Shofar, anyone? Mama Doni’s Music Review!

Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

WHO NEEDS A GUITAR WHEN YOU HAVE A SHOFAR?
A “MUSICAL CHICKEN SOUP” OF A FAMILY SHOW
WITH MAMA DONI & THE MAMA DONI BAND!

SUPER SUNDAY EVENT

DEC. 12 –UNITED JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF METROWEST– WHIPPANY, NJ

“Her stage name may sound as if it belonged on a jar of pasta sauce, but Mama Doni is an indisputably Jewish performer. Doni Zasloff Thomas in real life, she specializes in putting a Jewish spin on all kinds of musical styles, including reggae, rock, disco and Latin.” – The New York Times

“A zany musical chicken soup of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer, and other styles.” –The Boston Globe

“Wacky Jewish indie-rock for kids.” – The Star-Ledger

MONTCLAIR, NJ (Nov. 5) – In a spirit of outrageous fun, Mama Doni & The Mama Doni Band bring their special brand of “funky music with a Jewish twist” to a free, all-ages family show at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 12 at United Jewish Communities of MetroWest Alex Aidekman Family Community Campus, 901 Route 10, Whippany, NJ. This show is part of a “CareLink” Super Sunday Event including a variety of community service projects.

Doni Zasloff Thomas, a.k.a. Mama Doni, is the lead singer/songwriter of The Mama Doni Band, winner of the Simcha Award for “Inspiring Joy Through Music” in competition with more than 100 bands from 15 different countries at the 2008 International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam. The band celebrates Jewish culture with irrepressible zest in its high-energy, interactive family rock concerts filled with catchy pop songs that break the mold of traditional Jewish music. Quirky, offbeat, and unpredictable, The Mama Doni Band offers up a contagious and unexpected blend of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer and “Jewgrass” – all woven together with a hip Jewish sensibility and a zany sense of humor.

In a spirit of fun and ruach, Mama Doni’s show will be filled to the brim with dancing, sing-alongs, and giveaways for everyone. As a special treat, there’s also be a “sneak peek” at songs from Mama Doni’s next CD, Shabbat Shaboom, with reggae dancing to “Mazel Tov,” rocking out to a Latin dance beat in “Challah-Day!,” and some crazy “Jewgrass” dancing to a song all about family, “Mishpocha.” The show will overflow with wild and wacky numbers, including such Mama Doni favorites as “Jewish Cowgirl” and “Shofar-Blowin’ Band.” Hip young kids and their even hipper parents and grandparents should be ready to get up and dance at this spirited Jewish rock concert!

According to Carrie Stetler in The Star-Ledger, Doni Zasloff Thomas “is proud to have a schtick. And that schtick, she says, is to ‘Jewify’ all forms of music – from country to reggae to holiday songs.” Kids’ media authority Amy Kraft, of Media Macaroni, enthused, “We were all laughing out loud … Listen as Mama Doni spreads around some challah-day spirit in her inimitable cross between Sheryl Crow and Tone Loc.”

Mama Doni, a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, hopes that her music will add some Jewish flavor to the lives of people everywhere. She speaks with great passion about preserving the priceless Yiddish and Jewish spirit by imbuing it with a contemporary vibe that connects to life in our times.

WHAT: MAMA DONI & THE MAMA DONI BAND CUT LOOSE AT SUPER SUNDAY!
WHERE: UJC Metrowest, Alex Aidekman Family Community Campus, 901 Route 10, Whippany, NJ
WHEN: Sunday, December 12, 3:00 p.m. “CareLink” community service activities begin at 9:30 a.m.
TICKETS: Free of charge.
INFO: (973) 929-3010 http://www.ujcnj.org/supersunday

Have Sippy Will Travel Got to do an interview with Mama Doni!

When and why did you start becoming interested in music?
I have always loved music! When I was 2 years old I would wake up in the middle
of the night and make my parents blast Jim Croce’s Bad Bad Leroy Brown so
I could dance around my living room. Wherever I went, whatever I did, I was
always singing…music has always been part of me!

Can you tell us about your experience forming the Mama Doni Band?
It has been such an amazing journey! 3 years ago I became trained as music
together teacher and began teaching at my daughter’s preschool – and I wanted
to find music that shared Jewish culture in a hip and fun way, so I decided to try
to write my own music…next thing I knew I was producing an album, then off to
Amsterdam to the International Jewish Music Festival Competition where we won
the Simcha Award to inspiring Joy through music! That was 2 years ago and we
played over 200 venues since, toured the country, and are coming out with our
4th album, Shabbat Shaboom! What an adventure!

Are there any musicians you admire?
I was influenced by the music I grew up with, from James Taylor, Led Zeppelin,
James Brown, The Rolling Stones, classic rock, and of course I dig Jewish
music. I was also really touched by the music my family sang at Jewish holidays.

Who was your first or favorite music teacher? As a teacher, I’d love to know
that one, LOL…
My first music teacher was Mrs. Newhouse. She was really an amazing musician
and teacher. I actually had the coolest experience last year going back to my old
hometown and I invited her on stage and asked the audience to give her a big
round of applause for her great work. It was of the highlights of my journey so far.
She really rocked out on stage with me!! Go, Mrs. Newhouse!!

What is your favorite thing about performing?
I absolutely LOVE connecting with people, and feeling the spirit or “ruach” with
kids, parents and grandparents. It is exhilarating and so special. I sometimes feel
like I am at my best friends wedding looking out to people I feel like I know. We
make really strong connections at my shows – -music and dancing and ruach is
something I just love sharing with people of all ages and backgrounds. I also love
being a in a rock band! It’s super cool to go crazy and jump around and sing my
heart out!!!

What project or CD are you most proud of?
I am really proud of all of my CDs, my first album “I Love Herring (& Other Fish
Shticks for Kids), “ I Love Purim”, “Chanukah Fever” and my latest project I
really am excited about, “Shabbat Shaboom”, which is releasing in Feb 2011.
The newest album is really an evolution for us and I really am thrilled to share
it with the world – it is a soulful musical journey all about challah, candles,
family…Shabbat Shaboom!

Do you have a favorite performance?
I really love every performance. When I am dancing and feeling connected to the
audience there is nothing like it. I also love seeing kids and parents feel free to
rock out and dance like crazy, getting excited about Jewish culture. I meet so
many amazing people on my tours, and these connections are what make it all
worth it.

Have you been in competitions or won any awards?
We were honored in Holland at the International Jewish Music Festival with
the “Simcha Award”, for Inspiring Joy Through Music! The IJMF was like a
Jewish American Idol competition with more than 25 bands from all over the
world competing. We were brand new band at the time and so nervous! What
an honor it was to be part of this amazing event, and then to win an award was
really so cool. It really was incredible to meet musicians from all over the world
doing hip Jewish music in all different styles.

Do you perform in public? Do community shows?
We perform all over the country! We have been to so many communities across
the country from LA to Ohio to Washington to New Orleans and of course New
Jersey! It’s really to feel uplifted by each community. I absolutely love it.

Do you or have you ever taught music?
I was a Hebrew School teacher, bar Bat Mitzvah tutor, Drama and dance
counselor at camps, and a music teacher. I am a trained Music together teacher,
and I majored in educational Theatre at NYU…so music and children and the
arts is coming I have always knew I was supposed to do…

How do you balance your music with your life- kids, family, other job if
any?
Well, we all know that working and being a mom isn’t easy, but if you love
what you are doing, we’re really the lucky ones, right? I think it’s just really
remembering that we are living our dreams! Even ding what you love is hard and
exhausting, right? Well, it’s worth it!

Fun album, and there were some cutie songs on it! If you are looking for a fun Chanukah CD this year, you found it!