Last year, Joe Danziger organized Lollapajewza, a concert modeled after Lollapalooza, featuring Jewish performers. It was held at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
Lollapajewza returned this year to rock the Jersey Shore with 13 bands, lots of solo and acoustic performers and more than 600 fans. There were also several artists and photographers displaying their work.
This time around, the committee—Joe Danziger, Julie Danziger, Sonja Cabasso, Sammy Chalme and Ames Sutton—decided to make the festival a block party on Mattison Avenue in Asbury Park with an outdoor stage and an indoor stage to accomodate all the performers who wanted to show off their talent.
All proceeds were donated to Imagine Academy, a unique school founded in 2005 by parents of autistic children, for autistic children. “We are so proud to have put this event together to raise awareness about autism and the Imagine Academy.” said co-coordinator Sammy Chalme “At the same time, we’re promoting music and artistic creativity in the community,” he added with a smile.
Appearing on the outdoor stage were: Blue Mood, Sammy’s Cousins, Sound of Friday, Vagabonds of the Western World, Lolla Staff Band, Wolves of Flatbush, The Filthy Animals, Eric Ginsberg and the New Originals, Reality Addiction, Meets West, The Perfect Mistake, Saturday’s Saints, and Same Day Service. Moses Sutton, Shani Levy, Jake Fallas, Sefarad, and The Shuffle Brothers performed inside. Artists and photographers Victor Gindi, Abie J. Hakim, Sofia Jemal, Bill Ades and Sarah Kassab were thrilled to show off and sell their work.
It was clear that the event was very well organized. The committee put a lot of thought into it. Joe Danziger said, “Although I have worked on a large number of events, this one definitely took the cake in terms of logistics and planning, and all of the little details that needed to come together to make everything happen. That was due to us doing a street festival as opposed to holding the festival at a place like The Stone Pony, but it allowed us a lot more freedom in the long run to create the kind of festival that we wanted to put together.”
All the bands were fantastic. I really enjoyed Sound of Friday. Their song “Don’t Go” is extremely catchy. I’m really excited that they’re releasing an album. I also enjoyed Saturday’s Saints. Regarding their controversial band name, I’m not sure if it’s more ironic that the members are very un-saint like, or that the band is composed of four Jews.
It was also exciting to see The Perfect Mistake take the stage, in light of rumors that they had broken up. They are recording a new album.
Moses Sutton, a self-taught piano player who writes and composes his own music, was playing in the area which held the indoor stage, a restaurant, bar, and comfortable couches. I enjoyed his ballads. One of my favorites is a composition called “Jericho,” because when you listen to it, you can see the walls of a city tumbling to the ground.
In addition to the music and art, there was delicious BBQ and a Chinese Auction.
“We aim to provide a great place for bands and artists to perform, and it’s our hope that through events like this, others will be motivated to pick up an instrument and join the fun. With so many people playing games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it’s not such a far leap to pick up a real instrument to see what can be done,” said Joe Danziger. The committee would like to thank everyone who came and took part in this amazing festival.
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Charlie Shrem recently graduated from Yeshivah of Flatbush High School and is currently studying at Brooklyn College.
