steve's blog: "REVIEWS OF MY CD'S"

Steve Lieberman Interview This is an interview that James McQuiston conducted with Steve Lieberman. Lieberman, the ¡°Gangsta Rabbi¡±, released eir ¡°Melancholia Falling¡± a few months back. Check out eir website at http://www.gangstarabbi.com . When and why did you first get into creating music? In 1968 I wrote something for clarinet and trumpet and played bass in some successful local rock bands til 1978.. the ¡®modern age¡¯ started in 1981 when i put the theory i had developed as a boy to the test. If you take a bass and distort it to the max and play double stops with fifth intervals you can be a solo artist without knowing the guitar. to this day i can¡¯t play the guitar at all. i recorded a live show at some synagogue on 7/16/1981, then a vinyl 45 called ¡°Nuclear Blitz-Edits 96 and 85¡å in 1984. from 1991-2001¨CAND THEN THE 12 cd¡¯s. i was a rebel from birth and probably not good enough to try to copy anyone who was/is out there¨Cso i do what i do musically and will continue til death What is the explanation behind you being the ¡°Gangsta Rabbi¡±? i was ¡®religious¡¯ from my bar-mitzvah in 1971 until about 1978-i got the ¡®calling¡¯ at the end of 1994 and fervently studied the bible as i do til this day. in my zealousness i found a number of violations from the biblical text to common jewish practice as dictated by the man-made talmud. i separated from the organized jewish sects at the end of 1995 and formed a very strict sect called the badlan¡¯im or ¡®isolationists¡¯-which stresses the bible as law as it should be as well as continual prayer, vegetarianism and fasting.at every wedding and funeral i challenged rabbi¡¯s on these precepts and prevailed each time. so ¡®gangsta¡¯ =rebellion against the status quo while ¡®rabbi= one learned in the Words of G-d¡¯ How many albums have you released as a solo artist, and do you think the quality of these releases have suffered in any way due to the heavy release schedule you maintain? i have released 38 cassette tapes between 1991-2001 using either a singalodeon or tascam 4 track cassette recorder¨Cmost of these were lost due to a house-fire in 2001 where i pretty much lost everything. i re-allocated the insurance proceeds from the losses in my studio to procure a korg d-1600 which in 2002 was state of the art. i released my 1st cd ¡®bad¡¯lania rising¡¯ on 8/27/2002¨Cother than that one and 2003¡¯s ¡®jewish lightning all 11 cd¡¯s currently released were reviewed at neufutur. my 12th cd ¡®last of the jewish pirates¡¯ is all done except for the artwork¨Cso will be released in summer 2007 and i have 14 songs recorded towards my 13th album that will be called ¡¯shake the missile base¡¯ as for the quality¨Ci myself can¡¯t hear any lack therof cause my hearing is shattered from 36 years of playing loud music. the AMG categorizes my main genre as ¡®obscuro¡¯ because of my disregard for most of the rules of engineering and for the small albeit cult-like following i have in pockets of the world because of my spirit of disregard Individuals can guess at some of the influences that are important to you by seeing hat songs you cover on your albums, but who would you identify as the most important artists in the creation of your overall sound? i really don¡¯t want to be influenced by anyone but jethro tull has to be the biggest one¨Ci learned the flute at the tender age of 43 to take their concept of flute/rock fusion to the next level to put it in a punk setting. i was in college when punk was introduced via the ramones and sex pistols¨Cso a definite influence there¨Cand not to mention the 2nd wave of british metal via motorhead who taught me to thrash when needed Do you tour much/at all? What is the crowd reaction to your performance? yeah¨Ci play out a lot¨Ci do much better outside my home state of new york. i¡¯ve reached the semi-final level in 2 very large music festivals-not from the number of votes but by wild cards¨Call the festival bosses seem to like me. the crowd reaction has really been excellent¨C¡¯viva the gangsta rabbi¡¯ was an example of that¨Cit was an all ages show¨Cmy strongest demographics are the female age 16-20 believe it or not. when a dude looking like a middle aged heavy set hippy takes the stage with a bass a beat machine and a flute¨Cone tends to take notice¨Cbut its just me ¨Cdoing what i did for decades Is it more difficult to create the same sound with live tracks as studio tracks, since you are the only one out there performing? my sound is totally different live then it is in the studio. i recently bought my first guitar amp(vs a bass amp) a little hiwatt bulldog and my live sound with that is very 1977 old school punk. even when i play with my band( me another bass player and a drummer) i still have to provide the chords and leads so i can¡¯t play much flute which is important for the studio sound¨Cbut i did learn to play the flute and bass at the same time! Besides the theme of ¡°cover album¡±, do your releases have much of an overarching theme to them? Is it a conscious decision to go with a theme or is it more of an organic theme that comes into being? my most thematic, almost conceptual was my 11th ¡®melancholia falling¡¯ every 15 years -i¡¯m hit with a monster depression-and this time hit in 11/2005 and continued all the way to 4/2006. i was creatively crippled while it went on¨Cbut as it lifted time was a factor¨Ci was in a better frame of mind and the episodes were still on my mind¨Cso i wrote that one in the following months. also in my 7th jew in the underground i was mourning my puppy buttons who passed at 14 1/2 on 9/22/2004¨Cso a whole section was dedicated to her memory. Who would you identify are up and coming artists that individuals need to check out. Conversely, are there any artists that may not have been as successful as they should have been that individuals should try to learn about? i¡¯m really very ignorant when it comes to modern music¨Cit seems to follow on of maybe 5 formulas barring the proverbial door to anyone who ventures outside of them How do individuals get in contact with you? Should individuals be on the lookout for any new albums or tour dates in the near future? Finally, is there anything that you would like to say to the readership of NeuFutur? my second charity covers album (my 12th) last of the jewish pirates should be out this summer¨Cand my 13th the very happy positive ¡¯shake the missile base¡¯ should be here before the end of 2007¨Cand you can catch me anywhere between the east coast and midwest live Promote This Article These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NeuFutur Magazine James McQuiston 650 Morris #6 Kent, OH 44240 Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).

By Tiffany Razzano Steve Lieberman is a true rocker through and through - and one of the last to have been recorded at the now defunct Downtown in Farmingdale. This live disc was recorded when he opened for the Viva La Bam show. Lieberman is all over the place, borrowing a bit from experimental rockers Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, British punk rock, such as the Sex Pistols and even '80s hair metal, creating his own unique sound. While the recording isn't the best, his vocals are muffled much of the time, his musical prowess, his searing and playful guitar styling, shines through. He kicked off the night with Garbage Man before launching into Punkifier with its crunchy guitar, simple melody and incredibly raw, in-your-face, rock vocals. He paid homage to the Ramones, playing a medley of Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment and Blitzkrieg Bop. However, he gave the tunes more of a British punk feel. He opened up the tune Bonkey on the Donkey playing the flute, giving the song a bit of a Jethro Tull sound. He closed the album with another medley of covers, this time paying tribute to Green Day. He played American Idiot and Good Riddance along with St. Jimmy. He definitely makes the songs his own and his vocals are much more punk rock than Billie Joe. 0 5 . 0 9 . 0 6

«Steve Lieberman – Melancholia Falling / 2007 Self / 21 Tracks / http://www.gangstarabbi.com / Reviewed 23 June 2007 Steve Lieberman is pretty much the one constant that I have had in the last three or so years of reviewing. There is not a six or eight month stretch of time where I do not receive a Lieberman CD. One has to give eir kudos for sticking around after so many negative words. This CD looks to be different than past Lieberman albums in that there are only two covers on the disc, where Lieberman works on a Mark Knopfler (“Tunnel of Love”) and a Jesus and Mary Chain (“April Skies”) song. While the disc is ostensibly about Lieberman’s depression, one cannot hear any sort of sadness in the track called “Falling Into Sadness”. What results is another quick, punk-infused song that draws off of the tempo of the Batman track with screamed-out vocals and flittering flute throughout. The first track where it sounds like sadness and depression are affecting Lieberman has to be “Melancholia”. The track is still created under a broad punk framework, but the slower tempo and more strung-out lines in the instrumentation shows more of the disc’s theme than during “Falling Into Sadness”. In regards to the actual music on “Melancholia Falling”, one notices the restoration of the flute as a focal point of the disc. It seems like in the last few albums that the flute’s presence has been muted, but with each subsequent salvo of this disc, it seems to be front and center. As for what is still problematic in Lieberman’s style on this album, one need only look to the distortion. This is an issue I’ve had over the course of a number of albums, and I believe all Lieberman would need to do is create a less grating distortion to rectify this issue. I can see the necessity of having something to go against the smoother vocals and flute, but the grit present in the guitar’s distortion is a little over the top. The inclusion of a little bit of percussion during “Lovergirl For An Hour” is an interesting change to Lieberman’s traditional sound, and it actually is enough of a change-up from the norm that it energizes me to listen to the rest of the disc’s 21 tracks. Lieberman is still evolving, and the ropy, full sounds of a track like “Love You In Sadness” should show that. I am sure there will be more albums in the future from Lieberman, so hopefully a little more evolution can take place. Top Tracks: Love You in Sadness, My Last Rock Show

» Steve Lieberman - Last of the Jewish Pirates Music Reviews of Unsigned Bands, Demos, Promos Steve Lieberman — Last of the Jewish Pirates Buy it at Amazon Buy it from InSound Once again the Gangsta Rabbi slams our cranium into the floorboards with his unique brand of flute-punk-crust. This album is his second covers album all for charity and features hits by Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Queen, KISS, the Cure, Beach Boys, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, and Bruce Springsteen. While I’m awaiting his amazing song that he promises that he will write about yours truly, I can rock out to his off-kilter kitsch-rock. Saturated in swampy bass grooves, distorted mayhem, and Casio synths, “Last of the Jewish Pirates” finds our likable hero awash in some of the most groundbreaking covers in a long ass time. Irreverent as ever! - J-Sin Technorati tags: Steve Lieberman, Last of the Jewish Pirates, punk, punk, CD Review, music, review comments (0) | Permalink Log in to post comments! Read More Music Reviews Contact Us | Enter Contests | Links | FAQ | Mailbag | Site Map © Smother Magazine 1996-2007 All Rights Reserved

An Interview With STEVE LIEBERMAN OEZ: You have a very unique hybrid sound. What are your influences? Steve: I started out in the 1970'S playing bass in a band that at the time I lasted 3 years in 1973-1976--we did a lot of Who covers--I got the sheet music for the Quadrophenia album and learned all the late John Entwistle's bass-lines note for note. He was the best bass player that ever lived in my opinion. Punk broke (for the first time) when I was in college--i thought to myself that i must do this. my first performance as a 'solo' artist was in 1981 in some synagogue--i wrote like 3 songs and did some Ramones cover on my bass played through a fuzz-box. As a youngster I was a Jethro Tull fanatic from 1972-1973--I wanted to get a flute to be like Mr Anderson but in those days , boys didn't play the flute. My zest for Tull re-emerged in a big way in the mid-90's. Opening their 1978 live album 'Bursting Out' he was playing his flute while the band provided an almost punk background. that's somethinhg I needed to do. after my house burnt down in 2001 I bought a flute and sat in a corner of the trailer I lived in and learned it and wrote flute parts for the songs that became the Bad'lania Rising CD." OEZ: You are referred to as the Gangsta Rabbi. Where does that name come from? Steve: IT WAS THE TITLE SONG OF MY 20TH TAPE released in 1996--it was a very obscure piece of work until i started a website in 2003 i named it gangstarabbi.com basically the 'rabbi' part is representative of my long and devoted study to all things biblical--giving me the knowledge to schism from the other sects which sometimes disagree with the Laws G-d gave us OEZ: On your myspace page it says you preach from the >book of Dueteronomy. What does that mean? Why that book? Steve: THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY IS VERY important--in his first 2 discourses, Moses pretty much recapitulates the Laws in the 4 Books of the Torah that preceeded it, including the Ten Commandments and in his last discourses he( Moses) lays out the rewards for obedience as well as the punishments for disobedience--and too me--it was very very convincing--the curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy 28 all came true my different oppressers over the years. the line "From the streets of the ghetto, i preach the Deuteronomy" refers to my recitation and paraphrasement of parts of Deuteronomy 28 to my peers when i caught them in violation of the Law OEZ: Instead of guitar you use bass as your rhythm instrument. Could you tell us anything about your approach or technique on the bass. Steve: I GOT A 6-STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR FOR MY BAR-MITZVAH--and til this day i still can't play that instrument. someones father had a bass guitar--i tried it and said' i can do this' i got my own one on 9/18/1971. although i'm a total righty-i played the bass lefty, upside down and backwards without reversing the strings.Some bully in band told me that if you play 2 strings on the bass at the same time you will get a shock--so i plugged in the amp and to prove him wrong -i played the open G and D strings(the 2 closest to me) together--no shock--but it sounded kinda cool. by my 14 birthday==i had written down my entire 'chord' system for the bass ( i wish i still had that) with a note on the top saying "This will not work properly unless bass guitar is highly distorted. so --my major chords are plyed by playing the root note om the D-string- and the 5-th on the G-string 2 frets higher-and the minor roots are played on the G-string with the 5-th lower-on the same fret of the D-string. and the leads are well-leads--i think i know 1 riff which i twist all over and it all must be done by strumming the chords with only my left-index finger!!! OEZ: You have had 12 CD releases. Could you give us a brief overview of your musical history? Steve: I JOINED MY FIRST REAL rock band in 1973 in March in 9th grade--we played pretty much Chicago covers and then by 1974 and Quadrophenia came out we did lots of Who covers and my 1975-6 it was this jazz-rock stuff like Billy cobham and the Mahavishnu Orchestra--it was a bit annoying cause you must play your part exactly--after they threw me out (amicably) in 1976 cause they became a disco outfit and i was a rock player-i played in a few bands while developing the bass-only punk style. in 1984 i cut a 45--it was my singing debut and there were nothing but basses and drums. my first punk project--which is the beginning of the 'modern age"-1991 was Bop Bop Bigger Bab-'eL. i put out 38 tapes some named BANG THE BASS BOPMANIA , DIASPORA BLASTER, TAILS FROM THE BOPSIDE, ZIONIST , YOM ha-SHOAH Bab-'el--i really ran the gamut.--then in 2002 after recovering from a total house fire--i released my 1st CD BAD'LANIA RISING and since put out 11 (including 2 live albums and a charity covers album) OEZ: Tell us about the charity albums you have been involved with. Are these projects you produced? Steve: I STARTED WITH THE IDEA LAST FALL. when my depression first hit i got writer's block and i was having trouble playing live--so i thought why not a covers album--but the licensing fee of $52.50/song times 26 songs--like 1300.00--so i thought if i give the GROSS proceeds to charity will these money hungry people go after me for their share? or will they go after the charity i chose and take it out of their mouths> i hope not. so between 12/4/2005 and 12/29/2005 i completed the 26 cover song album JEWISH PIRATE--i did 3 Green Day Songs, 2 Tull songs and 2 Who songs-with other selections originally by Dire Straits, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Midnight Oil, butthole Surfers etc. it actually sold 44 copies so i donated $220.00 to the North Shore Animal Leauge where i adopted my precious puppy dogs Buttons (1989-2004) and Midnite Buttons(2004- ) i just finished work on my 2nd covers album to be called LAST OF THE JEWISH PIRATES where i was in a state of mania for the production and recording--sO i took on FAT -BOTTOMED GIRLS, WHITE RABBIT, PINK FLOYD'S 'MOTHER' stuff i would have been apprehensive to do last year OEZ: What are your thoughts on the current state of the music business, and/or the state of popular music in general? Steve: I'M NOT REALLY SURE ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS ITSELF--i know this-that if the Beatles, unarguably the historys most popular group--or most any other group that was popular in rock history presented any album in their catalog to any A & R rep at any label TODAY--they will surely be rejected. popular music of today which my exposure is limited to the V-Spot weekly top 20--you gotta be like EMO, or a certain kind of HIP hop, or pretty boy band etc--if not--with few exceptions you will never be on there--and thats kinda sad. but what is so cool is that the mighty AMG has a page on me and reviewed my ARBEITER AT THE GATE album and gave it 3 1/2 stars OEZ: What do you think people tend to misunderstand (if anything) about you and your music? Steve: WELL--PEOPLE CAN'T GENERALLY UNDERSTAND MY WORDS EITHER ON RECORD OR LIVE --but there's other things--all people who are not Jewish and many who are except racists and nazi's and stuff respect me because of my pride in my heritage-in who i am--since a heck of a lot of jews are assimiliationists--they kinda tell me--don't do that--get that Star of David off your bass--you'll get beaten up --and i say--yeah--i probably will get beaten up--but it stays there--yeah--forever--i wonder if anyone ever told Flogging Molly to remove their shamrocks OEZ: What is your recording process like? Do you record in a home studio? Steve: Pathetically, YES--I GOT A KORG D-1600 2002 model--a bit obselete by today's standards--but perfect for me. i first arm tracks 3-4 and 7-8 for the rhythm bass and beat machine--i can only do this in daylight because i'm reading the lyrics in my head as i'm playing the chords. then i use 9-10 for lead vocals before the tracks get too cluttered and then 15-16 for backing vocals if any--then 5 for the regular bass- and 6 for additional bass--11 for flutes, happy flutes, recorders and whistles, 12 for the melodica , 13 for the trombone and shahnais , shofars, bombards, chanters and the like--and 14 for manual beats and accents and stuff--hit record button from 'input' to 'bounce' mix it down and burn it to a cd==all in 30 minutes--yeah!!YES--I GOT A KORG D-1600 2002 model--a bit obselete by today's standards--but perfect for me. i first arm tracks 3-4 and 7-8 for the rhythm bass and beat machine--i can only do this in daylight because i'm reading the lyrics in my head as i'm playing the chords. then i use 9-10 for lead vocals before the tracks get too cluttered and then 15-16 for backing vocals if any--then 5 for the regular bass- and 6 for additional bass--11 for flutes, happy flutes, recorders and whistles, 12 for the melodica , 13 for the trombone and shahnais , shofars, bombards, chanters and the like--and 14 for manual beats and accents and stuff--hit record button from 'input' to 'bounce' mix it down and burn it to a cd==all in 30 minutes--yeah!! OEZ: What are your thoughts on the Middle East situation and the Arab/Israeli conflict? Any ideas for a solution? Steve: Pathetically, BASICALLY IT'S ALL SPELLED OUT IN THE EARLY PARTS Of the Bible--the Arabs and Jews are clearly brothers--we have the same father, Abraham but different mothers-Sarah for the Jews and Hagar for the Arabs--the feuding began with the conception of Ishmael and never ended. and the next part is that in Numbers 33 and a bit more abstractly in Ezekiel 48--the boundaries of the Hebrew land is given--and it is quite spacious--but there comes a caveat--this will be yours if you remain obedient to the L-RD. the solution in theory is easy--the Hebrews must review their ways--one by one and replace where they're disobedient with obedience--than you will be keeping that side of the Covenant and all the rewards for blessing will come to fruition OEZ: You seem to be very open about your struggles with depression. How do feel sharing such personal things with your audiences effects your fans? Steve: Basicalliy I GET STRICKEN BADLY EVERY 15 YEARS. in 1975 i had a real para-suicide and in 1990 i just felt it--last year--if i was younger and stupider i wouldn't be here--it was so intense and so long-lasting. and when i came-to i needed to tell the world about it--and that was the MELANCHOLIA FALLING album. since my character dies at the end--i included a warning on the album saying that you need not suffer through depression--seek help and you will still be here--as i am. depression is the price you pay for sensitivity and creativity--it's a better than even exchange OEZ: Do you perform live? If so, where can people see you and what might they expect from your live performances? Steve: whenever i get real work--it's a one-time shot--i get therer , play a great show, everybody loves me--but i didn't bring enough people down-so i'm out. so i play the open mic's epecially the one at the Vintage Lounge in Levittown NY. i've been doing that since oct 2004. although the booking agent for the club once derided me on myspace--i still managed to book 2 shows there--they really seem to like me--but it's all good--i got some video's on myspace capturing my performances. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve Lieberman ~ Desert Fever Brigade Filtered eccentricity is a gift. Creativity needs a funnel -- otherwise, it gobsmacks everyone with unfixed mucky blather. The Gangsta Rabbi (his self-designation) has no internal control center. Desert Fever Brigade revealed random excess to an indefinite degree. For example, he listed that among the instruments used were a bass guitar, transverse and happy flutes, trombone, fiddle, beat machine and his voice. 22 tracks are compiled from 11 years of composition. Steve Lieberman is a kind corresponder, obviously excitable, persistent (even with the realization that most dislike his music) and some may even refer to him as a visionary. Titles like "Hippy In the Legion of Skin-heads" and "Jewish Riot (Acoustic)" are borderline hysterical. Therefore, it is somewhat disappointing that the instrumental mush and pathetic vocal recording make one not able to comprehend his lyrics. Feel my pain! Nearly 70 minutes rolled, while a terrible tornado of sonic cruelty slap-dashed into one maniacal entity. Mr. Gangsta Rabbi verbalizes apparent rants that reminded me of a disturbingly psychotic Balki (apologies for Perfect Strangers reference). Knife-like was Steve's use of the flute -- it waived and then pierced progressively with high pitched and blood-transfixed precision. Forget the use of an actual recording studio, Desert Fever Brigade had to have been recorded on Fisher-Price's Tuff Stuff Sing-Along Karaoke Tape Recorder. Steve's effort and basic concepts are exemplary, but mercilessly flog innocent bystander upon delivery. Every once in a while, even when creating something "visionary", it's useful to consider critical voices and common sense.