“Except Saturday,” from left, Michael Ribalt, Elan Kugel, Erez Cohen, Shloime Tanenbaum, Azriel Septimus, and Jeremy Linder. Photo credit: Ari Weitz.
Touro College
Lander College for Men
Contact:
Barbara Franklin
212-463-0400 x5530
barbara.franklin@touro.edu
For Immediate Release
New York, N.Y., March 13, 2009 - Brooklyn-based band “Except Saturday” emerged victorious over seven other bands in the 4th annual “Battle of the Bands” contest held the evening of March 7th at Touro College’s Lander College for Men in Kew Garden Hills, N.Y.
Approximately 350 people attended the three-hour, all-male Jewish music competition, which was sponsored by Lander College for Men.
Winning band members are Azi Septimus, lead guitar; Elan Kugel, drums; Erez Cohen, vocals, rhythm guitar; Jeremy Linder, keyboard, backup vocals; Michael Ribalt, guitar, backup vocals; and Shloime Tanenbaum, bass guitar. The band currently is in the process of self-producing its first album.
Two Far Rockaway-based bands, “Min Shemaya” and “Guns ‘N’ Moses,” took second and third places, respectively.
“In addition to being a fun and entertaining event, the ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition helps to showcase the musical talents of young people in the Jewish community,” said Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of Lander College for Men. “Music plays such a central role in the lives of so many. This competition provides a forum for young Jewish men to cultivate their talents and interests in a wholesome environment.”
The grand prize-winning band won 10 hours of free recording time at Touro College’s DMX Studios plus free recording time in Sweeter Studios with brass instrument accompaniment by NewYorkBrass.com. The second place prize was $500 and the third place winners received a $300 gift certificate to the Safra Judaica store in Flushing, Queens.
The bands, from throughout the New York metropolitan area, were judged based on the originality of their lyrics and music. The judges were Ophie Nat, an accomplished musician, teacher and camp director; Eliezer Fold, owner of the Mr. Music store in Five Towns; Yossi Sonnenblick, musician and adjunct professor of Jewish history at Lander College for Men; and Elie Berdey, co-owner of NewYorkBrass.com.
Other bands in the competition included “Hisorirus,” “Tractate 64,” “Garage 9,” “US,” and “18 Minutes.”
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“Except Saturday,” from left, Michael Ribalt, Elan Kugel, Erez Cohen, Shloime Tanenbaum, Azriel Septimus, and Jeremy Linder. Photo credit: Ari Weitz. |
Touro College has experienced phenomenal growth since its founding in 1971, and is currently educating approximately 17,500 students at locations in New York, California, Florida, Nevada, Jerusalem, Moscow, Berlin and Paris. Touro College continues to have a profound impact on the lives of its students and on the Jewish and general communities. For further information on Touro College, please go to http://www.touro.edu/media/ .
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