The Jews Brothers Band. The Full story from The Jews Brothers Website.

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THE FULL STORY

Twenty years ago, inspired by a klezmer tune playing on

an Auckland café’s stereo, Hershal Herscher picked up his

accordion and started playing the music his grandfather

Harry had brought to New York from the Ukraine.

The rhythm he was pumping out acted like a magnet on

three musician friends who were in the caf that day, fellow

Americans Nigel Gavin (mandolin) and Kelvin Roy

(trumpet), and Kiwi singer Linn Lorkin. Next thing you

know they were all jamming along. From that nucleus The

Jews Brothers Band was born.

The owner, Gerhard Lottermeyer, was intrigued by the

sound and offered them a regular Sunday afternoon gig at

his cafe in exchange for a croissant and coffee each and, as

if by magic, people came out of the woodwork to check

out this new “exotic” music played by a rather

eccentrically named band. Even the local rabbi appeared

surreptitiously one Sunday, (asking Hershal to remain

stumm about it since the cafe was not kosher). The

Sundays at Gerhard’s Cafe became a rousing success.

After a short time tea-chest bass (Harmen Hielkema aka

“The Dutch Clutch”) was added to the line-up and the

band asked Gerhard for a raise: he offered them two

THE JEWS

BROTHERS

BAND

H O M E M U S I C V I D E O S A B O U T

B O O K I N G

coffees and two croissants. (Don’t laugh, they accepted!!!)

This all occurred in the mid 90s at the height of the

klezmer music revival in the USA. No Jewish bands as yet

existed in New Zealand and very quickly The Jews

Brothers Band cornered the Jewish mitzvah market

(weddings, bars and bats) both in New Zealand and

Australia. While not strictly a klezmer group, (for one

thing they had neither clarinet nor fiddle, the two most

essential klezmer instruments), their original repertoire

was loaded with Yiddish wedding horas and some other

Yiddish favourites familiar to Hershal from his childhood.

Over the next few years the band’s repertoire morphed

from traditional klezmer tunes to originals with the same

vibe although the band still begins each concert with a

medley of old wedding staples. As Hershal puts it, “I

believe that by starting with a few of the oldies it not only

reconnects us with our roots but also helps ensure the

stamp of approval from the audience. People like to know

they are getting the real deal”.

The largely original repertoire that sprang from the songwriting

talents of Herscher, Lorkin and Gavin (with

additional material by local song-writer Arif Usmani), may

have taken them away from pure klezmer music but at the

same time is reflective of the fun and comedy schtick that

has always been a part of Yiddish-American music and

theatre. With jazz-style improvisation and swing rhythms

added to the mix and an emphasis on interesting and

charming vocal arrangements the band is in a sense reinventing

the genre.

The line-up has changed too: mandolin has become guitar,

trumpet has turned into saxophone and the tea-chest bass

has been replaced by upright double bass. There’s a good

mixture of nationalities here: two Jewish New Yorkers

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(Hershal on accordion and Nigel on guitar), a Jewish

Londoner (Peter Scott, the bassist) and two non-Jewish

New Zealanders, Neill Duncan on tenor and drums and

chanteuse/ melodica player Linn Lorkin.

Duncan’s experience with the New Orleans style “Blue

Bottom Stompers” has made him an invaluable player in

the JBB which emphasises the ‘swing’ rhythms that were

part and parcel of American klezmer bands in the 1930s

and 40s. Add to that the virtuoso playing of Gavin, (ex

Robert Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists), the groove

slap bass of Scott ( ex Madness), Herschel’s pumping

accordion and Lorkin’s passionate singing and you can see

and hear why this group has been described as the ‘best

swing band in the land’.

The Gumdiggers Bush Band The Rainbird in the Tea Tree.

The Gumdiggers Bush Band on Soundcloud, Harmen Hielkema vocal.

Eddie Rayner. On the Couch. November 2017

My good friend Eddie Rayner was interviewed in Melbourne Australia recently ahead of his latest ENZO tour.

He talks about people who inspire him. The person he refers to is me. I am very humbled and flattered that he should chose to do this.

http://artsreview.com.au/on-the-couch-with-eddie-rayner/

On the Couch with Eddie Rayner 

November 15, 2017 - On the Couch

Who is Eddie Rayner?

Tim Finn’s description: “Eddie’s a true larrikin with a musical sensitivity second to none, and a gift for goonery that surpasses all…” My description: a collaborator, a labourer of love, an amiable redneck, a team player, a musical tinkerer… My wife’s most recent, and accurate, description: old age pensioner!

What would you do differently to what you do now?

Get up early and exercise before volunteering at the City Mission. Wouldn’t drink, and consume less sugar and more salads… Learn how to read and write music, and practice yoga. Of course, most of this won’t happen.

Who inspires you and why?

I do get inspired by ordinary people who do awesome things. I have an old friend who’s a genius on one-string bass, which he made from native timbers and mother of pearl. He’s an expert in building and sailing Polynesian outrigger canoes, he paints like a great master, could design AND build you a house, and makes a living maintaining a provincial hospital. His curiosity, wisdom and knowledge are boundless and he tutors art at a polytech. All of this while suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease. Legend!

What would you do to make a difference in the world?

I try to create goodwill, (truly!) and am aware that every encounter is a chance to teach, and learn. I also believe in small actions (as opposed to grand gestures), such as recycling and refurbishing. It may sound sanctimonious, but I do try to make the smallest practicable negative impact on the world, and basically, to be good and kind.

Favourite holiday destination and why?

A different set of pictures can be refreshing, but holidays are more about who I’m with than where I go…so anywhere can be a destination. I don’t tolerate queues, airports, planes or heat well, which puts many holiday destinations out of the question. But I do love a good road trip to anywhere where it’s cool, clear, reasonably unspoiled and unpretentious.

When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?

For a 360 degree view of Auckland I’d walk them up Mt Eden (an extinct volcano in a suburb where I live), possibly up Rangitoto (another island/volcano in the harbour), out west to Karekare Beach for a taste of the rugged, feral nature of the West Coast.

What are you currently reading?

In recent years I’ve developed some weird disorder which makes it physically hard for me to read text… hence reading books or spending much time in front of a screen is difficult these days. But still, I’m chipping away at a history of the Knight’s Templar, and delving into my family’s genealogy.

What are you currently listening to?

I spend most days in my studio, mucking around with my own compositions and my band’s improvisations, and producing/mixing material by other artists. Constant ear-battering in the studio leaves me disinclined to listen to music recreationally… but I’ll always jump on Spotify and have a quiet listen to stuff that is recommended to me. Bands and songwriters are always wanting me to critique their demos… but mostly, I hear music, all genres, randomly.

Happiness is?

An elusive and ephemeral state. Contentment is enough… I’m always a bit suspicious of people who say they’re happy.

What does the future hold for you?

My Mum and Dad and sister died very early, so every day’s a bonus and, touch wood, I’m keeping reasonably well. But I confess to have become increasingly aware of my mortality. We’re moving out to an east coast beach in December… recently I’ve finished mixing 70 unreleased ‘live’ Split Enz songs for release next year.

I’m hoping to do more ENZO shows next year… I’m working on a new album by Space Waltz, and have several other production jobs in the pipeline… my jamming band Dark Horse is going strong… and I’d still like to make an album of instrumentals to rival the best of Ennio Morricone and Henry Mancini. Wish me luck, I’ll need it!

The original Split Enz keyboardist, Eddie Rayner will star in ENZO: The Songs of Split Enz in a Melbourne exclusive at Hamer Hall – Arts Centre Melbourne on Friday 17 November 2017. For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.

Image: Eddie Rayner (supplied)

Taylor AB1 Back in one piece. See previous post for the full story.

Spray finish freshly applied

The repair is much more visible in daylight.

The hum has disappeared, the action is spot on, looking good and most importantly, playing and sounding fantastic!

Taylor AB 1 stripped down to it's basic components for repair.

I know, risky business making repairs and modifications to such a beautiful instrument!

Luckily I know what I'm doing.

Lately a hum has developed in the Fishman electronics so I decided to install an earth from the bridge to the tail pin jack plug.

I've seen some rather clumsy looking modifications done to other Taylor basses (online) and decided to design my own earth network.

When stripping the Fishman preamp I noticed that the input cable from the Piezo pickup was loose  in its connector so this was a great opportunity to put this right. I you are having issues with this preamp as some folks have reported, then this is the first thing to check. The connection to the preamp board is made with a screw clamp which may need to be tightened.

This image shows how discreet the earth/string contact is.

I hammered a trough into 3mm x .3mm copper ribbon to accommodate the radius of each string in its pocket. I then soldered the 4 short lengths of this prepared ribbon on to a spine of the same material at the same spacing as the strings. 

I drilled down vertically with a 3.2mm drill bit into each of the string anchor cavities to make access through to the underside of the sound board.

The newly fitted copper saddle comb can be seen straddling the brace with the brown earth wire soldered to it. Each of the 4 prongs protrudes through the sound board  into the bridge string anchor slots. The earth wire is soldered to the 1/4" jack socket earth tab. The black wire is connected to the under saddle piezo pick up to the onboard Fishman pre amp.

 This image reveals the experimental, phenolic treated, wood saddle material I installed last year. It is by far the best saddle material I have used to date.I found a piece of this material in the workshop of a retired Navy boat builder. He told me it was the step tread material from a WW11, RNZN frigate. This material was once wood which has been pressure impregnated with formaldehyde resin. It is so heavy that it will not float. I have a 12" x 1" plank of this stuff 3' long which will last me a very long time.

Next job I wanted to do was to repair 2 cracks that had developed over time in the rib of the guitar body near the venetian cutaway. This is a problem area for these basses which may have been why Taylor decided to discontinue production in 2003. These guitars were built in El Cajon in California where the humidity is relatively low. My bass was exported to NZ in 1998 and encountered a very different environment. The humidity in Northland NZ runs to 100% at times and the climate is best described as sub tropical. The high humidity as put a great deal of stress into this guitar. Now that the guitar has reached 20 years of age it should have stabilised.

My solution was to unbolt the neck and drill down through the neck reinforcing block behind the crack (which ran vertically down the join in the rib panel, under the neck).

I then fitted a hard wood dowel of the same diameter and glued it into the hole with epoxy glue. The glue forced itself into the crack under the pressure of the close fit. Once set this connection is intensely strong. 

A secondary crack appeared in the rib from the neck pocket, out across the venetian cut away, parallel to the wood grain, in line with the sound board lining. 

Showing the repaired cracks in the rib.

I then sanded the outer surface to flush and then refinished the coating.

Last job: revisit my de-fretted neck. 

Steve Klien's ivoroid inlaid signature is clear to see.

The Taylor bass has a compound radius finger board so the sanding of the ebony surface requires a sanding beam (in my case, fine sandpaper double sided taped to the edge of my long spirit level.

I filled the old fret slots with Walnut veneer which gives me a visual reference when playing. I'm not so good that I can move from my Jazz electric to this bass without this visual aid for accurate intonation.

Wooden, collapsible guitar stand (copyright Harmen Hielkema 2003)

Custom, demolition kauri, guitar stand. Design copyright by Harmen Hielkema 2003.

Custom, demolition kauri, guitar stand. Design copyright by Harmen Hielkema 2003.

Custom, demolition kauri, guitar stand. Design copyright by Harmen Hielkema 2003.

Almost at the end of my custom guitar stand project which I have been constructing for an old guitarist friend of mine. There's only a final sand and varnish followed by padding after which I can hand it over.

This stand, just like the other 4 I've built features a monogram, in this case "BF". I enjoy using my old graphic design skills to create a monogram and then carving it into the timber surface. It's a quality gift for life made from recycled New Zealand native timber, in this case, Kauri.

If you'd like one or would like to make a gift of one leave me a message. I'd be pleased to customise my design to suit you.

Harmen Jazz Bass. Some improvements.

New and improved. Seymour Duncan Vintage pick ups, new pots and tone capacitor, fresh paint, new logo and head stock colour.

It's been a while.

Over time I've been watching and feeling my jazz bass mature. As a novice player, slowly accumulating knowledge experience and muscle memory, I'm began to realise that I could make some improvements to my home made instrument. Aside from cosmetics which I have addressed during the upgrade, I decided to improve the electronics. I did a great deal of reading on the subject and there is much to learn. The potentiometers that came with the basic parts kit for my bass build were of the cheapest quality. They are 250k mini pots marked with the letters CF. I eventually settled on Bourn branded pots. These are logarithmic, good quality, 25 mm diameter, carbon disc units which are of a medium price range at $6.80 each from RS Electronics. The other upgrade I decided on was the replacement of the tone capacitor. It seems that this capacitor is a very important item when it comes to sound quality from your electric bass guitar. It has something to do with the way in which the signal frequency from the pickups gets carried to earth as the tone pot is rotated. The capacitor that I chose is a Russian made, bipolar, .047uf, 100 volt, paper in oil which are manufactured for military use. These are supplied by The Tone Lounge an online guitar spares company at $12.99.

The last two weeks of spare time was spent repainting and upgrading my instrument. I favour the 1960's look Fender Jazz which featured a painted headstock. Mine is painted in Sea foam green, a classic '50's and 60's colour, popular on cars and decore from that era, when I was an impressionable child, it's still my favourite colour. the NZ colour equivalent is Vista Blue by Resene Paints. I chose a semigloss acrylic enamel which I rolled on and then sanded back with 1200 wet and dry abrasive paper. lastly I applied 2 coats of Dulux, rattle can, semigloss clear.
I've designed a new logo transfer as well which has gone on to the headstock. It has received the same coat of clear before I fitted the machine heads, restrung and then lastly, the final set up, string height and intonation. Fun project!