Rebecca Goldberg talks techno and

Arts&Life music

Techno Torchbearer Rebecca Goldberg talks techno and about the release of her latest album.

Rebecca Goldberg

REISA SHANAMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Atouring DJ and active music prochildhood have shaped her own approach to ducer who has worked at Detroit music. Threads record store and was In addition to the sounds her parents featured in the 2016 French documentary exposed her to, including disco, Phil Collins, Music on the Road, it’s easy to see Rebecca The Doors and Madonna, Goldberg vivGoldberg as a torchbearer of Detroit techno. idly recalls hearing the DJ mixes of Stacey

“I have devoted myself to it. It’s not just “Hotwaxx” Hale and live recordings from the music, but the culture of it,” she said. “It’s Club X pumping through Detroit’s airwaves. very much a culture, and I think I’m a good “Stacey was playing freestyle music, and I representative of that.” had never heard anything like that before,”

Goldberg grew up in Bloomfield she said. “The club music was techno, trance, Township in the ’80s and ’90s, where her stuff that my parents didn’t have in their mother played piano and accordion and CD collection, and I wasn’t hearing on the sang. Her father, more interested in the school bus on the way home,” she laughed. technological side of music, kept a consistent Though she attended the University of collection of vintage radios and stereos at Michigan to study American culture and got home. a job after graduating, it was not her passion

“You don’t realize until much later, but to work in that environment. looking back it makes perfect sense,” she “I didn’t know if there was a way I could said about the way these two aspects of her make music and create a career for myself. It took a few years to hone that in. Once I realized that could be my livelihood, I definitely went all in,” she said.

She began producing her own music, took a job at famed local record store Detroit Threads, and got booked to DJ Detroit nightclubs like TV Lounge and the Works.

And after growing up listening to Hale, Goldberg and her hero wound up being booked to DJ many of the same events over the years. Hale later gifted Goldberg her first piece of music production equipment: an MPC. This combination drum machine and sampler that allows its user to upload sounds and manipulate them the same way a percussionist would “changed everything,” she said.

Having once rode 10 airplanes and six trains in a single week while touring, Goldberg calls the effects of COVID-19 on

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF REBECCA GOLDBERG

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Rebecca Goldberg

continued from page 32 the electronic music community “devastating.”

“Obviously, we want this [virus] to go away, and everyone needs to do their part to make sure that we’re back safe, so it’s OK that everything’s on hold,” she said. “But it’s pretty devastating.”

Though many DJs have turned to live-streaming on various internet platforms and phone apps, Goldberg acknowledges, “I don’t think any of us got into this to play for a camera.” She personally feels weird being the “visual focus.”

Though she doesn’t know what the future will look like for her beloved music community, “Detroit’s always been able to adapt,” she said.

Quarantine hasn’t been all bad, though.

“It was like forced downtime that I might not make for myself otherwise to do more administrative things,” she shared. “Like doing my taxes on time and updating my website.”

Seeing it as a metaphor for the circumstances that first birthed techno, she said, “You have to be in a [tough] situation, more or less, to get inspired to do new and innovative things. Even designing or producing music related to 34 |

It’s very much a culture, and I think I’m a good representative of that.

— REBECCA GOLDBERG

the experience you’re going through. It’s all a reflection of that.”

In addition to music, Goldberg is a digital graphic designer. Inspired by vintage propaganda, travel and gig posters, as well as typography and pop art, her bold designs have been printed on posters, postcards, stickers, apparel … and now face masks.

Something of a premonition, Goldberg’s most recent album, Synthetic World, was completed before COVID-19. “It’s so reflective of everything that happened, culturally,” she said. “Everyone’s online and plugged in on social media. It ended up being the best way for everyone to stay in touch with each other during this crazy global catastrophe. I’ve got this record about the world being synthetic, or not totally organic, [while] we’re relying on this technology to stay connected as humans.”

Though she is anxious to travel and play music out in public again, Goldberg admits she is happy to enjoy the rest of her summer with less stress than usual.

Rebecca Goldberg’s music and designs are available on her website www.rebecca-goldberg.com.

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celebrity jews

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

KARATE KID BAD GUY IS REALLY A GOOD GUY AND TWO GOOD MOVIES

Chemical Hearts is an original Amazon film that’s now streaming. Austin Abrams, 23, co-stars as Henry, a sensitive young man who meets Grace (Lili Reinhart), when they are selected to co-edit their high school paper. Grace is smart, beautiful and, for quite a while, hard to figure out. I won’t spoil it for you by saying more. But this film is much smarter than almost all teen dramas. It got good reviews from most, if not all, respected critics.

Abrams, a very cute guy, grew up in Sarasota, Fla., the child of two doctors. He’s had recurring roles on The Walking Dead and Euphoria. Veteran actor Bruce Altman, 65, a practicing Jew, has a smallish role as Henry’s father. He makes the most of his screen time. You’ll probably recognize him from scores of TV guest shots.

Cobra Kai, a sort of reboot of The Karate Kid movies, got little attention when the first two seasons streamed on the little-watched Youtube Red channel. However, it got huge viewing numbers when Netflix started streaming the first two seasons on Aug. 28. (A third season will appear “sometime” on Netflix).

The original film opened with teen Daniel (Ralph Macchio) being bullied by high school classmates who study karate at Cobra Kai, an “evil” karate school run by the nasty John Kreese (Martin Kove, 74). Daniel responds by studying karate with a Japanese American expert. In the film’s climactic scene, Daniel faces Johnny, Cobra Kai’s top student, in a match and defeats him. The reboot is set in

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Martin Kove

the present. Johnny re-founds Cobra Kai, but he runs it more humanely than Kreese did, and Daniel runs a school based on his mentor’s teachings.

Reprising their film roles are Macchio, Randee Heller, 73 (she played/plays Daniel’s mother), and Kove. Kove is not like Kreese. He travels the country giving anti-bullying lectures. In 2017, he told a rabbi that he tries to be as observant as he can and that his two children (twin boy and girl) were b’nai mitzvah.

I just saw The Boy Downstairs, a 2017 film I liked a great deal. I am amazed that this very good film, that got mostly good reviews, only played film festivals (including a few Jewish ones). The good news is that you can watch it on Hulu Plus, or for free on YouTube (with some ads). As the film opens, Diana (Zosia Mamet, 32) is just back in Brooklyn after three years abroad and discovers that her ex-boyfriend, Ben (Matthew Shear, 36), is renting the apartment below the one she’s just rented. Most of the film is about their re-meet, and possibly getting back together. Their romance and breakup are told in short flashbacks, including one in which Ben takes Diana to his family’s Chanukah celebration (it’s left unclear if Diana is Jewish, too). Boy is much lighter than Chemical Hearts, but equally smartly written and directed (the writer/ director is Sophie Brooks, 35ish, an English Jew).

On The Go people | places | events

GERSHWIN STORY 8 PM, SEPT. 13

FAMILY ROOM CONCERT 8 PM, SEPT. 16

HERSHEY FELDER THE ARK

SOAR PROGRAMS/CLASSES REGISTRATION NOW OPEN The Society of Active Retirees has announced its fall lineup of more than 50 classes and special events. Registration began Sept. 9 for new and existing members. Classes begin Oct. 12. All classes will be delivered virtually through Zoom and will be taped for on-demand viewing. A nonprofit, non-denominational, lifelong learning program, SOAR is offering classes in art, current events, film, health, history, literature, legal issues, politics, science, sports, travel and more this fall. SOAR is affiliated with Wayne State University. For 17 years, it has served adults of all ages who want to learn. Visit soarexplore.com or call (248) 626- 0296 for information.

GERSHWIN STORY 8 PM, SEPT. 13 Internationally acclaimed artist Hershey Felder’s new arts broadcasting company announced its next production, Hershey Felder as George Gershwin Alone. The show will stream live from Teatro della Pergola, which was built in 1656 shortly after the invention of opera in Florence. Tickets are $55 per household and are available for purchase online. Patrons will receive a link and password on Friday, Sept. 11, which will enable them to view the livestream and an on-demand version of the performance for one week following the event. For information, visit hersheyfelder.net.

IRON MOUNTAIN JEWS 2 PM, SEPT. 14 “The Life (and Death) of Congregation Anshe Knesseth Israel in Iron Mountain, Mich.” will be a virtual gathering on Zoom presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. The congregation existed in Iron Mountain from 1882 to 2020. Members of the congregation over different time periods will describe the experiences of small-town Jewry. Cost: $10 for members and $18 for non-members. Register by 9 pm on Sunday, Sept. 13; instructions for joining the Zoom call will be sent the day before.

JLEARN CLASSES MANY START SEPT. 14 To register for any class: 248-205- 2557 or jlearn.online. Full catalog can be found at jccdet.org/jlearn.

BRAIN HEALTH 1-2:30 PM, SEPT. 16 Jewish Family Service will host Ellen Yashinsky Chute, LMSW, ACSW, who will tackle celebrating the holidays in a very different way. She will discuss ways to maximize brain health and use the power of our brains to help us instead of hurt us during this unique holiday season. RSVP: 248- 788-6463; MindU@jfs detroit.org for Zoom meeting details.

FAMILY ROOM CONCERT 8 PM, SEPT. 16 The Ark in Ann Arbor will present Nadim Azzam from Michigan with hip-hop, alt-rock and jazz. Ticket info: the ark.org.

WELCOMING WEEK SEPT. 14-17 Hosted by Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County. Register at: jfsannarbor.org/welcoming-week — it’s when cities, towns and organizations across the nation bring together immigrants, refugees and longtime residents to build strong connections that make their communities a more welcoming place for all. Dina Nayeri, author of The Ungrateful Refugee, will read an excerpt of her book and take audience questions. Books will be available to purchase online.

SHOFAR SOUNDING CLASS ON DEMAND If you will be blowing shofar for yourself or others, learn how to pick a kosher shofar and how to produce a pleasant sound as well as some of the laws and mystical intentions to keep in mind while blowing. After taking this course, you’ll be all set to feel the holidays come alive and ignite your soul from the safety of your home. View at Chabad.org. Free.

HEALTH NOTE ONGOING The American Technion Society is making available a viral lab tour. Professor Ido Kaminer brings you inside the Robert and Ruth Magid Electron Beam Quantum Dynamics Lab, which houses an ultrafast transmission electron microscope. He discusses using the microscope, among the latest and most versatile of its kind in the scientific world, to see for the first time ever how light flows inside a tiny photonic crystal. In response to the pandemic, he is also developing methods to use ultraviolet and laser light to kill SARS-CoV-2. View at ats.org.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items at least 14 days in advance to calendar@ thejewishnews.com.

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BIRMINGHAM

A Jewish Approach to Planning and Investing

Traditional Judaism is a religion based on rules. There are 613 commandments in the Torah, which means there are a lot of ways Jewish people can make mistakes.

But of all the 613 commandments, we are unaware of any Jewish-based philanthropic and investment guidelines. To be sure, rabbis and scholars have opined on the topic, but, for example, there is no Jewish equivalent to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Investment Guidelines. There are also Baptist guidelines and leaders of Muslim sects have released their own Shariabased rules, but there is nothing directly on point in Judaism.

Nevertheless, Jews who want to invest, make financial plans and give to charities based on Jewish values would not be without guidance. Perhaps your rabbi

to buy Facebook versus Apple, or to donate to a particular charity, but they will provide the basis upon which informed investors can make their own decisions.

KYLE T. ZWIREN, REUBEN RASHTY AND JACOB RASHTY So, what are these mitzvot SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS and what do they tell us about making financial decisions? won’t provide any pithy stock picks, but The first is tzedakah, which is Jewish values can provide the foundaliterally translated to “righteousness.” tion upon which financial decisions are Judaism places an emphasis on the made. importance of charity. Tithing (maaser

Any discussion of Jewish-based finanin Hebrew) is referenced throughout the cial decisions begins with the Torah. In Torah, and in most other major world this case, we would be guided by five religions for that matter. The Torah particular mitzvot: tzedakah, tikkun olam, states the obligation to donate 10% of tzedek, g’milut chasadim and tikya. These one’s crops to members of the commufive foundational mitzvot won’t tell us nity in need. Tzedakah also refers to the

here’s to

Mark Silberstein, former Detroiter and son of the late Rabbi Noah M. Gamze, spiritual leader of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, has been named senior director of Local Media Content at KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Jews Choose Trump announced that Ronna H. Ross of Bloomfield Township is the Michigan Director of JCT, which supports the re-election of President Donald Trump and is a nationwide clearinghouse of information particularly interesting to Jewish Americans.

Tonya Allen

Robert Schostak The Oakland University Board of Trustees recently voted to appoint Tonya Allen as chair and Robert “Bobby” Schostak as vice chair of the board. Allen serves as president and chief executive officer of the Skillman Foundation, a Detroit-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of Detroit children by helping to create pathways to high school graduation, college, successful careers and fulfilling lives. Schostak is the president and CEO of the Templar Baker Group, a multi-disciplined consulting firm, and serves as the co-chief executive officer of Schostak Brothers & Company, a leading commercial real estate business in Michigan, where they operate properties in 24 states. Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature honored recipients of its 2020 award for nonfiction in an online ceremony. Among the recipients is Sarah Hurwitz, author of In Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism. Writing in her own voice, Hurwitz invites us to share her journey toward fulfillment as she rediscovers the beauty and timeless lessons of Judaism.