Fair Lawn—The quintessential Jewish rock band is coming back to the United States, with a stop at Congregation Shomrei Torah. Shlock Rock, the Jewish band created and headed by Lenny Solomon of Beit Shemesh, will be playing in Fair Lawn later this month. What makes this concert unique is that it is part of Shlock Rock’s 30th anniversary tour.
Shlock Rock’s first album, “Learning is Good,” was released in January 1986. The band began, Solomon says, with his involvement in NCSY; he would play at the Shabbatons, and would perform non-Jewish songs with the words changed to reflect Jewish themes “to keep the kids interested in Shabbat.” He was also the music director of the Jewish Public School Youth Movement, where he would play Shlock Rock songs to “make the kids enjoy Judaism and learn more about their heritage. I would teach Torah through music.” Solomon didn’t plan on Shlock Rock becoming a career, but when he released the first album, people wanted the band to do shows, and the band took off. “The point of Shlock Rock is to educate people on an informal basis… through music,” Solomon said. “It’s the gift that Hashem gave me, to write [Jewish] parodies [of non-Jewish songs].”
Shlock Rock has released 36 albums so far. Over the years, its members have changed around (Solomon has different bandmates in different cities whom he taps to perform), but Solomon has always remained at the helm. When it comes to the current tour, he said, “I’m not sure if it will be the farewell tour, but it might be.” Citing declining music sales and the age of the band as reasons why the band may stop touring, Solomon is confident that the band will still release new content in the future—the band’s newest album, Simchat Chaim, is the first to be released exclusively through digital media.
This new tour will be playing in Boston, Fair Lawn, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Florida and various other cities. “I love going on the road… I love meeting the Jews everywhere,” Solomon said. “I would never trade [the career] for a million years.” One of his favorite parts of touring is getting to “meet Jews from all different types of denominations, whether or not they’re religious… You hear them, you listen to them and you understand them.” He has even entertained the Jewish community in far-flung places such as Anchorage and Honolulu, and has played internationally as well. He takes pride in his identity as a “Jewish rock-and-roller… spreading Jewish pride, and identity and awareness.”
The upcoming concert will not be Shlock Rock’s first time playing in Fair Lawn. Shlock Rock played in Fair Lawn on June 14, 1993, in a concert also sponsored by Shomrei Torah. (At the time, almost all of the original six band members were still with the band.) Solomon is extremely excited to come back to Fair Lawn: “I love Fair Lawn, I love [Shomrei Torah ma’ara d’asra] Rabbi Yudin, I love the whole community… It was a great show in June 1993, and it will be a great show now.”
Solomon is adamant about the fact that he does not have a favorite Shlock Rock song, as the band has done over 500 different songs over the years. He does think that usually he is partial to the band’s newest work because the work keeps on improving and improving.
“It’s been an honor to play Jewish music for the last 30 years, and with Hashem’s help I hope to keep doing it,” Solomon said. “I hope to see everybody at the Fair Lawn show—everyone at the shul, who’s a part of the community, because Shlock Rock is the best music ever and I think everyone should be raising their children on Shlock Rock.”
Shomrei Torah member Sam Ulrich, who is the main planner and coordinator of the event, said that he is “very excited to host it in Fair Lawn,” as a lot of community members know Lenny Solomon and are excited to hear a band perform that they remember from their childhoods.
“Shomrei Torah is really looking forward to hosting Lenny Solomon and Shlock Rock,” said congregation president Oren Hiller. On a personal level, Hiller has known Solomon “for over 45 years. We grew up together in Kew Gardens, Queens and [I] remember singing some of the original Shlock Rock songs during seudat shlishit at Adath Jeshurun every Shabbat.”
The concert will take place on February 21 at 12 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $15 for children and $12 to $15 for adults. Various sponsorship levels are available, which include free tickets and a signed CD at some levels. To order tickets or a sponsorship, visit shomrei-torah.org/shlockrock.
By Oren Oppenheim
