Inside ArtScroll Episode 13: Farbreng and Shmooze with Joey Newcomb

[Music] D my mama my my [Music] D by da da da. [Music] deity over there. [Music] Well, keep on going. Singing. Is that what you were singing? [Music] There's a good joey [Music] today. Oh my mad. Oh y [Music] N9 la die. Oh, [Music] you know what? Joey, what are we doing? We're going to do an interview. You want to give me a minute? You want to give me a minute here? He's making a I got have to welcome everyone to have to welcome. Okay. Don't stay tuned. More guitars coming. That was beautiful. Thank you. Hello everyone and welcome back to an obviously special edition of Inside Arts School. Very unconventional opening, but we could do that for a little while. I think you have a bameitza tonight, so we have to we have a couple hours. Yeah, listen. Thank you. Re Joey Nukem is here today. Very, very special. Rebuke. Yeah. Is it Joey? Is it Mayor Mayor? Wow. You know what I'm saying? Say, how did you get to Joey? had to come to Joey. It's a big sher. There's a big mus in the belt. Actually, it started in high school. Should be malo the real truth. Yeah. I used to play electric guitar a little bit to throw my head around. Somebody coined the name Joey. Joey on the guitar. Joey on the guitar. And it stuck. That's how mom That's how it started. Yeah. So now your parents Nobody Nobody started it. It started in high school. I don't remember it was a rebby. It wasn't a rebi. My momish don't remember to this day. It started in high school. And then so you're Mayor. Yeah. Would I don't know if that would go in this musical market mayor. I don't new album mayor. I'm not sure about that. Yeah. But somehow Joey stuck. Yeah. You know what? Maybe one one pesak. Maybe we'll put out a niggan. You know, my name is not Joe. My name is from Queens. What are you talking about? On to something. I see. Am I allowed to drink coffee? Yeah. You're breaking rules here. I am. With the guitar, with the styrofoam cup where a whole fancy studio. You think I have one of these fancy guys walking with a mug or something? Someone told me recently, he said, "I I really enjoy your interviews, but you got to shake it up a little." So, we figured we'll bring in Joey, right? Yeah. Now, we have a mug and a guitar. I know a mug, but a styrofoam cup. A styrofoam cup. Excuse me. Anyway, thank you again for being here. And uh we just had the of walking together through the arts girl bindery and I know people might be getting tired of me opening the interview by asking people how they reacted to it but someone like you you walked in you were you were speechless I couldn't believe I mean I don't often get speechless I talk a lot but Lisa that was something special unbelievable like I I was we were smoozing sometimes you walk into a store I need a gamura why why does somebody need a gamura because he he knows that he can't understand any agatas without arts You know what I'm saying? So he picks up his Gar. He sees a finished product on the shelf. He doesn't the operation that goes on the the the behind it that are translating that are working out of this. But yeah, it was it was incredible. It was incredible. I mean, just to see the the the machines and everything working perfectly. What can I say? It was it's a big to work here and we're reminded when people visit, they've never seen it before and they see the avoid that goes into it. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's good to hear. Of course, it's a huge mamish. I mean, think about it. Think about it. A muck that's spreading to mamish. People don't know. You go to any daff all over the place, right? You walk into here, this is the place. You show up to work, you're like, I show up to work, I open the computer, I do what I got to do. But light is emanating from this muck in the highest level. Yes. It's a big We don't take it for granted. Yeah. Now, you grew up in Queens. in Queens. Mills. You now you live in Faraca. Half hour. Half hour. Okay. Not too bad. You're still a New Yorker. Yeah. You grew up in Queens. Where did you go to Yeshiva? What were your influences in those years? I went to uh actually Yeshiva Faraka. Founded by the Rabba himself. Yeah. Right. And um for for all of elementary school except for the first two years I was actually in a place called Ory before they closed down in Queens. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I went to seek after I went to Sharia Razam for high school. That's a my It's a my learned how to play guitar. Yeah. Rabbi Fry. Yeah. And then after that I went to Bridgeport. There was the yeshiva in Bridgeport. Rabbi Burgerer. Rabbi Burgerer. I was there and uh that's when a lot of things started changing. Mama starting learning like intense mam. Really? Yeah. A lot of things started to change over. finished with me today for the first time and I just got attached to like you know Yiddish in a different way. You grow up, you grow up as a Y. Yeah. Mitzvah, Tyra, this that, but like, you know, there's always that point in life where you're like, wait a second, I'm in love with this Indian, this Indian called Yiddish. I'm in love with it. You grow up with it, but then you have to come to that realization when you're in love with it. Then I went to What grade was that in Bridgeport? Where that was first year? First year. I went to Z after that. That's in your Yeah. And my friend Shimmy Gran Shalom was there and he convinced me to come. Of course, the best move of my life to go there. Wow. I remember kissing the floor when I got up to plane like everybody, but it was a such a And then after that, I went to the Mir Shiva. And you learned the under Resnik. Wow. The holiest experiences of my life in the Misha. I have no books like this from the amazing. And then you came back to America. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I have pass and a beard over there. I'll let you talk about it. Talk. No. Tell us what's the secret. Hey, look. So like Resnik told me one time after I already I was home and I was married and I had a beard and pis and everything and he came to visit on one of the mere yeshiva visits. He he said I knew the pace and the beard were always there. Just it took some people couldn't see it. I was able to see it. Sometimes the Indian like something is there the whole time. You know what I'm saying? It just it wasn't able to be in the sky yet until a little later on. Okay. At the right time. Yeah. Yeah. But I I grew up I had long pairs behind my ear. You always did. Yeah. My what's your what's the background of? My parents are baluva. Okay. Simple Jews. What was your fault? What do your parents do? They uh real estate and a little bit of uh occupational therapy and simple Jews, you know, and uh the baluva and not so simple because they didn't produce such a simple song. So yeah, listen. And the roots the roots were inidas, you know, the roots were inus. Yeah. There's no such thing as a the roots go back to bells. Oh, there you have bells and roots. Yeah. So you know we went to and my father liked and my mother loved and and it came out it came like that. Yeah. It just came you know. So you you come back you get married to your rabbit. Come back get married to the rabbit. What were you doing when you came back your wife? I came back I came back from yeshiva. I went to Rabasha Weiss in my there's a yeshiva over there. Sha share. I don't even know what it is. Shere not Shaha. Right. Share. Yeah. It's an amazing experience over there with the thereans that went down. Beautiful. The best part about a resha where everyone's dating is that night sader doesn't really exist, right? It's not the best part. No, but I went there for a few months and then you know dating and I met the rabbitum from far away. Interesting. Messa how how we met but uh the rest is history over there. So you you get married do you do you did you know at that point what you wanted to do with your life? No. So this is fascinating. So this is where one of the areas one of the areas because in every area in my life you realize an Mad Abisha runs a show, right? man plans and God laughs. So, it's like a cliche, but it's for real. When we got married, I had no I'm doing this. I'm singing CDs, nothing. It was It was the farthest thing we're married. How many years ago did you get married? Um, eight years ago. I played guitar. I played guitar. I played Yeshiva. We did come Thursday nights, Fridays. We fanged. Were you always the fellow with the guitar, you know, during those years? Pretty much somewhat. You were the musical guy. Yeah. Yeah. I d for the I shave a lot in and I used to go to and sing and used to go. So and I used to listen to the tyrus and sing the I was always connected to singing. Always grew up listening to speaking speaking of rib schmalty I know we're digressing for a second. Speaking of ribbalki was reg a big influence as you were growing up. Definitely definitely not as much as you know most you know what we were listening to in the car obviously by the choice of my parents was kbach journeys um a lot of journeys. Yeah. And then of course you know we had you know uh what was what was hot? I remember listening to Mendy Wall. Remey Wall this music. You grew up on that. One of my favorite songs. [Music] Do you remember that name? Yeah. How about PopS? Yeah. [Music] I don't know what I did over there. [Music] We come true. [Music] So these you know a lot of a lot of music music in those years it was really wiger came along the men then our good friend Schlley Dax I went to a concert once as a kid I don't know if these island notice I went to a concert schlimy dax swy will mendy walt and yehuda oh yeah what's his last name it's always Yehuda exclamation point so I thought growing up his last name was exclamation mark but then I found out it was like shik I think it's shik shik but I loved his music beautiful nagon and I I remember as a as a kid going to concert looking through these which is unbelievable but music was a huge force but again back to what I was saying I had no bakl I got married you know what I was planning on doing kir I love kir I there was this one trip that is a hale gad his name is Rabbi from south fallsburg from woodridge rabbi he's and he's very Isaac and kira and he did a trip in Israel while I was in the miva I came around on his trip and I loved like just interacting with talking deep about Yiddish and what it means and I loved K. So my dream was to do K of Mish. So I got married. I learned to ko for a few years. Where was that? In in in Farakawway. I was in Rabbi Jagger in Shayasha in the morning and then in the afternoon I learned by Rabbi Forest. He has a Forest. Sure. He wrote the books. Yeah. Big big pois printed by art scroll. Printed by art scroll over there. Sure. And then at night I started going to Great Neck. There's another Tik K. His name is Rabetan Ruben. He uh he runs a kyo there and and he's of the Eden and he learns with different and he he hired me to come there and learn also with different guys. One once a week we'd learn with the public school kids. It was a it was a beautiful for a few years. I was learning in Ko that's what I was doing and and the dream was is that we're going to do Kira. I remember interviewing with with in Cherry Hill and Houston and this and interviewed in a couple of places to go do Kira but meanwhile the Aster was like I have a different plan different plan. What happened? You ready for this? Yeah. One day in Ko, we had a Kaneka party. I took out the guitar. I started playing and fang. They were tons and singing. There was a Y there. His name is Yity Gross. Yity Gross is Donnie Gross's brother. And he says I see. Now, for the viewers who don't know, Donnie Gross is your is the producer, right? Producer, the music, the albums, everything. Everything. Brother Donnie is is the stop, the one man stop. You go to him, you know you're going to come out. Mama. So his his brother Yity said, "You know what? You play really nicely. My shre is making a shabraas. Why don't you come and play guitar?" I came. I had a little speaker. Is this what are we talking about? Your first performance? The first ever. First ever. Yeah. And I had no idea I'm going to do such and I play in. And uh I I put a little guitar speaker, a little speaker on top. I stuck a mic into it. You know, I put like a pole half broke and I found somewhere in the house a place, you know. You know, I remember like in yeshiva they put a grape juice bottle and taped the mic onto it. Mama's like, you know, this and uh I went there, we played in the fabang mish went nuts and then the next night his friend called and his friend called and that started a whole inion of local events and you were comfortable enough on the guitar at that point to play impromptu music. Yeah. At guitar I played guitar. Yeah. I wasn't worried about chords and movements. Yeah. I was always able to do it. It just took this in to actually say, "Hey, why am I not doing that?" Right. And um and then it that's just started. How many years ago was this? This is about six, seven years ago. A little after I got married. Um about a year or two after I got married, I started doing this and then started picking up all word of mouth, you know, and then I started writing Nunam. Momish later. When you were younger, were you writing music? Not yet. No. I believed when I was young that I didn't have the torun. I thought it was something that either you have it or you don't and I didn't have it. Mhm. And then I wrote this one niggan. Somebody heard it, gave me physics that said it's beautiful. And what was your first niggan that you wrote? But without the words. Yeah. Yeah. The words the words came later from a home is but but the the I wrote this neg. It's a great song. The moment I heard it's a great song, it unlocked an accuda. Sometimes people have that are locked and it needs a key. Sometimes a key is a good word and a nice. Wow. So this guy gave me a whole thing writing beautiful before you know it every day I was writing another niggan based off an inspiration a thing that I learned something like that I started writing and and because I knew Yitzy Gross Donnie Gross had invited me to sing on one of the kumzets in the rains that he did because I sang by some of the family sas that's how I knew Donnie then I got in my head you know what maybe it's time to start putting your own thing I called brother Donnie and that was the end of that you know we started putting out singles and then the album then the whole avoid you make you could sound very simple but putting out music could be very costly. So how did that evolve to start putting out an album? It is very costly especially now that you don't make back on the album right you know it is very costly but lice uh when when the drive is is to spread something so the drive is there the main thing has to be the drive is there when the drive people lose the drive you see they drop out in a second so I want I want to say something I had this herish when I was listening to your album your newest album which is a beauty but I had this herish tell me if I'm right many people have a drive for music but in order to get their music out there they need a message. So they find so they find words with your songs what I felt is on the contrary you have a message to get out there but in order to get the message out there you need the medium of music take a val it's true it's true because I I never I this is why I wish people would read the album booklet I never sat down to write a niggan like hey I could use another song I'm putting out an album I need maybe track 10 so I tried whenever I tried it and I did try it a few times lousy lousy when when this the nagun just came in seconds from inspiration, right? So, you're right 100% there's a certain message and and every every one of your songs on the new album has a message, right? Panemius versus some of these are very esoteric deep topics. Is the external panemas is the internal what really matters. Some people may be singing the songs without understanding the depth of it. Yeah. Right. But I mean the kayak of nagina really is to stick things into people, right? Lam Marshall Lam Marshall let's say I sing a song you fall down you get back up so let's say a guy's whole life he heard a drussa Indian of chuva you think for some reason when you hear it in a niggan it goes right in almost more than a smoo which is fascinating like a guy you could hear a schmoo but when you hear that in a niggan somehow the niggan has a key to like it's like a direct line to to the heart so like the best way I hold to I mean who might hold anything but to to express certain messages. It goes right in. You mask him. I mask him 100%. As someone who loves nagginina go me but as someone who's loved nagginina from my youth also and you were talking about Brazil. I I I grew up on reesh. I grew up on all the music that many of the people in my generation reesha Yeah. Freed and later on some of the people you hear these they think of the words I remember right no so you go to you go to you hear kadesh and you don't think about it [Music] should bring. So suddenly the words go in in a different way than I heard my whole life. Amazing. It's a big spreads life. You're making me blush. But the musical influence that you've you've experienced a very unique thing because you're connecting I don't know if I'm going to say is right but I think you're connecting to the younger with music that isn't necessarily what people consider so contemporary. You're playing very yeshivisha wholesome music right not rocky not you know you're not trying to conform to any standard and trying to cater to the lowest lowest element. I hope it's the Indian of I hope that if it came from a pure place that's why it goes in right you know um are you do you base your music on on anyone's specific style or genre of music? No, no, because because I don't, like I said, I don't sit down to write. It happens. Just love them, right? It happened, right? I It's a major. I didn't really write a niggan like that. Okay. It just it comes with the the style, you know? I mean, now today you you're you're called a musician, but you're also a Rebi at a very special place. Yeshiva by Groner's Yeshiva. I think today is the art side of his father. Groner, right? Oh, really? Mash. I don't know that. Her I know they had a yard tattoo in the yeshiva. I'm gonna get flack for missing it, but whatever. Really? I'm here with Well, you're here. I hope we'll have to escort them to forgive me for this. But so you're combining music to influence people and I did a little research and I was told that you have a special strength kayak to connect to youth, to connect to adolescence. They listen to you. They want to connect to you. What do you think that that kayak is and where does it come from? It's a good I don't know because you said you wanted to go into Kir. You always had that uh I guess intuition. I would have to I would have to think I I don't I don't think about it. What is your role at that you know that I love you? I love Jews. Love you. You know what what is your role at the yeshiva? I teach in the yeshiva you know when I'm around but I teach in the yeshiva I come to yes. You're right. I end up we end up getting deep and you're getting deep deep into into leave the past behind, you know. Oh, what a song. We end up we end up getting into deepitis and sch smoozing and smooing. Did they come to you with their deep amuna questions and and and things is is that what you're dealing with? Yeah. At times did you did you have that type of mentor influence? Maybe it's the Indian of Maybe it's the Indian of being relatable. Maybe it's the Indian of that's what it is. When people hear the messages of my naguna, for example, a lot of them relate. A lot of them relate. I'm a regular guy, right, with the same problems that everyone else has in life, right? So, I'm a mea when when I'm feeling an Indian, when I feel the need, you know, I create a niggan out of it. I try to spread it. We're all in the same sometimes. But you're you're also you're projecting a lot of positivity. Yeah. And that seems to be the key. You're connecting to people. No one no one wants to be with someone or connect to someone who's who's more roast or, you know, not very happy. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. So, it's it's positivity. Positivity. The of being a yid. You have a beautiful niggan Rabid on your new album. Great niggan. Right. But that's all about this just how awesome it is to be a you go through the whole calendar. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. We'll get there. So you're connecting with with with Bakim in a very unique way. And do you find that it's different the boys you're dealing with from let's say when you went through the system as we call it? Yeah. You find that it's different that the challenges are different. the boys are coming to you for is it is it just the same adolescent challenges that people deal with or is it different now? I mean, it's for sure. I It's obviously every door is different, right? It's obvious. I mean, again, I'm not I'm not that old and and I personally believe that, you know, my stages of adolescence were like the beginning of what you see today. Like, but I I find like my age is a funny age because if you would ask me, I grew up with a cassette. Now, I don't know I don't know how old you are, but a cassette. I even remember eight tracks. Oh, so that I never remember. So, I'm not I remember I'm not such an old guy, but I remember I remember record players and it really Yeah. Yeah. When it would get scratched on a spot and would play the same thing over and over. You remember record players? You have a lot of black hair to remember what MBD around the year. I remember we had MBD around the year with the colorful musical symbol and it would get stuck on one part of the record and it would play again and again until you moved in. Wow. Look at that. I I do remember my mother typing on a typewriter. I remember old computers. I I I remember not the the note and there's no cell phone. And then suddenly this thing comes out. You remember an organizer? Sure. Something organized and a palm pie. The stickiest thing to have, right? So, as I'm like growing up in coming in are coming. I wasn't born into the inan I feel like my age has it tough because of that because like my as we're like adolescent leaving adolescent like all these crazy things are keep on attacking keep on attacking like you know so I'm not like pre and I'm not like post you know you're having a little identity crisis. Yeah. It's like it's like it's like you know I do remember the cell phone with the thing coming out the next hell with the walkie-talkie feature you know the first cell phone I mean there was no cell phones when I was a kid and then as I got older slowly slowly you know so there's definitely there's no Shila that there's different um in every meaning I'm sure like it's different to grow up with a smartphone than to get it later on. Sure, right? But it's and are searching and searching for something, you know, and then there's distractions and then there's things that you think if I look over there, maybe I'll get excitement over there. Maybe I'll get what I'm looking for over there. But really in pin is they're looking for something so deep. So um and that that's one of the messages that you're giving to the boys that what they want they could find. Yeah. Here 100%. And everyone knows it. Everybody wants to be more spiritual. Everyone comes from kipper. Everybody like you know some people have big manas in their life. People had things that they dealt with you know different inanimum people have uh different distractions even if they didn't deal with specific inanimum. Everybody has the things that are manas that are trying to be mana the reality of I'm just looking for the right that's all I'm looking for. And the manas come and they block you. So you think you know what I don't even know what I'm looking for. But, you know, growing up and going through the the, you know, the the the regular system and growing up in Gullis and growing up as a teenager, I definitely dealt with a lot of probably similar, you know, again, not the same because I didn't necessarily have the smartphone, but but um in a very similar way, the same avoid that everybody in that stage of life has to deal with, you know, until I got to when I got to Bridgeport, that's when I really realized what I was looking for. So, so listen, some boys and girls they they bloom late, so to speak until they reach that stage in life where something just turns on, right? And they feel that connection and then hopefully it grows into uh into something substantial. Now, going back to music, some people would say that your career was propelled by one song. Thank you, Hashem. Thank you, Hashem. And I don't know if it's good or bad, but it became known as the Corona song because throughout which I'm unbelievable throughout Corona every time. Le let's say there was a tufa where everything was amazing. So if you would say the tufa of that song is thank you hashem of course right you thank hashem when things are amazing the fact that thank you hashem is the corona song which means that a ye always thanks hashem regardless of what the situation is it's so deep if people want to associate me the thank you hash I'll take a second it's a good message if I got up to shm they was just like thank you now that song you did not you didn't compose right no the bloom the bloomstein brothers and they composed quite a few songs on your new album as well how did you first connect the the Indian of me and the Bloomsteens is is like a shut like we're we we have a mindset. We're we're trying to push a certain Indian and we love Yiddish and it comes out and that's why I'm we're so connected. We met only like um two three years ago and I was putting out my first album. We first met and Arya Bloomstein's father suka and we fabanga fab that's when I heard thank you hashem I was like this is so my type of niggan and you said could you have it I think we both in the second that we're on the same Indian here so we sort for we're very close me alik and all his brothers and um now it's an Indian of you know alik and if alik is this he's going to love this okay Malik used to write a lot of nagun, you know, but lately he'll start singing [ __ ] and he'll send it to me. What do you think about this? It's this that like it's a sh like that, you know. I'll write a niggan. I'll send it to him. He'll listen to it. You know, it's mama. That's why you'll see on my album. Either I wrote it or the Bloomstein brothers wrote it, you know. Now, you must have you must have sung Thank you hundreds of times. Yeah. Is it is it coming out of years or you're still fresh? Big mic. So, somebody said, "Can you get sick of Thank you." So right away when you hear that, it doesn't sound right. get sick of taking it's like you go over to a guy you sick of Mkah so so so a guy could say yeah I every day but why is he not sick of I hope he's not maybe there are people that sick of why you not sick of because of today is a brand new I'm going to sound like overly spiritual right now and I'm not saying I hold myself to this and I do this every time but one is that many times at a gig or at a fbran or a job or a music or a wedding when I sing thank I know I have to to think about something that day or fresh that week to thank the about and suddenly the whole niggan becomes it feel and it becomes a whole new you know that's interesting because the words include how did that come into thank you so the goes like this bloomstein had his fourth had his fourth child and it was the night before the bris and his fourth child is of Leia right when Leia had her that's what Leia said so those words she realized that she was going to have right more. So those words were in the air of that vak that was taking place and the was there um I believe started saying I believe that's how the niggan started and then thank you and hash were added later on. Can we hear how fresh it still is? You know of course hear every time I play it it's brand new. You can't get sick of an a guy says I'm sick of so really I should introduce every shab why I'm not sick of kak you know why because it's such a deep niggan it's a it's deep could I introduce now a new niggan called thank you it's a brand new brand new aai we have a brand new niggan it didn't hit yet right now it's fresh today I'm personally special I'm thanking that I was to see the production that goes on here at arts headquarters the gamura that that I everybody Yeshiva likes to you know they hide the little article under the thing you know mifa for some reason it's more it's like okay now you're artifa but you can't learn a god at this you know what I'm saying can't learn a god at this many things art school saved the world so so we're going to sing a fresh new [ __ ] that I was to be an art brand new [Music] [ __ ] thank you [Music] a thank you thank you Thank [Music] you. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] Fantastic. It's only coffee. Don't get nervous. So, what are we up to today? What's what's new musically? The album. Otherwise, the album. What's the feedback that you hear? Amazing. Hasham. Thank you, Hashem. The feedback I'm getting is so beautiful. People are taking people uh loving it. Any specific song that people are commenting on? That's just Yeah, a lot on this album. Um getting a lot of feedback, a lot of feedback on Open My Eyes, Galy and I. Mhm. A lot of feedback on the There's a song called Kawak. Beautiful. It's in Hebrew. Yeah. And you wrote you wrote the lyrics. Yeah. I don't even know where the lyrics came from. It sounds like it would be from something like, you know, it just popped into my head. Like I say, for you, the words just popped into my head. Um, a lot of feedback in Kak obviously. They're playing at weddings, playing now. It's I did that with Benny Friedman, right? Because Benny is right away when I heard [Music] that sounds like a march, right? Yeah. You think about, you know what I'm saying? The best. Yeah. So, right away, I was like and and he and he was graciously lended us his beautiful voice. Yeah. Amazing. And uh I think he brought it out in a way that couldn't have been brought out without him. But yeah, I got a lot of feedback that Haleat people love. A lot of feedback. A lot of the songs a lot of the songs. The only two songs I'm not getting too much feedback on for public record. Yeah. Just said should start giving me feedback is the Now I'm assuming that's because people will give me feedback when they go on a trip. And I got a little bit of feedback. A little bit of feedback. How how much work went into this album? How long did it take to produce? A lot of work. He asked Donnie right after we released the last album. I was like, you know what? Let's just get started. However long it takes, but at least we get started cuz cuz it's better to have time than to be rushed, you know? Right. I mean, but you don't really have a deadline. There's no real no deadline. No deadline. The only deadline comes when I start letting people know a new album's coming and we want to give a date of some sort. But, uh, right away, right away started working on it. Even though I didn't have all the nagona a bunch of them open my eyes moments um uh ket open my eyes moments is another niggan forgot which one ashenu those three nagon were all written on a trip this past January I mean we're almost at the next January yeah we went on a trip to Poland so less than a year ago less than a year ago by now it's already on an album three of those nonun right because I didn't have all the nagonum yet because I can't just like like we're smooing He just you know it has to come. So he's like okay after we'll get the I went on this trip and those those were written on the trip interestingly I wrote in the raul in Kkow after a whole day of going to Awitz and Burkanau and it was a tough day and it was a very emotional day. You went on a trip with the yeshiva with the holy groaners aka grooners. We went to Awitz and Burkinau that day and it was really rough. You know, everyone reacted different. People didn't like what's shot like this, you know, whatever. We don't know what's but uh we went to the night. We went to a restaurant like you saw like people couldn't handle the was jumping on the tables after a day in Awitz. They couldn't it just had to come pouring out. But I was sitting in the rav and I'm thinking to myself, I had an interesting I didn't have it in Awitz after awitz. The aura I had was this is unbelievable. Look, we just came back to Poland. A whole bunch of Jews just came back here for inspiration. We all put on a fillin by uh by Awitz. We said kadesh in the gas chamber that we saw survivors there saying kadesh with yamakas. who who which empire went through that type of gene and walks out. I was like mal malus. So right away I'm thinking that's when you wrote me that's when I wrote that niggan. You'd be shocked right you you hear that niggan and you think so joyous it came from aid of of brokenness realizing how amazing we are that we come from those nanas I wrote that niggan you know now that you're performing you're singing you go out and I to sing for weddings bitas etc. How how has it impacted your family life your personal life? is surely an adjustment. Obviously, you're doing it for parnasa, but yeah. Well, I'm actually I'm doing it for parnasa. I'm not going to be like, you know, one of these holy guys that says, but I believe about myself that a big part of it is is you know, I'm I I want to spread messages. I want to spread sim I want to spread happiness. That's what I want to spread. So, but you're right, of course, I'm doing it for right. But um it has definitely impacted the mashbah because the home at night right um a lot of shabases shabbasim shabatones does your does your family go with you when you go away for shabas occasionally depending on the type of shabas because sometimes you have to sometimes it's harder for my wife to now she has to chase three kids through a hallway in a hotel by herself without me instead of being at home in in her own comfortable house. So like people don't it's like it's harder but occasionally but you know with when it comes to Shabases you have to play the cards right you have to you know distance them out you can't be away every shabas shabas at home yeah listen needs fab but it definitely impacted the family but again you know everybody has their own avoid like if I would ask an accountant does April impact your family of course right April when's the deadline yeah yeah April you know You ask a lawyer a certain type of lawyers in certain cases. Of course, everybody is on a mission in this world and how whatever their mission is, they have to they have to maneuver that mission in in in in the best way possible in a hashem, right? The guy says, "I would never be a singer because it's to impact my family. I'm away at night." Guy says, "Okay, so then he would never be an accountant. He would never be a rebby. He would every single avoid is going to have its inion that you have to figure out how to maneuver. Every job has its sacrifice. Yeah. And uh its rewards. Yeah. So whenever whenever I feel like I'm away for too long, boom, we go on a week vacation. You do. Yeah. With the family. Yeah. Well, even if it's a station, but yet you catch a change of pace. A change of pace. Catch. Okay. You know what? We're hanging out. We're doing this. I wanted to ask you, you were Z earlier this year to partner with Art Scroll on a song. What a master trank. Yeah. The book itself you told me now you you weren't in to know Rabbi Tran. I wasn't. But you told me that the book has changed you 100%. And tell me about that. Similar to the way that um the Rabbi Fryfeld book has affected me. You know, I don't know how that went out. Both written by our friend the himself. Yeah. Bases Eden. Changes Eden. But um it changed a perspective because like I started catching myself. I was going to be honest if I was getting mad at my kids caught myself. I just read the mice of crank book. Like I felt that I right meaning even though I'm not saying that the mahal is to just everything is just fine and whatever you know let people debate that. That's not what I'm saying. My point is is that I started catching myself. Wait a second. Is this a hava? Is this a hava? He'd like train you like I I read the book and like and and he was tough sometimes. He he there were tough times but I think the site of everything was from a place of a soa everything catches right and then and then when I wrote the niggan I wrote the niggan ao sometimes you have to sing it in the house like my kids are really annoying me only with love. My kids never annoy me their best mom. You know what I'm saying? Um, so go. So, so he who who how did this happen? Here's the M. Here's the M. I was playing at a chevra of Groner the Higer of Groner. His his son married Sly Bess's daughter. Can you imagine two coming together and uh I went to the bra it was in Essen on I was playing over there and who's there Roly and Radal and I played and I I went all out you know you know funny songs happy songs deep songs everything and they came over afterwards like you know we're doing a book on Trent just love them I think we should partner up and do a niggan a video something to bring out the kayak of the things I was like wow I I heard of Rank and Mish heard but I I would never so then followed up with me and I said listen I can't just write a niggan so I need send me a few mices send me a something so before you know it really honest sent me a what is this ever heard of maybe sometime you know make great again I see this P I learned the PK All the way to pull people is like it's like a and then he sent me a from from the Tanya. It was unbelievable. Then I read a few mices and then I just sat down with the guitar after I saw some of those stories of Rip Tran. [Music] Only with love. Only with love. [Music] So, you'll get in with love only with love. Only with love. You'll get in with [Music] love. So just love there. So just love there. Aha. Oh, you're getting with love. So just love them. So just love them. You'll get with love. Amazing. You made it up in one sitting this song. One sitting. I I mammish in a matter of 20 seconds. Um I actually probably still have the first recording. I would have to search through all my recordings of the original recording. After like we fixed that key in a matter of 20 seconds, I sent it to Donnie. I'm like, I don't know. It's cute. And D was like, I love it. I love it. That was the end of that. And then and then you made the music video which went viral. Yeah. Everyone saw it. Did you hear the feedback to the to the video? Incredible. People cried from it. People cried. People People were opened up to a to a site that like again you heard for years, but suddenly a niggan sticks it in. You know, we always heard over the especially over the last few years, you know, people hear theite, right? You know, but now it's you hear a puss, you hear niggan so special. Especially that I was to do something together with art scroll. Art scroll. Beautiful. But the niggan is is is amazing. I know I know this past summer you went around to camps. Yeah. You went to camp monk with Reb Gadalia with Rebly. I know that was an unbelievable night. You told you told me that it was just uh what a night and and all the yidna monk remember him. So it was a special special and the rabbitson was there. They danced around the rabbit and ta in the danced around the rabbitson but we sang we sang just love them. It must have been like 20 minutes long. We said mices and then went back to the niggan. Then then came up swirly came up. They sang a piece of it. It was it was so haley. Unbelievable. It was yeah a monk you know but I sang it in many camps. Many camps people requested it. people ask for it, you know, from your from your repertoire of songs that you sing that are not your compositions. Yeah. What's a niggan that you connect to? Oo, there's many. There's many a lot of journeys. Oh, journeys. Ask anybody specifically. Anybody who's seen me live knows that there's that part of the fab where I just start going journeys. Let me hear what what's a song that talks to you. I mean, me personally, I mean, you know, you the way you have to work with people, you have to grab the oil. You have to grab the oilm, right? So most people they get grabbed when you start going, you know, we grew up together in New York City. Oh, how the time has flown by. I start that the heads turn and or then right after that I'll go, you know, tried to teach us each and every day. My my personal favorite Journey songs are Little Kite. Another one. Sure. Journeys, too. Little kite, tell me, for I can not fly. Can you see distant oceans and mountains so high? But most of all, tell me, for I cannot see, is there God in heaven? Does he know of me? Journeys give and ride the train. So that that album journeys too. Yeah. Oh, ride the train from everyone. Memories. Yeah. Baby memories is from two. Memories is on two I think. Could be. We'll get Don't worry. We'll get emails. Emails. It's not a but um I'll always go to journeys. Um naguram that I love to sing. I don't only sing my definitely not. Definitely not. Yeah. How can you only sing? We're all am is is one big entity. If I only sing my I'm excluding myself from the club. Sing everyone. I'll sing a lot of schlim. A lot of schlim. You know, I love there's a niggan that he wrote by [Music] Shabra n sing those fash um a lot of a lot of all over the place. All over. Sometimes I go mendy wall. I go mendy wall. I remember. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. [Music] Yeah. Composition. Sure. You got to love all yen. Yeah. Yeah. Those nagun definitely uh were the songs of a certain generation. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. Yeah. I sing every nagonum. Contemporary nagon. Beautiful nagon. Beautiful nagonum. You know how about the the you know the B of um how does it go? It goes um I mean when somebody says the B of today it means you know [Music] that's alive. Oh my [Music] my [Music] d. Hey [Music] Get it all [Music] n everything everything you know of everywhere. All Jews together. All Jews together. I'm actually going to doing a collab. We're doing a song together. That is that a collab? Is that collaboration, right? Is that like the the new the new new way to say collaboration? I'm just uh It could be. It's just maybe people are lazy, so they say collab instead of collaboration. I'm just saying as a writer that won't work. Oh, you can't write collab. Can't write collab. Got to write words in full. So, we're going to do a collaboration. Just kidding. With Ma Morai Shapiro. You're shocked, right? No. Joey, no. Two totally different in yanim. But again, it's all one class. So when you bring two ends together, it's a z. What are you collaborating on? We wrote a niggan together. Wow. Yeah. And what's that being performed? It's actually called niggan. Wrote a niggan together. We wrote it at a concert in Bokeh. We're doing a concert in Florida. And before the concert, we're sitting around middle pulled pulled out the guitar. And he the most funny ma. He started he started going and started singing the sing. I'm like what is that? He said I don't know. I said you're writing a niggan. He said maybe. I like wait a second wait a second wait a second. Pulled out the phone recorded worked on it. Wrote the rest of it. Like together mamish written together. Now I'm curious. You you play guitar but you're also singing. Do you have a regimen for for your voice waking up getting sleep like? So yeah, I I had I had issues because I I put a lot of kayak a lot of kayak even by kums it's by a wedding by a sim byang by anything that we're doing I put a lot of kayak in it let's go singing energy very uninhibited so you're not controlling yourself you're just right so it's a problem so so I started to do damage it was about a year and a half ago um I started to feel like like damage I started get horse quickly and I was like oh no what's going on so I went to a guy Dr. Woo in the city. So let's say you go to Dr. Woo. You put the cameras up my nose down and think, "Mom, it's like a COVID test, you know." And he uh Well, he's Dr. Woo. So, oh boy. Dr. Woo, China. No, no, no. Not related. Dr. Woo. He he he did the scope and he he said like, you know, you got to start taking care of yourself. He found the pallet was small and he said it could heal by itself. No surgery needed. And you're performing backtoback nights and things like that. you're putting tremendous stress. Do you get do you get enough sleep to rest and and things of that sort or Yeah. You know, some it's hard. It's hard sometimes when you get home at at 3:00 in the morning. You got to wake up for chakras and the latest chakras in the neighborhood is, you know, I wish I lived in Bur Park, but the latest chakras in the neighborhood is 9:00 maybe, right? You're not getting that much sleep. It's a 9:30 taka. You're not getting that much sleep. You got to be up for chakras. You try to take naps. It's it's it's a big up, right? Speaking of voice to get the right amount of sleep, sleep is very important. But Donnie introduced me to uh this lady Lenora who's a very voice a big voice teacher. Yeah. Voice coach. And I started and you found that it helped you a lot. Yeah. I actually had with Rabbi Brown about how to go. She's a lady. Which Rabbi Brown from Paraka Brown? Yeah. Raasha Brown. I asked him every child in the world if I could go. You know, I can't go by myself. So she does Skype lessons you know but anyway she saved my life m I mean David should save my life but she was a you know um she techniques and techniques and techniques okay so we have to speak later yeah we have to speak here now do you find the difference between performing live where you have the aid of a mic and let's say daming where you have to project your voice oh the world of a difference and you don't have any help from technology it's a whole world of a difference when I have a mic and I have that monitor in front of me right and you could raise blaring in front of me and I hear myself clear. I don't people in cops subconsciously when you when you don't have the mic you're you push harder and when you push that's when you're stressing right no pushing that's when you stress so it's much harder so but again a after after working and technique and training and training it takes training I mean I've been going since two two pesos ago now two pesos have you ever had an event and you you wake up in the morning you say you know what this is just not gonna work it's tough it's tough many times Desmay. Usually I call Lora. Oh yeah. And she says, "Okay, let me get you where you need to go." She's magic on the moment she'll magician. Really? I'll do a lesson right there and she'll be like, "Do this, do that." And by the end of the lesson, I'm feeling good enough. Not 100% but good enough. And then I go and then there's a lot of Shaya then we rock it out, you know. Any any major mistakes, embarrassing moments that you've had, you know, performing and things of that sort? Maybe not. Yeah. I mean, listen, how many people actually paying attention? He just cracked over there. His voice just went off. You know what I'm saying? Like or with Joy to Milu is they think you're just playing some sticktick. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. They think you're just like, "Oh, he's improvising. You heard that?" Right. One of the main nudas that I'm doing when people come to an event with me, I don't think they're coming to hear my voice. I think, you know, we're trying to create a certain auak. So, that's the main focus. So, the focus is off the voice. So, thank God for me. Now, you told me with your with your new album, you have little quirks at the beginning of the song, the end of the song, you told me Benny's niece does this whole little Yeah. For everybody who's wondering who that kid is in the beginning of Ashra. Cutest kid. So, basically, we were in the studio. Me, Benny, were in Donnie studio and we were recording [Music] Ashenu and and Benny says, "You want to hear something?" He plays us a voice note that maybe it was on a family chat. My niece just sent this. I want Mashiach now. I want to do mus. I'm like it's the whole in they tried to kill us. They tried to destroy us. And here you have little kind. I want mashia now. So I asked Benny if we could put it on the song. He's like okay. The cutest thing. Boom. On the song. It's Benny Freeman's niece. Yeah. Very. Yeah. And then the your last song Rebid. You have your different performances. Petim Pet Rebby I want to learn. Rebby I want to learn. I I grew up saying that you understand that these aren't like things like you know I remember I don't know if I remember because it was Peter but you know what I'm saying I want whatever you remember of it but whoever listens to the album is is going to remember these little nuances they bring out the in it's it's unconventional so it gives it its own uh personality. Yeah. Um it's been great speaking to you. any message you have and a lot of young people who are watching this tens of thousands all over the world probably in Israel also which speaking of when you go to are you recognized there as well it's it's it's picking up um you know I know that radio they play this stuff over the he you know we did an interview when we did an interview on the Israeli radio I was like wow it's must be hitting Israel right you know and barashm we just sent a bunch of CDs to Israel There's this huge musical market there. Bigger than here, I think. Yeah. Because the people are on fire. People are on fire. The music there is like is like mean. It's like it has like a there's like a meaning like it's like right what came out, you know? It's like so now people who told me singers, they tell me when when they go to Israel and they sing the the the feedback is is a whole different whatever reason. I don't know if it's a cultural thing. Maybe maybe it's a Israel. Who knows? It says I don't know about I don't know about but maybe it takes to get to emotion. You understand? Maybe that's what it is. It takes that music is deep. Oh, that's what it is. But say it's starting to pick up in Israel. It's phenomenal. But if you have a message to young people watching who need looking for what would it be an underlying uh message? Haley Gata, I want to get closer to you. I mean, what am I going to say? There's so many messages, you know, so many messages. Positivity. What am I I mean, I'm going to say B and you know, focus on the see peace of Yeshua. We all want Mashiach, you know. I mean, maybe some people don't realize that they want Mashiah, but I would say I would say focus in on who you really are deep. You know who you really are. Every year is fire. Every year is unbelievable. Everybody's amazing. But we get distracted, distraction, distraction, distraction. The point of all these nagun is to bring out this something past us. Like guy once asked me, guy said, "Who's your marketing team?" I told him the abisha. He got mad at me. He said, "Come on, just be real for a second." I was like, "When did it become unreal that the Abisha is my marketing team?" Meaning it's more real separation of church and state. Okay. Okay. With religion, talk business. You know what I'm saying? You know, everything. And I I think you could leave the past behind. You fall down, you get back up. That every year is holy. It all comes down to one thing. All to one thing. We have anish. We have a tata who loves us. He wants us back. He wants us to be close. We want to be close as much as we'll whether we'll admit it or not. We want to be Haley. We want to fall down and get back up or we want to fall down. But even the falling down there's an avoid there. Whatever maybe it's deep but you know it's gal dance sing to have a art scroll over here spreading light. Can you imagine? He didn't have gars in English. You know there a lot of things to be thankful for. Yeah. Right. Oh so the holy side thank you Hashem. What it comes down to the holy sight is thank you Hashem which is which is focus in a lot of things to dance about a lot of things to be happy about and see peacefully Yeshua that maybe we can already start dancing because we know so much. Mashia's coming. You know I don't even know what I'm saying anymore of you. Oh, no. You're saying good. Whenever people say good, what's your message? Like, I don't know. It's very hard to say one message. I got to go rant for an hour and a half. I'll tell you, you just reminded me a story that I wrote this week. For those who read it, but for those who don't read it, an individual told me a storyeps once in Boston by the Krasnau family and he met the Zera family and he asked him how he's doing and he said, "I'm an I'm an elderly yet already. I can't enjoy the family so much. He was having struggles with health. Abs told him who said that you need feet to dance. Dance with your heart. And that was his message. Dance with your heart. Maybe a song. Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. By the way, every time I do a zoom these days, by the way, tell tell everyone this was not rehearsed. This is not rehearsed at all. Can we have a song? Every time I do a zoom, who said that you need feet to dance? Dance with your heart. One second. We have to see. Every time I do a zoom, I tell the I was like, "We can't be at the sim now." Right. We can't dance physically, but spiritually we could dance. And the shamas could dance. Who said you need Who said you need feet to dance? Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. No, no, second time. It's gonna come slow. Slow. Slow or fast. Can you imagine the halo got void dance in your heart? Oh, it's starting to E minor. Who said you need feet to dance? Who said you need feet to dance? You can always dance with your heart. Who said you need feet to dance? Who said you need feet to dance? You can always dance with your heart. So just dance, just dance, dance with your heart. So just dance, just dance, dance with your heart. So just dance, just dance, dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. Just dance. Just dance. Dance with your heart. Just dance. Just dance. Dance with your heart. Just dance. Just dance. Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. Dance with your heart. Who said you need feet to dance? Who said you need feet to dance? All right, we'll work on it. Oh, we'll develop it. Tong with your heart. I've got He said it in Yiddish. I have to look up the exact lion. Yeah, you got to get the lion. Oh, we got the lash and we'll go. But here here's the deal. Isra is so deep, right? Maybe if there's one message, one message, love Jews. Just love Ed Yeden because the end of the day, you're in the same boat. One hand doesn't hurt the other hand. I feel I don't know if I get in trouble for this but I feel like we sometimes when we've had opportunities as cholesterol to create an akas the manas came in and created uh separation because the last thing the wants the last thing the sut wants and the last thing the other side wants is that they're getting together uh oh they're getting together when Jews are together nobody could mess right so anytime we had an opportunity I don't want to say specific examples but like there were things that happened in the client's role even now like you know what I'm saying unfortunately with it's a big ma with the co but like instead of using as opportunity for a like oh they do that and they don't wear masks and they do wear masks and the end of the day the a is going to choose what happens right I'm going with this am I getting in trouble for this or I'm par no no no so far you're good you know the the you know why like why use an inion like this for the opposite of maybe what it's meant to be doing Come together, dive for each other. Love each other. Okay, they don't do that. I do that. I hold of this. I don't hold of that. Masks do work. Masks don't work. They who cares? No, who cares? Do what you need to do. Be responsible. But like people are pointing out flaws and this and that. Like we have an opportunity for a you know, I heard of messa. I forgot which saddic it was. I heard on a kbak city. It blew me away. I don't know if people noticed my ab and by his tish by his fab every different type of juke showed up. You don't see this too much, right? But can you imagine by a rabbi that was there maybe was hiding in the back was there the the the yaki was there the lip was there they all came because lisa was a beautiful matzah and they wanted to hear tyan but it was known that by like halfway through this rabbis tish the ahava in the room was so intense because there were so many different Jews just dancing together hugging kissing listening to tyra being makab the same tyra there was so many Jews together that everyone knew that you go there you walk out like oh my god the it was ins. So anyways, at one time the ahab was intense was dancing, singing. They heard noise outside said maybe Mashia's here. So the rabbi said go check. So went outside. They looked around. I don't know. They came back in. They said we can't see anything. Rabbi said let me check. He walks outside. He starts to go like this smelling the air. Comes back. She's not here. She's not here. So one but thank God for these because otherwise we don't have the M goes to the Reb said Rabb if you're so holy that you could smell smell if Mashiah's here why can't you smell from where you're sitting you have to go outside to smell so he said in this room taka smell like mashia in this room I couldn't smell past mashia the aava I had to go outside to smell mashia there but I learned that we have to bring the ahava to the rest of the world you Yeah. Titles upon titles upon titles. Have your shitas and teach your own children your shitas. But just love Jews. You know what I'm saying? Joey, thank you. Thank you for coming. Thank you for smoozing. Thank you for your messages of positivity. Thank you for the really is going very far. You're bringing quality music to people, not just noise and not just an excuse for the word. You're you're really bringing meaning to it. Maybe you could we could close out with maybe. Come on. You know what? Because look, we're all here. We're all fighting for the same Msiah. That's it. We don't have Benny here. You know that. We don't talk. We got to get Benny. You're in a tough spot because we don't have Benny. You ready? Yeah. [Music] li. Am I going to get out of the shot? Oh, I'm not sure of your [Music] La. Wherever you are, sing with me. Hey, I'm away. I'm Let's go. [Applause] [Music] I like her. I [Applause] [Music] like Heat. Heat. [Music]