘goy toys,’ which describe non-Jewish gays who go for Jewish gays. The gay community has the term “chasers” for a lot of things, like chubby chasers.

What about Jewish girls who love to have gay friends? Is there a name for that?

No, but there should be one specifically for Jewish girls who like gay guys!

What’s your involvement in Jewish life these days? How have your views shifted as your Jewish identity has changed?

It’s interesting, that’s a very good question. I grew up very Orthodox, and when I was reconciling my gay identity with my Orthodoxy, I never had a problem with Judaism. I always loved being Jewish—my problem was with the Orthodox community and finding a place there. When I came out I didn’t want to be that person who fought the Orthodox community and demanded acceptance.
 
I joined a gay synagogue in New York City, I still do all the Jewish holidays, and am very connected to Judaism, but not from the Orthodox perspective. When I first came out everyone was asking me, ‘Why don’t you go to Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism?’ but I never felt a need to do that. When you grow up Orthodox its weird jut to transfer, because I know nothing about any other ideology. I don’t feel the need to be part of any denomination, but that’s probably the same as many young people. But I do freelance in Orthodox Judaism a little bit, just because of my family.

What do you mean?

I go home for the holidays, and if I go home for Shabbos dinner, all of a sudden I’m not using my phone, and essentially I go back to being Mendy—which is what my family calls me. My Hebrew name is Mendel. I never went by Jayson until I came out.

How did they react when you came out?

Well it was really tough for them in the beginning. And I think for any parent when their kid comes out it’s really tough, but for Orthodox parents it’s much harder. It’s difficult because of the religious values, but also the community, since Orthodoxy is very wrapped up in what the community thinks and how the family is perceived.

I never really had a problem with the Judaism because I came to the conclusion that God doesn’t have a problem with me, it’s just the Orthodox community that does. I’ll sum it up easily by saying it took me 10 years to come to grips with my gayness, so it’s taken my parents about the same amount of time, too. Which is fair. Now my parents have eight grandchildren, so a lot of the focus has shifted from the problems of their children to the grandkids.

Tell me more about the vision behind He’bro.

When I created He’bro it was really about celebrating the two identities. We’re past the struggle, we’re gay and we’re confident about it and we’re Jewish and confident about that as well. We only do parties and events in gay spaces. We don’t do anything in Jewish spaces. Our primary identity is our gay identity, and we just happen to be Jewish.

It’s a place for people to express their Jewish identity in an environment that’s comfortable for them. In the gay community I’m considered a nightlife promoter, which I love, because that’s how I market He’bro. I think I’m the only promoter in New York City who gets emails and phone calls from mothers.

What do they say?

It goes from good and bad. One time I got this email from a mother on Long Island who bought her 26-year-old son a ticket to one of my parties, then she emailed me saying, “I just purchased this ticket for my son to one of your parties, can you let me know if he went there?” I started laughing but was I also touched. I thought it was adorable, because she wanted her son to meet other Jewish guys. Then I also get calls from mothers who get mad when they see pictures on Facebook of their son topless at one of my parties. They start yelling, ‘How could you do that and ruin his reputation?!’ I say, ‘your son is voluntarily posing topless. I’ll take it down, but…’

What do your parties look like?

They’ve very provocative. We have go-go boys wearing yarmulkes. It looks like a regular gay night cub experience but its always themed to the holiday. At the High Holiday party we have go-gos and a confession booth where you write down your sins on on a big white board. So it’s really in line with the holidays. For the Passover party the go go boys were dressed up as Egyptians and we gave out Manischewitz shots. At the Christmas Eve Party we had Jewish santas and drag queens walking around. But for the Homotaschen Party on Purim, people don’t get dressed up. That’s because when gays get dressed up they go all out, so they can really only do that once a year, on Halloween. To expect them to do that on a random Saturday in March is a lot to ask.

(Image via Facebook)

In the Spotlight: Zac Shavrick, Catskills Sculptor and Metalworking Phenom
Jonathan Neman, Sweetgreen Co-Founder
ZZ Ward, Soulful Jewish Singer on the Rise
Jacqueline Nicholls, Bold Jewish Artist
Jessie Kahnweiler, ‘Dude Where’s My Chutzpah’ Filmmaker
Ari Seth Cohen, ‘Advanced Style’ Photographer
Brad Wollack, Chelsea Handler’s Red-Headed Sidekick
Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand, Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim, Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky, Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight On: Jayson Littman, Finance Guy Turned He’bro Founder appeared first on Jewcy.

Whether you’re a fan of rock, R&B, hip hop or blues, singer and musician ZZ Ward has something for everyone. Beyond her killer ability to gracefully fluctuate from genre to genre, she rocks awesome fedoras, lots of gold, and has a puppy named Muddy Waters. Although Ward is Jewish, she didn’t know until 3 years ago. Read on!

Zsuzsanna “ZZ” Ward, 27-year-old native of Roseburg, Oregon, had been playing the bar circuit until her now-manager noticed her soulful vocals four years ago in Los Angeles. Her album, Till the Casket Drops, came out last summer, and the Down and Dirty Shine Tour kicks off at the end of August in Seattle. ZZ’s star is on the rise, and her staying power is a sure thing.  

Is ZZ a childhood nickname?

Yes—My name is Zsuzsanna. It’s Hungarian and it has two z’s in it, so people started to call me ZZ when I was younger, and it stuck.

How did you get into music, more specifically blues and hip hop, and what instruments do you play?

I play harmonica, guitar, and piano and I got into music through my dad. We’re from Pennsylvania, but he really got into the blues when we moved to Oregon. I started to listen to Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thorton, and Howling Wolf because of my dad, and I got into hip-hop through my older brother who was listening to Nas and Jay-Z. I would steal his CDs, like Outkast, Snoop Dogg, and Biggie. Then I would play in a local blues band in Oregon and I would also drive up to Eugene, OR, an hour and a half north, and to play hip-hop shows. I did everything I could do in Oregon and I really wanted to make it in music, so four years ago I moved down to LA, and then things started to happen!

I love your cover of Frank Ocean’s, “Thinkin Bout You.” You also collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the track “Cryin’ Wolf.” Who else would you like to work with and what is it about hip-hop that draws you in?

Thank you. I’d love to work Pharell and Kanye West. For me, I love hip hop rhythms and beats and I love the swag of rap. I love the way they use the words and how they make up their own word, it’s so creative. I love the drive of it as well, like on Illmatic where Nas talking about getting out of where he was, but he was bigger than where he was, and I can relate to that.
 
I always think that as an artist you should be making music that you like to listen to. If you’re making country music and you get in your car and listen to old 1990s hip hop, than what are you doing? My music wouldn’t be complete without hip hop being a part of it.

Do you find yourself yearning for the country or are you happy in LA?

I like the country, but because I tour so much I get my taste of country life a bit. LA isn’t very pretty and isn’t really scenic, but I appreciate the opportunity here. I grew up always wanting some kind of outlet and I made music my outlet, but here there are so many things you can do with your talent. I really love LA.

What’s your vision for the Down and Dirty Shine Tour?

I got my record deal playing live in a room for people and I grew up playing in my dad’s street band on the bus and on street corners. I played music at the most random places you could ever imagine. So for me it’s really about going out there and sharing that with people.

Just being raw.

Yes, just being raw. And that’s the thing, people come out and say they love it because I sound like the record and that’s so refreshing to hear. The musicians in my band love playing live, too. We travel so much it can be exhausting sometimes, but we all love performing, and I think you feel that on the stage no matter what city we’re in.

Some of your lyrics are about this certain type of bad boy—and then there’s also the total opposite character, and it seems like you root for the underdog as well. Would you say you draw from personal experience in having that dichotomy of taste?

Yeah, for sure! Bad choices. I think that good songs come out of bad choices and good choices, but for me on this record it was a lot of bad choices. So yeah, in, “Move it Like U Stole It” I’m singing about hooking up with a dork, and in others I’m talking about this bad boy. It can also be how I look at a person who has different sides to them. That was a good question—I’ve never had anybody ask me that before.

Thanks, I’m glad! What’s your Jewish background?
 
I’m Jewish on my mother’s side—it’s something I found about later on in life. My manager is Jewish, and when I moved out to LA he was asking me about my name, Zsuzsanna. He was asking me about my name and I told him my mother’s name was Zsuzsanna and my grandmother’s name was Zsuzsanna Friedman. And he said, ‘Oh, than you’re Jewish,’ and I said ‘No, I don’t think so,’ and he said ‘Well, Friedman is a very Jewish name.’ And then I told her that my great-grandmother’s mother’s name was Rosie Weisz.

In retrospect it was so obvious, but my grandmother denied it initially, because she went through the Holocaust and converted to Catholicism when she was 16 to save herself and her family from the Nazis. She denied it for so long, until finally, when I kept asking her, she told me and my mother that she had been Catholic for more than 70 years. My mom asked her, ‘What were you before that?’ and she said, ‘Jewish.’
She’s gotten a little more comfortable with opening up and telling me things. She used to have to wear the Star of David on her clothes and all of her family went to Auschwitz. They didn’t move from Budapest until my mom was four so they also went through the Cold War. So yes, I’m newly Jewish and I never knew my entire life until I found out.

That’s intense. How old were you when your manager asked you about your name?

It was three years ago. And it took a while for my grandma to really confirm it. It’s amazing because in retrospect Friedman and Fleisch are really Jewish names. I also didn’t really grow up with religion, but now I know so many Jews. It’s cool because I get to learn about traditions from them and I’ve been to temple. It’s definitely something I want to continue in my family and I want to learn more about. I’m very proud of it.

So what was your favorite festival to play at?

My favorite festival recently was Firefly.

I saw you! It was an awesome performance.

Oh, you were there! It was amazing. I never played for that many people before so it was really wild! I got on stage and for a moment I was like, ‘Oh my gosh there are so many people out there.’ It was such an amazing show. The sound was perfect. It was also a really well put-together festival. But festivals in general are super fun. They’re way different than playing inside a bar and you get to make new fans. One of my favorite parts about it is that I get to see other musicians play.

And finally, tell me about your adorable puppy, Muddy Waters.

She’s sitting by me right now in the passenger seat. She’s a very sweet dog—she’s been raised on the road, on the tour bus. She loves it and the band loves having her on the road. She’s a real joy to have. I put her in a little security uniform the other day. I think I posted it on my Instagram. I always said I wouldn’t be one of those people that dress up my dogs, but I do.

(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

In the Spotlight: Jacqueline Nicholls, Bold Jewish Artist
Jessie Kahnweiler, ‘Dude Where’s My Chutzpah’ Filmmaker
Ari Seth Cohen, ‘Advanced Style’ Photographer
Brad Wollack, Chelsea Handler’s Red-Headed Sidekick
Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand, Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim, Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky, Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight On: ZZ Ward, Soulful Jewish Singer on the Rise appeared first on Jewcy.

“The Ladies Guild Collection is a series of paper-cuts that combine rabbinic misogyny with sexualized images of women, all on a nice paper doily.”

That’s the introduction to artist Jacqueline Nicholls’ paper-cuts series, The Ladies Guild Collection, which focuses on misogynist rabbinic texts and their rigid depiction of women’s roles in Jewish life. Nicholls, now 42, grew up in an Orthodox home and was often angered by the representation of females in traditional Jewish texts—scenarios that were at times mirrored in her everyday life.

Nicholls’ interpretation of and frustration with specific Talmudic texts are portrayed through the mediums of embroidery, corsetry, drawings, and print, depending on the text she has chosen to analyze. Besides being a full-time artist and mother, she also teaches adult Jewish education, where she continues to question societal norms and open a dialogue for those around her.

I’m interested to know about your Jewish background and how you’ve mastered the texts so well.

I grew up in a very traditional Orthodox home and I went to a mainstream day school which wasn’t Jewish. But I grew up shomer Shabbat and observing kashrut, and then after I completed my degree I studied at Nishmat, which is where I fell in love with Jewish learning. What I gained most from Nishmat, which is a traditional women’s yeshiva in Jerusalem (a very unusual place; I went there the second year it was open which added to the excitement of being there) was direct engagement with textual learning—learning the skills but also having the sense that it’s your own personal responsibility to engage with these texts yourself and not be reliant on a teacher or rabbi to translate and interpret, but instead to come up with your own readings and understandings and develop your own relationship. I think that was very formative. I was about 20 or 21. It was a very serious, high-level textual study.

Were you always artistic? Did art and exploring Jewish texts become a natural marriage for you?

I was always drawing as kid. My family was always drawing as well, so I was involved in making things. Now I don’t have an issue speaking in front of people, but as a child I wasn’t so confident speaking my mind, so drawing was a way to communicate. We grew up very observant of all the holidays, but, when I was five or six, my mother allowed me to draw on Shabbat, because I was very upset that I wasn’t allowed to draw, and she was upset that I hated Shabbat because of that, so she let me. When I was older I began to better understand what Shabbat was about, but looking back now I think it’s really interesting that my mother did that.

It’s really nice she did that. You may have had different views about Judaism, or at least about Shabbat, if she hadn’t.

Yes. I also think it took a while as an adult to really feel that I had permission to call myself an artist and say, ‘Yes, I am an artist.’ And yes, the works that I’m doing in terms of this engagement with Jewish texts and ideas is a legitimate thing to make art about. It’s not Judaica, it’s not decorative, and it’s not always about making things beautiful. It’s about challenging, questioning and exploring to make art.

You also teach adult Jewish education. What topics do you cover?

I teach a couple of things: I teach Tanach, the Hebrew Bible. I also teach some other Jewish programs like Jewish law, but I mainly teach Tanach.

There’s a lot of anger in your work about Jewish textual depiction of women. How do your projects reflect the relationship between men and women in Judaism?

I don’t think it was one particular moment growing up of, ‘Gosh, it would be so much easier to do this if I was a boy,’ but it’s little things, and those little things all add up. That’s what my series of paper cuts is all about. It’s taking these lines that were written in a particular time and context that still carry a certain weight today because they reflect attitudes that are still present. It’s also not an attitude only within the Jewish community, treating woman as separate, and as objects.

It’s the view that having the women’s voice included in the discussion of halacha and how Jews should live is not valid. It’s very much a discussion in which men participate and women are talked about. I started the series of paper cuts with a couple of things that made me very angry, and I felt I had to get them out into the open. Then more and more frustration kept coming out and my anger increased.

How do you think the depiction of women in texts affects men?

There are very misogynist texts. Women are the direct victims but it also harms men that women are being treated and talked about in this way. But men’s roles in misogynist texts are also representative, like the fact that they can’t take sexual responsibility for themselves, so women have to cover up. That’s not a dignified way for men to be portrayed. I think it limits what a man can be and it keeps it fixed in a very rigid way. It’s a very black and white; there’s only male, and only female. It limits both of us and it harms everyone. The complexities of human life don’t fit into any category.

Do you feel a change is imminent?

Yes. Has it been fast enough? No. The fact that, recently we had the Yeshivat Maharat graduating female Orthodox rabbis, that wasn’t conceivable 20 years ago. It’s hugely groundbreaking, but it’s not a big deal that there are these knowledgeable women who learn to that level—it was groundbreaking that somebody gave them certification. What’s also groundbreaking is the demand for them. These women have jobs, and there’s a big demand among Orthodox communities who want female leadership.

I also think the democratization of traditional Jewish learning and text is progress. I’m sitting in London doing my Daf Yomi drawings, which include a page of Talmud a day, and I have the option to go online to share it or I can go on Twitter and have a conversation with people all over the world who are doing the same thing.

The ability to make connections has grown, and now we have easy access to these texts. I think the fact that we’re able to have immediate access to conversation about texts and issues even though we’re living in very different countries is very exciting.

How do you choose which art medium to use for each text?

I’ve used lots of different art forms, so when I was working with the misogynist texts, it felt right to use paper cuts. There’s something very satisfying about taking a sharp knife to these words, but also you’re left with a very stark black and white image which represents misogyny well.

I did a series of embroideries called Ghost and Shadows, based on various stories of women in the Talmud. They are anonymous women who aren’t main characters, and have no names. They’re fleeting but very haunting. I chose to use embroidery because it’s a very feminist craft—you can hide something and put it four layers down so you have a sense that it’s underneath the page, so it fits conceptually with that.

Do you find your audience is more male or female?

I think my work speaks to different people depending on what resonates with them and their own life experiences. I think some of the work speaks more readily to women, especially the Ladies Guild Collection because I think there’s a recognition of, ‘Oh yes, I’ve been really annoyed by that particular text, and now we’re going to laugh at it together.’ And in particular with the paper-cuts I try to have at least a bit of a sense of humor, although I do think they became angrier as that series went on. I don’t know if it speaks more to men or women, I’ve had really interesting reactions from both.

I always include a summary about the text I’m working on for each piece, so people can familiarize themselves with the story. I’m always really intrigued by people who have had a very traditional upbringing, like those who come from a Yeshivish world who can instantly recognize things which may be quite subtle. I try to use different aspects of Jewish ritual life as vocabulary within my work. So whether or not you recognize that is how familiar you are with Jewish ritual life. Sometimes I need to point it out, but its always interesting when I don’t have to translate and people just get it.

(Image from the Ladies Guild Collection, by Jacqueline Nicholls)

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Ari Seth Cohen, ‘Advanced Style’ Photographer
Brad Wollack, Chelsea Handler’s Red-Headed Sidekick
Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand, Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim, Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky, Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight On: Jacqueline Nicholls, Bold Jewish Artist appeared first on Jewcy.

Jessie Kahnweiler is a 28-year-old filmmaker from Atlanta best-known for her new web series, Dude Where’s my Chutzpah. The series follows Kahnweiler on her quest to find meaning in Judaism after her grandmother dies, leaving her a large sum of money with one caveat: she’ll only receive the money if she can reconnect with her Jewish soul.

Kahnweiler is candid and hilarious, and has a way of saying the things you want to say but don’t have enough ‘chutzpah’ to actually say. She was awarded a Six Points Fellowship in 2012, a grant that supports Jewish artistic endeavors, and has a YouTube channel filled with shorts and trailers. She’s at work on a new series, White Noise, in which she infiltrates different cultural communities and breaks down stereotypes.

With an unapologetically honest and fresh voice, Kahnweiler is definitely on our radar, and should be on yours, too.

Did you always want to tell stories?

I played dress up until I was like … I don’t know, yesterday. I’ve always been interested in the art of storytelling and using my experiences to tell stories and process my own life and relationships. Since I was a kid I’ve created imaginary worlds in my head and talked to myself. In college we didn’t have a film department but I went to a hippy dippy school where you could design your own major. I took a film class and then just started making documentaries. I drove around the country with truck drivers for my thesis film, because I wanted to learn about truck drivers—I didn’t tell my mom about it until afterwards. It all just all feels like a natural progression.

What was going on before you got the Six Points Fellowship?

That’s the cool thing about this project, it really just found me. I know that sounds super cheesy, but it’s true. After college I moved to LA and started working on bigger Hollywood movie sets like Couples Retreat and Green Hornet, and I would make shorts on the side.

Then I was working for Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams’ production company, and one of my mentors told me to apply to the Six Points Fellowship. I was like, ‘Whatever, I’m not Jewy, I’m the last person to ever be able to make a Jewish film. What am I gonna write about, Rivka and having 20 kids?’ But then I just applied and wound up getting the grant. I left the production company and threw myself into this project for the past year and a half.

Did your grandmother really pass away and leave you a sum of money or was that fictional?

My grandmother actually ended up passing away during the making of the series, so it’s very weird how art imitated life. But, no, it was just inspired by real life. I was raised super reform and I dated more non-Jewish guys then I care to comment on. I look at the grant as a metaphor for how it really was. Like I got the grant and was like ok I’m going to make a film about being Jewish. That kind of parallels the actual film, you know what I mean?

Completely. What’s the Jewish culture like down in Atlanta?

Jesus! I don’t even know—lobster waffles? There’s definitely a Jewish community there but it’s not big. I was really good at playing soccer so I played with all the goys. I had a bat mitzvah and did what I was supposed to do but it always felt like an inconvenience—like, ‘Oh, I have to go to temple.’ I equated it with going to the dentist: I’m going to go, but I’m not going to like it.

I read that you pictured God as a man, and I feel like a lot of people visualize this big man in the sky running the show. Has going to Israel and getting more in touch with your roots changed your view on spirituality?

Wow, how much time do you have? No, I think you’re absolutely speaking to the point. I do look at God as a man because God, spirituality, and everything I learned was always an instruction, to believe ‘This is what you should eat, or this is what God is.’ I think we’re given the answers a lot growing up, and it’s so unfortunate, because when you look at the history of Judaism it reveals the complete opposite. Judaism is all about questioning and playing in the gray and being comfortable in the gray.

Doing the project and being in Israel has made religion and spirituality much more of a conversation for me. It’s opened me up in so many ways—last night I went to a Buddhist meditation meeting. In the past I would make fun of myself for doing something like that but now I am much more open.

So now you welcome all spiritual possibilities with open arms?

Totally. Not to sound like a hallmark card, but it’s a lot like when you think about love. I mean, words can’t even do it justice, so when you ask me about God or spirituality, there’s no symbol or word or place to describe it, because it’s not of this world. To even know that, though, is leaps and bounds from where I was a year ago, when I thought, ‘God’s a dick’—if God is so great then what the fuck is the Holocaust?

I know what you mean. What did you enjoy the most about Israel?

I went on Birthright and they show you all the places, but you don’t really get a lot of time to explore, so to be on a mission as a filmmaker and writer was totally different. For me, it was all about the people. All the energy and what it means to interact with Israelis and just really putting yourself out there.

Going to the West bank was a total mind fuck; it was really scary, but truly life changing. Dressing up as a boy and going to the Kotel, that was crazy too. Also stuff that we didn’t film, like meeting a cute guy on the bus and doing my laundry with him. Everyday is a movie there.

It really is. Falafel or shawarma?

Oh, I don’t know—that’s why you have two hands. One of each.

You’ve been compared to Lena Dunham, another funny Jewish girl. Do you welcome that comparison?

If you’re young and you’re a woman, people need someone to compare you to in order to understand you—so I totally see the comparison and translation of it. I think she has huge balls as a woman and really puts herself out there and has crafted this way to be an auteur and the captain of her own ship. I really admire that and obviously I like to work like that too. We’re different, but I welcome it. Honestly, I think I’m more similar to Penelope Cruz.

In the Spotlight: Ari Seth Cohen, ‘Advanced Style’ Photographer
Brad Wollack, Chelsea Handler’s Red-Headed Sidekick
Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand, Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim, Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky, Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight On: Jessie Kahnweiler, ‘Dude Where’s My Chutzpah’ Filmmaker appeared first on Jewcy.

When I called Ari Seth Cohen for our phone interview, he was at a friend’s house. This friend wasn’t a similarly-aged companion, but instead a 68-year-old woman named Debra who lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I asked if I should call back another time, but Cohen said it was alright, that most of his older female friends don’t mind when he does some press at their homes—after all, what better place to discuss Advanced Style, his street style photography blog, than from the home of one of its subjects.

Although Cohen, 31, was always interested in art and fashion, the inspiration to start photographing older women came from his grandmother, who he calls his best friend. After her death, he decided to pick up a camera as a way to connect with fashionable older people he encountered across New York City. Although Cohen’s photography started as an odd attraction, his dedication to displaying the enthusiasm and vitality of his subjects is incredibly heartfelt. His subject pool includes men and women above 50, but women tend to get the focus thanks to their flair for fashion and makeup.

He has a book out and is producing a documentary about his experience, both called Advanced Style. “Don’t worry about getting older,” one woman explains in the trailer for the film, “every era builds character.”

Did your interest in photography come before your interest in older women or vice versa?

I was always into art; I studied art history in college, but I only started taking pictures five years ago when I moved to New York City. I started with my roommate’s Nikon Coolpix, and then I taught myself how to take better pictures and developed my skill. But photography was just a way for me to connect with older people. I wasn’t planning on being a photographer, it just happened because of the project I was working on.

So there was never a thought to photograph another type of subject?

No. Only older people.

Why?

Well, I grew up in San Diego and my grandmothers were my best friends. I always had a very positive idea of what it’s like to get older because of how fun and interesting they were. One of my grandmothers went to graduate school at Columbia University and she would tell me as a little kid to move to New York if I wanted to be creative.

I finally moved here in 2008 and I approached the city through my grandmother’s eyes. I wanted to meet older people because she had passed away, and then I began meeting all of these incredibly interesting, active old people. At first I wanted to interview them for my own project, which I wasn’t planning on sharing with people. Then I decided I had good material and I started my blog.

What’s a day in the life of Ari Seth Cohen like?

Well, today I woke up and posted on my blog. Then I met up with my friend Debra Rapoport on the Upper East Side, she’s putting together a website for all the hats she makes. After this I plan to walk around the city—I walk everywhere—taking pictures of older men and older women, and hopefully I’ll be able to make connections to interview them and share their stories with other people.

Do the older ladies cook for you, grandma style? Have you recruited recipes?

I do want to work on a blog post of recipes but I haven’t yet. Debra always cooks, and she’s a good cook, but it’s not really a grandmother/grandson relationship between these ladies and me. They are more like my friends. We walk around and go to galleries and museums.

Tomorrow I’m traveling with this 80-year-old woman to a conference in Michigan on elder abuse. We’re going to speak there about the work we do together, which is hopefully changing people’s ideas of what it means to grow old.

What’s the biggest misunderstanding about old people?

I think that people neglect, forget, or ignore older people and don’t realize their worth. They don’t realize that they still want to be heard and that they still have a lot to offer. Oftentimes you look at someone who’s older and you may think they don’t have the same understanding of the world, but all the people I meet are so aware and present.

On your website it says you’re working on an Advanced Style documentary due out this year. What’s the focus of the film?

There are six ladies that my friend and I have been following for the last five years since I first met them on the street. A lot of them have found new careers in modeling and acting all from being exposed on the blog, so it follows their story and the story of the blog.

Where’s the best place to find interesting older people?

Oh definitely uptown, that’s where I spend most of my time.

What’s your favorite part about your job?

First of all, it’s being able to spend time with such incredible people. But over the course of the past two years I’ve also come out with my book and I’ve been invited all over the world to speak and meet more interesting older people in different communities. It’s been incredible to hear their stories, travel, and be able to document it and share it with the world. It’s amazing when an older person emails me after seeing the blog and tells me how it has impacted their life and how they feel about themselves. Or even a younger person saying they feel less afraid of getting older.

How have younger people—and your friends—reacted to your interest in older people?

My friends totally get that this is the perfect thing for me to be doing; I’ve always spoken so much about my grandmother. I haven’t found much disapproval. When I go on dates people are a little surprised, but it is a quirky interest.

In the Spotlight: Brad Wollack, Chelsea Handler’s Red-Headed Sidekick
Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand, Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim, Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky, Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight On: Ari Seth Cohen, ‘Advanced Style’ Photographer appeared first on Jewcy.

Everyone loves a redhead, especially a red-headed comedian. Brad Wollack is an Emmy nominated writer, producer, and comedian who hails from San Francisco, CA. You can usually find him being taunted by Chelsea Handler on one of E!’s best shows, Chelsea Lately (in competition only with Keeping up with the Kardashians) for his red hair and tendency to kvetch. Besides being a regular on the show’s roundtable, he also serves as a co-executive producer and writer on the show.

I talked to him about Lil’ Bow Wow, his wife, and how his red hair has helped him become a well rounded individual.

Your interest in television production came before your interest in comedy. When did you realize you realize you were funny and that you wanted to pursue comedy?

Well you’re assuming I think I’m funny now. I honestly think I’m going to be found out any minute. That’s the true nature of everybody in comedy, writing standup or whatever. You’re not that funny but you can fake it for long enough. I guess I was always a funny kid. I liked to perform and make people laugh. I never thought I’d pursue it as a career until I was graduating college and I had many ideas about what I could do in life. I liked being silly. I did work for the TV station in college and I did a few professional things as well. Then I was working in comedy and someone told me to do stand-up, so that worked out for a bit. It just built and built—if someone would have told me years ago I would have been a stand-up comedian I wouldn’t have believed it.

How has your red hair played a role in your work?

Well I think that goes back to the issue of performing when I was young. My red hair was always an attention-getter. People would frequently come up to me to touch my hair and chat. I think it’s also made me really comfortable with people, which makes it easier to be on stage. It kind of became a trademark for me. Especially when I started with Chelsea Lately; I had this massive curly Jew-fro and it became my hallmark. Chelsea told everyone in America they should think I’m ugly because of it, and it took off. And then two weeks ago I shaved my head in defiance. Some people think I look a lot better and some people think I should bring my Jew curls back. Physically I think I look better but it was kind of my signature thing, so…

You can always grow it out and shave it again.

I can. My big fear was that I didn’t think people would find me funny anymore. It was kind of like Samson; it was my strength. But yeah, I can always grow it back.

How is preparing for the Chelsea Lately different than preparing for After Lately as far as the writers’ room process?

Chelsea Lately is a daily show so we go in every morning and it’s a blank slate. We have to get everything ready by 3:30 p.m. to tape for that night. It’s a crunch time thing. We prepare and put a show together but a lot of it is a last minute creation. Fortunately we’ve done about 1,100 episodes now and we have a rhythm. Nothing is scripted other than “here are some jokes if you want to use them, Chelsea.”

After Lately is a different process. It’s a scripted show so we spend many months in the writers’ room crafting stories and creating an outline. It’s scripted in a way similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

How does your wife feel about being referenced in some of your jokes?

She’s gotten better with it. She’s realized its kind of a necessity, but she doesn’t completely love the fact everything about our life is fair game (although, she does enjoy the nice lifestyle). I also think my honesty is what’s so appealing to the people at home watching. All the comedians on Chelsea Lately are really honest about they are and what they do. There’s something relatable about that. Of course, if my wife asks me not to say something I wont. But I’ll likely let Chelsea know and then Chelsea will mention it…

So then it’s not your fault, completely!

Right, it’s all fair game! You can’t tell Chelsea anything and expect it to be kept a secret.

How old is your son?

Spencer is a little over a year and half.

I saw your BET interview and thought it was very funny. Do you enjoy rap music?

I do. We were in London and we ended up at a club and somehow ended up at the table of Lil’ Bow Wow. Well, now he goes by Bow Wow—it’s a lot more mature than Lil Bow Wow. I was texting my wife, ‘You will not believe where I am right now.’ I like whatever’s popular; for all I know, Bruno Mars is a rapper.

I’m a huge U2, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and REM fan. I think I was supposed to stop progressing after the 1980s. I’m kind of an old man in that respect. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love hip-hop. I love hip-hop. I don’t want your readers to think ‘Oh what a fucking loser.’ I was poppin’ bottles in the club with Bow Wow.

Sounds fun. Were you ever bar-mitzvahed? What was your theme?

I sure was! The theme was sports!

How typical.

I know! There’s a girl in my office whose brother’s gay and I think the most telling sign was that his theme was Broadway musicals. Mine was sports, particularly basketball.

What’s your relationship with Judaism?

I’m culturally Jewish. I enjoy a great corned beef sandwich but that’s basically where it stops. I am a huge Chinese food fan, especially on Christmas.

Same. Is your wife Jewish?

No, she’s a shiksa! She’s pretty good looking. And our son looks like the perfect Aryan. Hitler would be very proud of our son.

I’m sure. Who are some comedians you look up to?

Its funny, growing up there wasn’t anyone who I truly loved. My earliest exposure to stand up was actually my dad showing me the first Ellen DeGeneres HBO special. I was also a huge fan of The Naked Gun. Leslie Nielsen was just brilliant.

Nowadays I love Ricky Gervais. The characters he’s had and his stand-up is hilarious. I’ve been a fan of Louis C.K. for a while. He is so smart and conversational in his stand-up. It’s so right on. But my biggest stand up idol, the first one I was like ‘Oh my god,’ was Dave Attell.

In the Spotlight: Katy Hirschfeld, The Austin Artist Behind Collage Garage
Loren Wohl, Borscht Belt-Bred Music Photographer
Ari Brand: Actor, Musician, Summer Camp Alum
Haim: Three Jewish Sisters Who Rock
Alex Karpovsky: Actor, Writer, Director, and Producer

The post Spotlight on: Brad Wollack, Comedian and Chelsea Handler Sidekick appeared first on Jewcy.