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Full Description
A little over a year ago, the young men of the Jewish rock group “Yaakov Chesed” walked out of Stern College’s Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center with a mix of pride and disappointment. They had been playing together for nearly 6 months and managed to come in second at the 2006 YU Battle of the Bands, an impressive accomplishment for a new band. But they knew they could do better, and left the show with a new sense of determination. Over the past year, “Yaakov Chesed” devoted themselves to their music. Almost every Saturday night, the band would meet in the basement of lead singer/guitarist Jake Polansky’s house and spend hours practicing their music. As the year passed the band improved greatly, and eventually won the Battle of the Bands at Lander College. Subsequently “Yaakov Chesed” started getting quality shows, performing at The Frisch School, Camp Mesorah, and was even flown down to Savannah, Georgia for a show. When bassist Dovi Salamon left to spend a year in Israel at Yeshivat Sha’alvim, the band quickly recruited the multi-talented Aryeh Kunstler to take over. (Kunstler recently released his own album, “From the Depths.”) A year later the Schottenstein Center was once again packed with Stern and YU students. In fact, all the seats were filled with those eager to hear the six talented bands musically duke it out. Some of the school’s security guards even got into the show. “One of the security ladies said to me, ‘I hear rock music!’ I told her that contrary to popular belief, we Jewish boys know how to rock,” said Yeshiva Student Union Treasurer and Battle of the Bands organizer Daniel Bukingolts. “Four hundred people rocking away to ‘Yaakov Chesed’ made months of planning worth it.” The Battle of the Bands also included a raffle sponsored by YU’s Social Justice Society, that raised over $2,000 for YU’s new sister school in Uganda. Returning to Stern, “Yaakov Chesed” were the favorites for this year’s contest. “I was holding my breath all night,” said the soon-to-be-married Polansky. “Expectations were pretty high, and we are just so grateful to Hashem that we were able to deliver.” And deliver they did, as the judges were unanimous in their decision to crown “Yaakov Chesed” the victors. “We really just want people to connect with our music,” said YC drummer Michael Moskowitz after the show. “Thankfully that seemed to be the case tonight.” No one in the band was as elated as the band’s lead guitarist, Michael Shapiro, a YU sophomore. He was on a high that reportedly lasted through Shabbos. “This is like a dream come true,” Shapiro said after the show – with a grin that took over his face, and refused to fade. With their debut album “Rise Above” finally now available along with their first-place prize of playing at this year’s upcoming YU Chanukah chagigah with Yaakov Shwekey and Shlomo and Eitan Katz, “Yaakov Chesed” is primed to become the next big name in the Jewish music world. – The Jewish Press
Track Listing
1 Shema Yisroel
2 Yaakov Chesed
3 Shalom
4 Rise Above
5 The Ride
6 Chasdei
7 One and Only
8 Kol Yaakov
9 Harmony
10 So Cold
11 Cry Out
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