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Dear Friends,
Welcome to 2010.
A new decade, new opportunites, new gifts. A friend recently invited me to hear Rickie Lee Jones  and
Ben Harper perform live on the Ellen show, the last of one year for 2009. At one point bells started chiming and
the three hundred ladies in the audience went ballistic. Little did I know that I was lucky
enough to attend on a "big giveaway" day.
That bell meant that everyone in the audience would be showered with
prizes. I came home with a vacuum
cleaner, two nights at the Hilton, cosmetics for Marcia and for me, $250 to
spend on outdoor equipment at Coleman.com. What fun!
Rickie and Ben were pretty good too.
Another great gift was my father's 80th
birthday. All four brothers
were together in LA with their wives and all thirteen grandkids. The week was filled with hikes, swimming,
 ping-pong, slumber parties and celebratory meals all culminating in a beautiful
party for 150 of my dad's closest friends. He was in rare form...joking, singing, carrying on like only my
pop can do. It's so rare to have
the whole family together that I consciously took off work to maximize the memories. Now I can't remember what I do for a
living.
I'm looking forward to a great month of shows and fun. Trying out my new skis in Mammoth next week, performing with Matisyahu in LA, doing a show in Cabo San Lucas and then Philly, Wilmington, Boca and Palm Beach next month. Purim is still open! Book me and you are guaranteed the deepest, holiest, crazy weekend ever.
I have heard so many people comment that it's a good thing
that 2009 is over. Like it was a
plague or a flu we had to beat. I
once heard someone say "a good day is any day I feel my bare feet on my cold,
stone floor." My friends, any day
we're breathing is a good day. Thank
G-d for all of our blessings and may we grow from the challenges that we face. Below you will find my new article on the beauty of going "unplugged" in music and in life. Please read it! Give me feedback! Have an amazing 2010, a fruitful month
of Shevat and may our paths cross soon.
Shalom,
Sam Glaser
Glaser Musicworks
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Preorder The Songs We Sing Volume Two!
Sam is currently wrapping up his 21st CD...the follow up to the ever popular Songs We Sing released in 2000.  Volume Two has twenty-eight lovingly recorded songs by Sam and his full eight-piece band and an array of guest vocalists. This monumental work breathes new life into these classic "common denominator" hit songs that unite the Jewish world. Preorder yours now at a 20% discount...it will ship in the first quarter of 2010 and you can count yourself among the first to hear it.
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Announcing the
CHAI TOUR 2010!
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Be a part of Sam's 18th year on the road! Get your organization signed up on this special tour while the best dates are still available! Click here for the concert options and click here for the full schedule; dates are added weekly.
Event programmers: Uplifting contemporary Jewish music will bring all ages in your community together like no other activity. As always, we discount significantly for midweek shows and when Sam is already in your area. Sieze the date!
Upcoming stops include:
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Bryn Mawr, PA
Wilmington, DE
Boca Raton, FL
South Palm Beach, FL
Steamboat Springs, CO
Jerusalem, Israel
Los Angeles, CA
Chattanooga, TN
Albany, NY
Dallas, TX
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Get Unplugged!
by Sam Glaser
January 2010
2010 marks the 20th
anniversary of MTV Unplugged. It
was supposed to last thirteen episodes when it debuted in
November of 1989 but
has since topped over 120 shows and a third of them have gone on to be released
as albums. Paul McCartney took the
concept over the top when he released his successful Unplugged performance in
1991. Clearly fans love seeing the
inner workings of the music, without the distractions of producers, walls of
vocals, electric guitars and drum loops.
Real musicians making real music in real time. Without a net.
Milli Vanilli wannabees whose careers survive with the use of studio
effects or drummers who can't keep time need not apply.
As much as I love playing
with my band there is something to be said for those piano/vocal only shows
where intense intimacy can be established. Without the wall of sound the crowd relaxes like they are in
a living room, focused on the message, with open hearts. Instead of playing to the
listeners the unplugged realm creates a playing with the audience, more
like a concerto with the artist as soloist and the audience as orchestra. Check out this rare moment of audience
connection as they provide the rhythm on Eric Clapton's unplugged version of Before You Accuse Me.
All-time great unplugged
shows are now easily found thanks to mtv.com and youtube. Some of my favorites are those where
the familiar arrangement is anything but unplugged and then you get the
fly-on-the-wall view of how the song might have been written. Here are some
essentials: Here's Sir Paul McCartney's first time out with MTV proving We Can Work it Out. Seriously pared down
Nirvana/Come As You Are. The late Hawaiian star IZ
singing the coolest Over the Rainbow ever. Stellar guitar work on
Hotel California by all time greats The Eagles.
Some of the most sublime
evenings of music that I've performed have been after the concert. When the crowd has cleared out and
several gather on the stage to jam without the house PA system on. Or back at someone's house where
everyone is surrounding a grand piano with multiple guitars strumming and hand
drums pounding. At CAJE, the annual
 conference of Jewish educators where I perform each year, I typically lead a singalong
on the last night. About a third
of the attendees pack into a sweaty room and sing for three hours straight. One piano, one mic and six hundred lead
vocalists. I don't take breaks and
have an assistant on hand to mop my brow and pour water down my throat. We segue from Israeli and camp songs to
the best of Motown, Disco, Elton John, Carol King and a healthy smattering of
Beatles. Here's a taste of one of
those unplugged style shows.
Going unplugged is not a
new concept to the Jewish people. We have been "unplugging" once a week for
millennia. It's been said that
more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews. Without the help of our phones,
computers and other "personality amplifiers" we reconnect with who we are and
our place in the universe. It's as
if G-d is saying: "hey, get your mitts out of my creation!" The rest of the week G-d gives us the
illusion that we are making a living so that we feel like partners in shaping
the world. But one day a week, the
illusion stops and we see the world through godly eyes. We leave behind the great symphony of
our lives and are left with a simple song.
Unplugging is such an
integral aspect of the Sabbath that it seems ironic how so many synagogues are
striving to increase membership by offering monthly rock concert-style worship on Friday
nights. Yes, it's true that
churches have long raised the spiritual bar by having masterful ensembles
propelling the prayers. But for
the Jewish people there is something to be said for sweet, acoustic
simplicity. At least on
Shabbat. Davening in blissful a
cappella so you can hear yourself think and sing and delve deeply into your
hopes and aspirations, singing G-d's praises surrounded by a loving community
of fellow worshippers. Concerts, jam sessions and kumzitzes have their place on
the weekdays. But when
candlelighting hits on Friday afternoon, I'll take my Shabbat with Shalom.
I live in a neighborhood
in LA where "Shabbat Shalom" is the operative greeting for the thousands of
Jews walking the  streets. When you
think about it, those words mean more than "have a peaceful Sabbath." It's more a wish that your friends
share your blissful Shabbat state of mind. John Lennon would have us imagine a world living in peace
between all peoples and nations. On Shabbat we LIVE in that world. No imagination necessary. It's more than lip service or lofty
dreams. It's living in a state of
peace with creation and when it's time to plug back in on Saturday night, we
are grounded, connected and ready for the onslaught of our day-to-day.
Shabbat is a habit that
takes some effort to get used to.
Initially one is consumed by all the things you cannot do. But after a while it is as natural as
breathing. G-d is described by the
prophets as being heard in a "still, small voice." Without unplugging it's impossible to hear it. G-d speaks to us in so many ways and we
are masters of methods to ignore it.
These days we have more ways than ever to banish that precious commodity
of silence. On Shabbat we can
re-enter the quiet conversation and restore our relationship. The word for
belief in G-d is "emunah." It
comes from the word "uman" or craftsman.
In other words, we have to make an effort to shape it, to consciously
enter the relationship. By
unplugging on Shabbat we have the opportunity to bring faith into the world of
action, making our trust in G-d tangible.
My kids have been trained
that on Shabbat they are not to even touch anything with an on/off switch. When Friday night hits, there are no
ipods, phones or laptops. No
Netflix or  Xbox. We get our kids
back, for one precious day a week.
As a parent I can relate to our supernal parent in heaven who must
eagerly anticipate the weekly lovefest that is the Jewish Sabbath. Our media gets perpetually louder,
bolder, racier and ubiquitous.
It's easy to be absorbed into the Matrix without even knowing it, to
crave the world of Avatar more than our earth-bound reality. MTV has it right: a rockin' concert or state-of-the-art
movie is great but when you want a classic, you've got to unplug.
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New on YouTube!
Recently a fan greeted me in Boston while I was selling CDs after my show. He goes by the handle Jewishfan and has set some of my tunes to video! He does a great job! I gave him all my CDs and we'll see what happens. Here's a few from the Kol Bamidbar kids musical:
Kol Bamidbar
Milk and Honey
Keep the Dream Alive
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SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN:
Sam Does Simchas!
You want your wedding or Bar/Bat Mitzvah to ROCK! Sam specializes in customizing music for your event to ensure that it will be unforgettable! With top musicians, great vocals, pro sound and lights...there are few bands that can deliver the same impact nationwide. The band draws upon the deepest repertoire in the Jewish world combined with  authentic rock, jazz, motown, disco and standards. Many clients opt to supplement their private event with a Sam Glaser concert or Shabbaton for the whole community. Whatever your needs, visit the Sam Glaser Orchestra site to learn more.
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Cool Links:
Rabbi Simcha Weinberg
Aish.com
Israel National News
The latest from CAJE!
The Coaliton for Advancement in Jewish Education is an international group of educators, rabbis, cantors musicians and artists that gather together over 1200 strong each summer. They have invited me to perform annually for the past sixteen years and those concerts and workshops are some of the most fulfilling of my tour. Just to give you an idea of the serious fun and true unity, here are highlights from my 2006 show at Duke University. Sadly, the organization declared bankruptcy last year but there is now a grassroots newCAJE that is picking up where CAJE left off. Please support this great organization and get involved. One way to do it is to check out their exclusive Webinars...the next one is with one of the most enthusiastic and able teachers of Torah, Rabbi Ed Feinstein. Tune in January 19th!
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Thank you!
Thank you for reading, for listening, for your support and friendship.
Glaser MusicWorks
800-972-6694
Outside of the US 310-204-6111
sam@samglaser.com
1941 Livonia Av.
Los Angeles, California 90034
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