Full Interview With Benny Freidman, On His Music Journey, His Hits Yesh Tikvah, Ivri Anochi & More

foreign [Music] welcome to another Jewish platform live we are over here in flow motion studio now I have a green screen Studio at home people know I do video production I'm over here I gotta say I am blown away by the professionalism over here in the studio and I want to give a huge thank you to Yankee title Bound for really making sure that this happens and for brockhart turnheim for really making sure on a technical point that everything over here is running smoothly we are here in flow motion Studio flowmotion.tv okay over here tonight as I'm sure all of you are waiting to see we have one of the top stars in the Jewish music from entertaining us in our homes with his music to inspiring us at our grassness more so very often he is the one going around to people that are either in hospitals or less fortunate than us and uplifting them from our Spirits let's give a big hello to the one and only Benny Friedman Benny how are you it's okay it's okay everyone have a seat please yes which which is something that I want to bring up obviously we are practicing social distancing over here and not only that uh there's almost nobody over here so if you don't hear anybody clapping it's not because people aren't enjoying it it's because the mods of that we're in now Benny there's something I always wanted to tell you and it's possible that he's told it to you at the you didn't choir 10-year Reunion yeah I'm not sure if I tell it to you or not I wanted to tell it to you here is what that is before you join the Jewish music industry there were a lot of amazing singers obviously a lot of beautiful music but I feel like there was always a very serious undertone you saw a singer ericasana sing a beautiful gishmaka song he was that there was something serious about it no depression but there was a certain seriousness and you came into the Jewish music industry I'm not going to use the word fun because that could sound like cheapening but you made it so gishmach I'm being honest and if I may say into the Jewish music industry now now that I got that off my heart and I wanted to say that I think that I could talk for many many people now I could ask you Benny how you doing we're gonna to get to that yeah means great Hashem thank you Hashem okay so like I just said about the upbeat and your smart guy there's something about your songs that are powerfully and amazingly uplifting inspiring inspiring and positive for example started for yesterday means there's hope that was your first big hit that shot you through the roof it means that there's still hope but it wasn't sound in a depressing heavy way it was sungen yes that was a hit for many years that's what everybody was singing for years after that came out every Camp had that tune as their theme song after that you had to dalaka after that you had every anointing which talks about the stults people are proud to be Jewish and that came with a beautiful music video over 10 million views on YouTube I believe just like yesterday um and more recently you have which talks about somebody went out on a rainy day and he he's making the best of it and he's happy and you go through different things that you should be and could be thankful for there is something in your style of music that is so powerfully inspiring and positive tell me a little bit about that style please I think um well I I thought about this long and hard not Style um humans go through many many different emotions so you want music to reflect to Human Experience or you want it to connect on an emotional level I was thinking to myself and talking to my mushroom about it and the the basically the conversation was that if you if there's many different human emotions right there's happiness and there's sadness there's you know so if you have these two emotions and you have a and they're both real emotions both valid emotions right but you can now choose to focus on one or the other right just because they're both human emotions doesn't mean every human emotion needs to needs to come out in music or at least in my music I chose happiness and Jewish pride and avas Israel and these things to be the the emotion that that I try to infuse my music with because if you want to move somebody towards somewhere where he can't get to the without the music it should be to uplift him right to a more positive place not uh I mean maybe as I get older I'll you know the the weight of the world will start to to you know bend my shoulders maybe but the Violet was still young we're still uh we got our energy and the world is is our oyster and you know positivity is is still coursing through our blood so why why why focus on anything else you have that positivity and I believe besides for your God gifted talent for music and the beautiful voice that you sing with I really think that one of the reasons that you're way up there and people love your music and people love having you at events I really believe that the reason one of the reasons is because of that positive today in 2020 what they would say is they're positive vibe that you bring towards the music there's a music video that you put out I'm not sure I don't think that it's your song it's uh Sean bialski song I I forgot whose song it is here from the neighborhood oh amazing beautiful it's a beautiful song and you put out a beautiful music video about um the the theme of the music video over there is and I don't know if you're doing he's doing many wonderful things right now but I think that in your career again this is my own opinion correct me if I'm wrong I think that you use your own career for that and I'll give you a couple of examples I don't think that you are the ordinary singer that says all right I'm a singer I think that you made it your mission in life to beat people all right I'll give you a couple of examples you made the music video kulanou right we should all sing and you do that there are a lot of Puppets in it right now I could see so many singers saying below me below my dignity right but guess what you went ahead you said it is my top and my job to make people happy let me tell you something my kids watch that video my daughters are in school I have a six-year-old and a four-year-old they love it that is what they watch you made another video with Mayor Kate the evolution of Jewish music it was hilarious it was beautiful people loved it now I could picture so many singers saying I don't know surpass Nest I'm a professional I should make a video of Puppets I should make the evolution of Jewish music mimic different singers you did a beautiful job you do with a thousand percent uh we're talking you go around you know what your mission is your missions to be Miss America people and of course we'll get to the fact that you go around to organizations all over the place I was at I was the NCAA event last year you showed up you know families like children you were there you are there to make people happy and so many things that people don't know about I just got off of the phone with yoshimasu it's a couple of hours ago I told him I'm on my way into interview Benny Friedman he said Barack whenever I need somebody to go to hospital to make somebody happy and Mitzvah the first one that I asked is Benny because he's the first one that is always running to make people happy I think that you do it with what do you say about that first of all I'm so happy that I came all this way just to sit here and listen to you shower me with compliments what could be better than this I mean every word I mean seriously I appreciate it I remember there's a song from from oof I forgetting his name Yehuda glance remember Yehuda glance he has a beautiful beautiful song [Music] foreign [Music] I was speaking about these words with my father and I was wondering what is a shot MS right like it's two so my father told me I'm not sure where he got it from there's two just two truths there's two MS means that there is a objective truth your TAF kid whatever it is this is truth and it doesn't change your own personal truth deceased you need to be honest with yourself you need to know where you're holding and these are two things that need that need to coincide with each other in other words is the most real most important most non-negotiable thing that exists the David means that you are taka nobody you're talking that important stop taking yourself so seriously you and these things have to coexist at the same time you don't take yourself seriously at all your job your deba you're ablester these things you take seriously so uh in general you know what I mean you you have a job you have a task you're trying to accomplish something these things other stuff and yourself your own covet your own whatever and it's it's a it's a balance it's a balance right and I remember I was because it's really better from magazine I told him I remember watching the counselors in Camp how they used to uh they used to wear clown costumes and funny hats and whatever it is but still on the side of the on the sideline of the baseball field with the rambamesh you don't take yourself and and I remember that it was like burnt into my brain yourself you don't take Serious your job oh that's until uh Snapfish wow everybody knows that your khabar even at somebody not known that you're habba just from your lavosh and just from your last sentence sitting there with the rambam everybody knows that you have bad um they say that Nila is a famous law and famous joke it may even be true they say when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon he saw one thing over there a Chabad house every single person in this world might be true every person in this world has benefited from Chabad in so many ways obviously I took I'm Arabia I took my class to Florida a couple of months ago before this whole covid we had to Daven somewhere wherever you go in the world happens to be I'm here with my producer Moishy groomfeld we shot a film a short while ago um the skull of a genius and we shot it in this Castle on Lake George we had a large cast and crew we bought home food but somehow a couple of that were going to be there overnight we were there overnight a couple of hours into filming there was no food left nothing NADA zilts we're in a castle forget about kosher food there were no stores in I think about an hour and a half Drive nowhere could buy food we're up there in this real medieval castle and suddenly pull up they come over to us we say what are you guys doing over here in the castle they tell us we are renting the castle next door I have no idea they they live here in Crown Heights um I said I have no idea what you guys are doing in a castle and also they look at us and they said we're having a big city tonight we're having a big barbecue you guys are invited La Meister they gave us a slavery uh and they said tomorrow morning for breakfast you guys are invited they had such a breakfast for us you still for when she says you still fall the imamas saved us we had a very big cast and crew everybody's benefited from Chabad we know that your khabar in the last the last line that you said you were talking about your slickness you are one of the biggest singers in Jewish music I want to ask you what influence has khabar had and of course we know that your father is a very customer Rob speaker and my Manus Friedman what influences and your father before had in your career a tremendous influence a hundred percent influence um the the uh the message or one of the big messages of the rabbit for today's generation is that today it doesn't exist the concept of being a private citizen you can't say today let me do my own avoida let me work on my own uh Hashem and wake up in the morning go to school come home and uh and and be satisfied with something like that today you must be a public servant everyone is called upon to be a public servant we have to go out in the world and help somebody else even if it means for us even physically like coming out today on to the with the whole covid-19 you came out today are you out but um there's no excuse anymore not to be or not to reach for or strive to become as great as you can be said there's no excuse don't be so humble right that you will not accomplish what you are capable of accomplishing you did ever wrote an IMEI that if you could cut diamonds and instead you bake bread baking bread is a good thing but you have more potential and if you don't do that and instead you do something else that's a little bit less then it's as it's considered like like an Aveda wow you have a potential you must fulfill it and if you're not fulfilling it so so what are you doing you're wasting your time today's so so uh cloud like this concept is a strange concept that really didn't exist before the concept of a Hasidic Superstar a Hasidic Superstar is that's a contradiction is Bittle and and humility and self-nullification and Superstar is make sure my name is Big make sure my picture is Big make sure I'm on the front cover these things don't stem today's generation the abster demands from us the devil demands from us to be a superstar and not to let it get to your head wow wow not to uh because again the schlepis is the is the uh this is the Ms and you are not important it's easy for somebody like me to say not to get to your head because in any video that I put on YouTube um I get a couple of views or whatever but somebody like you have on a number of videos over 10 million views that's something look I'm telling you what we supposed to do I didn't say I just had to do it I didn't say it didn't get to my head look I mean I think I have a big head what are you gonna do I'm saying what I'm striving for but David lovely I know my massive happens to be regarding what you said I once heard a great line I'm not sure from who somebody once said over the problem isn't that people put the bar too high and they miss it the problem is that they put their bar too low and they actually reach it but you were talking about going out there and doing slickest and achieving your most I know that your job meaning I said earlier you made your tafka to go ahead and be my Samir people and I know that you do an incredible amount of Castle all the time all over and usually it's still a hate which is such a Murray my question is now unfortunately we're in a crazy matzo the ribbon Islam should bring a ghoulash Lima and it should be over but now with this whole covid-19 how are you able to you're out you always want to be misameric people what are you doing now during this past six weeks or whatever to to fulfill that Target um you know today it's not like maybe even 10 years ago 20 years ago um today the world even when we're separate when we're separated we're still very much in touch with each other right I mean we have the zoom videos and we have uh WhatsApp conversations and I mean communication is lines are still wide open children who are by themselves in a hospital it could be now that mats have got a little bit easier but in the beginning when I mean it was mamesh it was like he's like being in jail you couldn't have no visitors you couldn't see nobody um so it's very tough but you know you send a video you have a video chat or something like that you try to do what you can you know like kids who sit watch my music videos so I would say to them hey Maisha this is Benny Friedman I just want to let you know that we have some videos down here here is my videos that you can watch and now now all the videos is part of the conversation kilo it feels personal right we try we try um look we're hoping that the situation is going to end because it's not uh it's not optimal obviously it's not how it should be and we'll be able to get back to seeing people in person but the violets uh electronically right that's that's beautiful that's that's amazing what you're doing we won the musame live stream no not yet no not yet I know Lipa Schwartz has been telling me that he's gonna try to get Benny he's gonna try to get Benny balipas told me in the past not Lipa schmel Philippe Schwartz from the same yeah he's told me and he's even shown me videos I made one of their videos how you went down to a cancer patient's house to sing for them and everything and again that's such a beautiful thing that's time coming to go for your family come and go for your free time and it's beautiful but here is something that people always want to get to know let's go back when your career started let's talk about your music career like I said I just got over the phone with gershimoskowitz and then you said Benny's music career started 15 years ago on the cruise on the cruise on the Hudson let's hear a little bit about your musical Journey we know that I'm free to your uncle did that have any impact when did you start singing fill me in a little bit with that um of course having Aven fried as an uncle made a made a big impression and it and it gave this this Jewish singer idea like very a very real feel like it's not something that's um so that's for sure you know something that we dreamed about and we uh cocked in it as children um singing solo I started more when I was in issue in Postville Iowa they have I'm not sure if they still have it but they did was there um every week for the whole community and I used to sing there so low that was like where I started you right then I went to different yeshivas and started singing at weddings and you know the bathroom would push me up and um that's an organization oh my uncle uh Yeshua Yemen Gordon who this the stronger be sure is is a memory of well yeah I was a new Shiva in Los Angeles he was the valley and he had a dinner and he needed a singer and he asked me if I come and did Russia made me strong deals you know I had Ambitions I had to meet in order to go it wasn't it wasn't so simple that was like my first uh official paying job actually before that I broke out color War at camp romamu they had a makeup artist come and put on a beard on me and dressed me up like avram freed and um came out they had all I was like I'm a free concert a big uh background a band and then at the end I pulled off the beard and I got paid for that also so that was my first paint job um yeah slowly slowly it was nostalgical until uh gershimaskowitz invited me to come on come to Hudson and since then that's it I always said for Gucci since then but I think how much after that did I I think Tommy tell me if I'm correct me if I'm mistaken I think that your real big song was yesterday right I saw 15 years ago or something in 2006 you already sang eduette in Minnesota I'm not sure what you have in Minnesota seems like you're there a lot I grew up in Minnesota I was born and grew up there I'm a Minnesota boy I had no idea yeah but now you live in Crown Heights though now I live now I live in Crown Heights music business in Minnesota is a little schwa what country is Minnesota and is it in the United States is it a state City Minnesota is one of the 50 states uh when I'm in there it's at all and people ask me where's Minnesota I say it's near Chicago and what language do they speak to because in in the song hiroshis do you do a little bit of Russian you've seen a lot in Hebrew what language is like do they sing well depends what show you're in if you're in the Russian show they speak in Russian so you've you've you've been performing really for many many years and then again even though it's it's never outdated but it's a bit old yes but still I think that that is what made it for you tell me a little bit about you know a few a few months ago already actually I was at a shiver Brothers I got the shock of My Life One of the guys in the choir and he tells me you know I just have to say I mama I grew up on your music and I said you grew up on my music I'm not that old and Taki he's 20 years old my first CD came out 10 years ago he was 10 years old when it came out oh my goodness so I'm getting old I might have to start talking with the sad songs um yeah my first uh CD came out in 2009 and it was a fantastic CD if I might say so myself um there was katyasvin on that CD and the lyrics nigging and tamuruki and wow you're refreshing me my days and sifting now my days Yeshiva that I remember no lyrics came out and everybody was singing oh wow I didn't forget those stories but we don't sing them anymore yeah that was that was 10 years ago I still till today people say after everything the best album it's your first album and and I can't disagree it was we were very excited we worked on it for a long time we had all sorts of ideas you know today you have Carl Linwood and this everything is business at the beginning it was like wide-eyed and so many great ideas but uh so that was 2009. and uh about three years later came yesterday wow and uh changed everything right yeah yeah okay so then my mistake from when your first CD came out it was through the roof and but again yesterday I think I I didn't check this out but I'm assuming that I think from all of the Hamish and music I think that it has the most views on YouTube again I can't really say every other has more than yesterday yeah wow and and every energy did together with Mary Kay yeah it is it is so smart there's that scene over there I love to show my kids where where the boy is playing basketball and he pulls the sits us out it it it's something that we really need today's Days sometimes you see these people they're going on to they go into the plane or whatever and you know they put in a cab they they hide that sits us or whatever okay okay hide that census or whatever right and that that's such a beautiful scene over there where the kid is playing basketball in the park and then he goes ahead and he pulls out his sisters I love that so that came out in 2009 uh not everyone actually the CD came out in 2009 a couple of years later you came out with yeah I think the Ted published the song many times they were very excited about that right did an editorial right on yesterday I couldn't believe it I had no idea look we did yesterday we we knew it was a fun song we knew it was a cool song we knew it would maybe be a hit a dance hit or whatever I had no idea what was about to happen and then the attack did an editorial on the song about how it's so uplifting and it's and it's a it's a it's a cultural thing and I keep he he he basically laid out everything that was about to happen his mom was the first one who called it and I I saw it I got very excited about it but I didn't know what he was talking about I didn't know what he meant and then um the Hask show called and asked if I'll come they had freedom and David that year they asked me if I'll come and sing like they're going to have you'll come on with Mordechai and I'll come out what I've rambled the four of us will perform we'll do songs and the introduction started for yesterday and the husk audience everybody stood up and started and it was like and I remember looking to the side stage uh ding from standing there it's really Meyer was standing there on the cycling what is going on something is going on we had no idea but it was like this something very special is happening and that was the beginning became like this phenomenon that that was like it was amazing [Music] I did I did his show we played the song and he was jumping in the studio this guy hebra I'm telling you listen up right here this is the song This is this song this is like I know what you're saying I like in the studio I remember that was when ya Lili was was all the rage and I said to Avi Newmark the producer I said we were listening to the production and this and I said look I think it's great I think it's going to work it's not gonna be a Lili I mean is huge it's not gonna be a lily but I think it will work and it just blew up it was what went crazy who's whose song is it actually Ari goldwag Ari goldwag wow Harry goldwag and it's interesting even though it's a Hebrew song Right meaning very often there's a pasok or words in Yiddish English it speaks to everybody just speaks to everybody the tune and the lyrics and it's beautiful so interesting the lyrics are are simple enough you don't have to be a Hebrew Aficionado to understand what it's saying and the tune is fun enough that you can be three years old and not understand even if it would be in English right and still appreciate the song so I mean kudos to uh to Ari goldwago I saw his parents a few months later at the show in the upstate and they said Ari Goldberg is our son I said your son ruined my life I can't go anywhere can't do anything I'm never home I'm so busy the song I mean it was I I was a professional singer for three years before before that changed everything and yes changed um I mean today or since then every came out every album that comes out has to have a Hebrew dance song it's not one two three four sometimes eight so it really changed the whole uh I'll tell you a quick story about yesterday um here in the neighborhood I live like on the outskirts of Crown Heights and we dive in a little Shoal on the corner it's near the hospital or closer to the hospital anyway I come to one Shabbos in the morning and I see across the show is a guy that I I don't recognize him I've never seen him there before and it doesn't look like he's from he's not it doesn't look like a laborator he looks like he's sitting by himself but I'm on this side of the show whatever I noticed him and then I I uh Daven and finished davening and between the davening and the Kiddush I step outside or whatever it is and he's there and he says to me can I talk to you for a second say sure so he says like this he says on Wednesday they had a terrible crisis in their family and his wife ended up in the hospital here so he says I'm here now with my wife in the hospital my children are staying by some neighbors and um I'm telling you like I'm just my head is spinning and last night I was in the hospital just next to my wife like this and today in the morning I decided let me go let me go search for a show so he wandered outside he doesn't know where he is doesn't know the neighborhood he doesn't and he pushes went up the blocks trying to find a show and you couldn't find anything finally um he sees uh Aid and he asks him where's the shoulder so guys so right there right here standing right in front of it there was no sign then so he goes inside he said I come inside I I sit down I don't know anybody here and uh I'll be honest with you I know it's jobless and you're not allowed to be sad on Shabbos but okay what can I tell you I'm sitting here and I'll start to think I try to think what's going to be with my life what's gonna do with my family how's my I was gonna be with my wife what's my future where's my children my children are far away like all the thoughts just come pouring in and he says I'm going to be very honest I thought to myself Hashem abandoned me just abandoned me and as I'm thinking that I look up and what do I see yesterday wow he says you walked into show and I knew that Hashem did not forget about me wow I started shaking I was like I give my big hug functioning it was like the craziest story that I ever heard and a few months later the revenue show was in Borough Park and they bumped into my dad comes up and says I want to tell you thank you so much for everything that your show did for me let me do nothing as I'm thinking about it what did I do I didn't do anything I walked into shovel but years and years ago we sat in the studio and we you know created something put it out in the world forgot about it and it went it went it went and did whatever it did and today like uh I mean I feel bad like almost like it's ribbous you know I mean like I didn't really do anything I'm just still taking payments for it but um that so that yesterday I mean and many many stories like that pretty amazing I'm sure there are many stories and of course the power that music has and entertainers have when they use it for the good and when they realized like I said before that their top good is to be massame people like this is the story um in the Kumar I forgot what happened with when when I forgot who was that asked who am I going to be with in Canadian and he pointed to bat khanam and he said with them and yes these are the people that uplift people of course we know that us I mean not us the the other entertainers they really are very very powerful and now and I want to tell you just quick about what you're saying matish diamonds right told me that he was walking uh he was walking once with his father he said my father there's nothing this whole thing but we were walking and as we're walking two kids they see me and they go crazy and they say can we take a picture so I said okay stood there took a picture with them and they went on their way and I went back to my father and we're walking and my father says to me mati I don't know what you're doing and I don't understand it but if you could make Jewish children so happy from doing nothing he didn't do anything well you took a picture they were going so if you can make kids so happy from doing nothing continue doing what you're doing wow wow that is that's very powerful both to people that are in the field and today's day is more than ever you have teenagers and kids and bathroom and they're all trying to join that field of music and you should know that Samurai people can learn from that if what you're doing is going to make you the second look happy go ahead and do it I love it I love it let me ask you what we're talking about that I'm sure that you get it a lot when you're walking in the street with your family and and or or without your family right you want to you you're going away your day-to-day life and I'm sure people always come over to you Benny with stories or they want to take a picture with you or they want to say hi to you what what do you feel about that are you happy about that are you does does it get annoying is it with pleasure you're past the stage of enjoying it that's for sure could you imagine if I would go in the streets and nobody wanted to take a picture with me and nobody wanted to say hello how horrible that would be that's what I try to remind myself when it when it becomes overwhelming or when it becomes if I'm in a Russian this um I try to remind myself that the alternative to this is far far far more disturbing right or Hashem people want to take a picture and actually once I was at the like Weimar parade and there was a long line of kids wanted to take a picture with me and it was next to us another long line of kids wanted to take a picture with the puppet from Mitzvah Boulevard so that's when I realized that me and the pub of Mr Boulevard were the same they don't the kids don't want to take a picture with me they don't want to take a picture of whatever version of me exists in their imagination so uh you know it's fine by me all right now let's get into the challenge of the interview for a second you've always produced music that was the schmuck uplifting and beautiful and now you went ahead and you put out a beautiful album Whispers of the heart a sphere music slow songs it came out yesterday or two days ago obviously I bought it and I'm specifying that I bought it I bought it mostlymusic.com because a message for everybody out there I know I I produce films and you produce music and people really put in tons of cookies into this please instead of ripping it off a telegram or anywhere else go and I'm buying it costed me 10.99 on mostly music where else is it available many akums it's intherain.com it will shortly be available on iTunes if somebody has iTunes um and uh it's available on nigamusic.com and it's available it's available available so I'm asking there's no where Jewish music is it wherever you get your Jewish music from that's where it's available wherever you get your Jewish music from so I'm asking you a tava please so much work and goes into it spend the eleven dollars to go and buy it it is so it's it's don't go out and buy it don't go out could stay home stay home and buy it yes there are ways to get it for free the ways to get everything for free but so much because go into there so that's what I'm saying I reported right when they came out this is a totally different album This is a spirit album usually we associate Betty Friedman with oh I forgot to say it I I I had part of my intro it was going to be when I spoke about you uplifting it I I was going to say who could ever even picture Benny Friedman without a smile on his face I forgot I forgot to say producer man we're gonna start this over Yankee Yankee Taliban brush off everybody what you just saw we're starting over welcome Danny Friedman oh yeah okay so anyways people associate Benny Friedman with yes with all the levels you just went the other way and you put out a beautiful heartwarming sphere Muse uh sphere album called Whispers of the heart now there are different sections if I may say to this beautiful CD first thing is that you have two newly released singles right the zakaini which you made for bunny earland you're saying to dwet with Barth Levine sing it on a duet with growth I mean on the CD it is a beautiful beautiful song and then you have rebe which we'll get back to in a second and then you have at the end of the CD which is Sona gear for today's Days you have some songs about the Ula yeah and you have a different variety of songs um they're not original to the CD but beautiful beautiful CD so before we go into the kiscus of the city and it was produced by Danny gross right Donnie gross um so I'll tell you like this about you saying about the smile I recorded my previous album The vocals by Dani and he and V Silverstein coached me through the singing and Donnie when I sing by him in the studio even a slow song even a heart took a song even whatever it is he's always yelling I'll be middle of singing and I'll suddenly hear smile he stops the recording smile yo you gotta smile people could hear the smile you could you could really hear the smile so he's always reminded me you gotta smile smile smile so no matter what you know that if Donnie gross is the engineer from the thing the singer is with a big smile you're valdick so whose idea was it to go and make a serious CD was it your idea was it somebody else's idea with Benny Friedman is seriously I'm not saying it's beautiful but we're where did the idea come from to make a sphere City it's very simple what's today today is Thursday last week Wednesday Danny gross texted me and said hey are you doing anything no am I doing anything no let's make a sphere album wait a second wait a second yeah you're doing the math no this is this is beyond me this is beyond me Thursday a week ago I went to the studio for the first time to work on this CD that is letters of last week Tuesday of this week Monday night Tuesday I'm not sure if I think I recorded the last vocals Monday and then Tuesday was like mixing and mastering yeah we did the CD in under a week that is I was going to say impossible but it's possible every eat as a cuscus so I'm not gonna say it but wow I thought that you know six months ago you decided hey like like most CDs go six months minimum hey why don't we make a sphere album so you're telling me that you made the entire album and under a week if usually you would say so we did the song or we did the CD for the monster he said well you can't it can't be because you must have started working on it at least six months ago but I can show you the text message from Danny gross that he sent me on Wednesday of last week wow this is I make a CD today's day and age it's all these messages but uh I can't believe that it was done in one week we're gonna show it to the camera we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna show it to the camera in Wednesday in a second and people are sending in comments they're asking if you could have another CD out by next week I probably could I mean if Donnie gross is if Donnie gross is focused we can have another CD that is amazing a CD in one week and and it's not as if it's there's any lack of professionalism at all it's a beautiful okay let's show let's show it to the camera right over here get up get up and close to the camera can I stand up whatever let's see look Wednesday April can you show it to the camera Yankee Wednesday April 22 um I think Yankee wants you to show it to that camera huh yeah show it to that camera how do I do this you see it Wednesday April 22. Wednesday April 22. let's make an acapella album two days and we come out on Monday we actually were behind schedule did you see it I have to move it a little bit so that it comes the date comes down Wednesday April 22. let's make an acapella album two days and we're coming out on Monday wow I said I love it the next day I was in studio and uh and that's it so how does it go who chooses the songs whom we we went to the studio um just me and Donnie saying I think the first song was bashem Hashem Hashem and said okay what's the next one what song do you like you know uh let's do away the issue I love it beautiful beautiful song Beautiful chords let's do it wow I can't finish that gageville it's another song what's another oh you know um you know any small Brazil songs ah yeah yeah you know you don't kill Hashem I want to have always beautiful that was actually the first song that as soon as I downloaded it I saw an Imam and I was intrigued which animal you picked so right away when I downloaded the first song that I clicked on was anime but that's that's incredible that that you're able to pull it off so spontaneously so professional within a week well you know Donnie gross makes comes it's in the rain right it does it every year basically I think almost 10 years he's doing it so he for him acapella music you know he's very uh very familiar with the savoida so he knows how to do it he knows what's important he knows what's extra he knows how not to waste time yeah and you have you have such a beautiful variety first of all your two new singles the zakaini which is a beautiful beautiful song and I was listening to it on my way in all right and it was there was one part that I even teared up by um let them know let them know you like I know you order those lyrics it is because in today's day on world meaning it is so difficult for there's so many things that could confuse a young child so there are two parts of the song was that Ken it's a beautiful song first thing is I encourage everybody to go out and and buy the CD and besides for that the song with zakaini it has there are two aspects of it one is you made it tell me a little bit about this song you made it for money originally from right um it was composed by Miriam Israeli and Baruch Levine and the song basically talks about um that feel that that mothers and all Jewish women uh Daven when they light the candles they Daven for uh for good healthy children who who uh who can give nachas to them and today and to fill the whole world with uh um and then he wrote a new one for foreign so they did a song and a song talks about uh taka you know a young wife who's davening every Friday to have the the the uh crazy sounds and the crazy mess and the crazy stress that comes along with having a house full of children and she hopes for good children children who can give who can give nachas I guess also to the parents and also today and to the whole world so we sang it together with Mark Levine and the New York Voice Choir and the um foreign as well which is there's such a it's so Universal the song it has such a beautiful blend and such a beautiful and and everybody loved hearing your voice and again it's a beautiful duet between Levine that is a beautiful song I have another duet on the CD my dear Evy and also rahmana rahamana that came out on H volume three together with Avery Rottenberg and slo-mo simcha and they were kind enough to let us do it on this uh that CD also was produced by Danny gross um so uh yeah there's three songs with uh with uh more cover singing wow so that song rebby I I wanna I again it's a beautiful beautiful song there's so many things that stick out about it first thing is that today's the month of that's going on so many rebbies when and and it could be an uncomfortable situation but they're making sure to bend over backwards and then come up with all sorts of creative ways to still be in touch be mechanic and teach the children and the number of things first thing is I myself I'm a Remy my father is a revi both of my brothers are Abby's my grandfather who unfortunately passed away less than two weeks ago because of this coronavirus he was he was a ready um my schwer is a principal in Yeshiva Tara Vedas so yeah I know what it means to be ready wow that's amazing but here is the thing I believe I'm not sure I don't know all of Jewish music is it possible that this is the first Jewish song about a review um I I would have to say that um country Elsie has a song about already there's a very special man in a very special place there is wisdom in his eyes and a smile upon his face in Yeshiva he's the rebbe he's your ready and you're ready is your friend no wow yeah okay so today when you're older and much wiser you'll realize how much you don't know you look and cry out to show my aim oh rebbe I miss you so oh really ready yeah okay it was a great song but again so if it's not the first then it's the second only been a while right if it's not the first and the second if not the second it is one of the first songs about Arabi and of course what would we be without our reviews and it's a beautiful tribute tell me a little bit about the song Ready whoo the song um rebbe is is a is a very a positive message that everybody knows everybody should know and that is that um you owe your ready your teacher everything that you know all the Toyota and all the Mitzvahs all the Toyota that you know and all the missions that you do are are in the in the uh in this course or due to the work that the people who talk to you put in and uh and that's who's and that uh lasts as long as a person is alive um so it's just it's a it's a it's just to underscore and to emphasize the importance and the impact that that you that you're I it was it's meant for as a fundraiser right this organizational cause they live right of course because they live they give out um before yamtif they give out money to Robin extra like a bonus check right for yomptif because uh verbaim are not hedge fund managers they're not rolling in money and they can always use a lift and a hand so they give out money for a bam so this this song is meant to underscore and to reinforce and just to remind people the importance and the hashivas and the uh the pricelessness of the of the one who is teaching your childish kite who's giving him that that connection and that relationship that will last forever well it's it's a beautiful beautiful song and a tribute to all rubies out there I know that my father teaches every day for a couple of hours through Zoom my brothers have conferences and I'm supposed to be giving a share a zoom share at 9 30. I told my class that we will push it off to 10 30 tonight um right so those are those two songs that you newly released again the song rebbe after like whatever go ahead watch the music video It's A Beautiful music video If we don't have it on our site the Jewish platform we will very very shortly somebody told me actually it's on oh of course it's on the Jewish platform and Moishy groomfeld over here our producer who actually arranged everything over here inflowmotion.tv um he did the makeup that's right for eign the young version and then many many years later suddenly he's an old man and that's due to good makeup work and the rest of the CD is just a beautiful beautiful city anything else that you wanna put in about the CD I think you covered everything what uh what didn't we mention with this CD I think I'll be honest I think you covered everything it's a beautiful city I can't believe that you put it out in under a week again and wherever Jewish music is sold be it nigga.com be it mostlymusic.com be it uh for bringing in the akums it's in the rooms it's in the rain wherever Jewish music is sold he said it's going to be on iTunes go out buy it you won't regret it it's a beautiful city there's one thing that I want to finish off with all right and the last thing that I want to finish off with you kept on going through different stories that you had um singers especially if you were caliber today's day is it's I'm talking about Claudius roll looks up to the singers and entertainers the airlock ones and then the powerful ones for messages we're going through an extremely trying time today's day is all of clients are all together side with the quarantine Psy there are people that are sick and of course there are many people that are sitting shiva it is very difficult times we have thousands of people that are sitting right now and they would love to hear a message from Benny Friedman any message you have oh my oof I don't know I mean I I'm not a I'm not a philosopher I'm not a I don't know all I can all I can say is what we all know already that uh everything that abrester does is out of love for his uh for his uh for his children and there's no question that despite the uh the uh the pain and despite the terrible tragedies that are attacking taking place there's no question that this is somehow a good thing and if you and if you are healthy and uh and happy and find yourself in isolation it's a good it's a good opportunity to take advantage of it somehow reconnect with your children we connect with your parents with your spouse and uh and realize that basically what happened here is that everything that's not important was basically forcibly removed from our from our life um and that's it we're home now you know like uh pesach usually pesach I'd be flying around all the whole country I had five jobs lined up for pesach I would never see my children I both my kids their birthdays are peso time wow and uh I'm never there and this year that's it wow sat at home supper time with the children every single night and uh and that and and this is life this is life this is what it's supposed to be everything else that we can't have right now we can't have restaurants and we can't have uh sporting events and and and even show even sure which is I mean but it doesn't compare to home wow wow beautiful thank you so so much Benny for coming here tonight on the show you gave a huge physical because thousands of people sitting at home I want to give a huge thank you to our producer Moishy groomfeld that arranged this whole thing behind the scenes and a special huge thank you to flow motion Studios this is definitely the most professional studio I've been in and I'm talking about I have my own Studio at home uh the service here was incredible the live stream is super professional so again I want to give a special thank you to Flo motion and of course Yankee titlebaum and broccolheim you guys [Music]