Hanukkah Already? Never Too Early for Mama Doni's Jewish Holidays DVD

There is life after "The Dreidel Song" and Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song."

Hard to imagine that it took decades for a second "mainstream" Jewish holiday song to pervade the airwaves...and it was by the guy who brought us "Happy Gilmore" and "The Waterboy."

Well, fear not for the ears of your family's younger set.  The MAMA DONI BAND has released MAMI DONI'S JEWISH HOLIDAY PARTY on DVD (with accompanying soundtrack CD).

"Mama" Doni Zasloff and instrumentalist Eric Lindberg have set in motion three half-hour episodes (Hanukkah, Passover, and Shabbat) that explore the concepts, spirituality, and uplifting qualities of those events. Furthering her persona as a "spiritual cowgirl," the duo used bluegrass music. See, you don't need to engage a klezmer band to evoke the traditions of the Hebrew people. If "Bluegrass Dayeinu" doesn't change your perspective, then go right back to Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt.

The episodes include songs, stories, and even cooking segments (sponsored by Streit's Matzos, a longtime Mama Doni support institution).  According to Doni, the most exciting aspect of creating this DVD and CD was joining forces with Eric Lindberg in writing contemporary bluegrass music. "The Hora has a type of energy and similar beat and feeling to bluegrass music," she said. "We've taken that energy and the Jewish context...like our old time rendition of the traditional Shabbat song, 'Bim Bam' and our lively bluegrass theme song, 'Livin' the Now'."

Based on the standards for kid TV (Sesame Street remains the high bar and Teletubbies remains the drizzling crud), Mami Doni lands much closer to the top of the spectrum. Don't try to pitch these episode to teens, however, unless you want to be destroyed by sarcasm and much eye-rolling. They are best for little ones and pre-teens.

I would be hard-pressed to come up with a list of secular recording artists. The Singing Nun was another generation. Cat Stevens (aka Yusam Islam) preaches muslim values now. And Mama Doni and company are keeping it real for kids who don't want to be too cool for Shul.

MAMA DONI'S JEWISH HOLIDAY PARTY is available at Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble.

Here is the Hanukkah video for "Eight":

Starve a Cold, Feed a Chanukah Fever

Mama Doni Band Rocks Eight Days a Festive Week

Chanukah is back! It actually never went away. The year 2011 is the (Jewish) year 5572. That's a lot of candles and kugel. Not to mention dreidel-spinning. And speaking of festive jewish holidays, you can't get any happier than Chanukah, no matter how you spell it.

The Mama Doni Band celebrated its favorite celebratory event in 2009 with an entire children's CD, CHANUKAH FEVER, (subtitled, "13 Macca-beats for the Whole Family!"). The CD is a primer to the holiday, reminding parents and relatives of what's behind all the hoopla and mishigas.



From a 2007 start as the music teacher for her children's preschool, Doni has expanded into a full-fledged frontperson for a traveling band of Jewish minstrels, performing at JCCs and temples from coast to coast, including Manhattan's 92nd Street Y. I stumbled across the band on a clip from E! Television's "The Soup," technically a credit to boast about - even if the band is overshadowed by the antics of the hosts of the morning show program where they were performing.



Mama Doni strives for authenticity with its message. You get the hebrew and the meaning to the family and community. The band is committed to preserving Jewish (not to mention Yiddish) spirit in a world filled with 24-hour Christmas music marathons. Not every jewish children's act is sponsored by Streit's Matzoh. Surely a kosher stamp of approval.

Oh yes, the CD. You get the funky title track, the vaudevillian-esque "Honey, This Ain't Money" (an ode to Chanukah gelt), and clever tracks breaking down dreidels, the legend of Judah Maccabee, menorahs, and latkes. Aah, potato pancakes. One-year-old Matt is demanding "real" food now and loves to share latkes with his older brother. It'll take another year before he can polish off an entire pancake by himself, though.

Mixing culture with children's music is a tricky deal. It's frustrating that Christmas music coopts the "holiday" theme every December. And even when Adam Sandler's "Hanukah Song" gets mixed in on a pop station, it's seen as an ethnic curio instead of just another holiday standard.

The optimists inside me hopes that CHANUKAH FEVER helps stem the tide caused by the annual avalanche of Christmas CDs from Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey, among others. Let's light a festive candle, ladle on the apple sauce (my choice) with our potato pancakes, and hear some happy hebrew tunes from Mama Doni and her band.

Music For the Whole Mishpocha

Mama Doni Band Rocks the Sabbath

Whenever I think "jewish music," the two things that come to mind are klezmer and liturgical. Neither one does anything for me.

For the past few years, New Jersey's Mama Doni (a.k.a Doni Zasloff Thomas) has added a dance beat to jewish children's music. Her group, the Mama Doni Band, has played hundreds of shows across the country sharing semetic songs and hebrew-slated highlights.



March 22 marks the release of their newest "challah-day" album, Shabbat Shaboom, with 40-plus minutes of ethnic music with a positive flavor.

Like their previous CD, "Chanukah Fever," the new release presents a selection of songs based around a secular concept. In this case, "Shabbat Shaboom" comments on all things related to Friday night services - going to the temple ("Synagoguersize"), saying the prayers ("The Sabbath Queen"), and having a chicken dinner with your family ("Chicken A La Tango").

From a 2007 start as the music teacher for her children's preschool, Doni has expanded into a full-fledged frontperson for a traveling band of Jewish minstrels, performing at JCCs and temples from coast to coast. I stumbled across the band on a clip from E! Television's "The Soup," technically a credit to boast about - even if the band is overshadowed by the antics of the morning show hosts on the program where they were performing.



But you can't go wrong on any children's CD where the lead singer befriends a chicken meant for the family dinner. Doni also tackles candle-lighting, families ("My Mishpocha"), and ends the disc with traditional blessings. Children will come for the music and stay for the message. As the Jews would say, that's a mitzvah.