Schmekel

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Schmekel

| image = Schmekel at Hampshire.jpg

| landscape = yes

| caption = Schmekel at Hampshire College (2012)

| origin = Brooklyn, New York, United States

| genre = Folk punk, queercore

| years_active = 2010–2014

| label = Schmekel Music

| current_members = * Lucian Kahn (guitar and vocals)

Ricky Riot (keyboard and vocals)
Nogga Schwartz (bass and shofar)
Simcha Halpert-Hanson (drums)

}}

Schmekel was an all-transgender, Jewish folk punk band from Brooklyn, New York, known for their satirical lyrical material.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/nyregion/schmekel-a-band-born-as-a-laugh.html?_r=1|title=Schmekel, a Band Born as a Laugh|author=Hugh Ryan|date=25 November 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=31 March 2012}} Schmekel made their audiences more comfortable with transgender topics through jokes, but also often included lyrical references to obscure queer, Jewish, and punk content that only cultural insiders would recognize.Croland, Michael. Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. Connecticut: Praeger, 2016. p. 66. Their most popular song was "FTM at the DMV" (released in 2013), which has over 400,000 plays on Spotify as of 2024.{{Cite web |last=Schmekel |title=FTM at the DMV |url=https://open.spotify.com/track/3BUsUy0zXq3VBlwgJ7rFoz?si=1eaaf4273e414605 |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Spotify}}

Hugh Ryan for The New York Times compared Schmekel's sound to Pansy Division and compared Lucian Kahn's songwriting to Jewish singer-songwriter and satirist Tom Lehrer. The Advocate compared Schmekel to Pansy Division and Tribe 8,{{Cite web |title=Reasons to Have Pride in 2012 Part 1 |url=https://www.advocate.com/reasons-pride/2012/05/15/reasons-have-pride-2012-part-1 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=www.advocate.com |language=en}} and the book Listen to Punk Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre compared Schmekel's song "I'll Be Your Maccabee" to Pansy Division's song "Homo Christmas."Pulliam, June Michele. Listen to Punk Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO, 2021. pp. 104

Schmekel was active from 2010 to 2014. They broke up in February 2014 to focus on other projects.{{Cite web |last= |date=2014-04-01 |title=So Long, Schmekel |url=https://forward.com/life/195020/so-long-schmekel/ |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=The Forward |language=en}}

Discography

Queers On Rye – December 2011{{Citation |title=Queers on Rye |date=2011-12-01 |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/7emUoVi1Jmc4GDMUxfARWz |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}}
The Whale That Ate Jonah (Schmekel Music) – October 2013{{Citation |title=The Whale That Ate Jonah |date=2013-10-30 |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/4wiYMcbCYdmu3dN4HgSYH2 |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}}

Performances

Schmekel performed with other Jewish punk bands local to Brooklyn, such as The Shondes,{{Cite web |date=2011-12-19 |title=Out and About |url=https://forward.com/schmooze/148131/out-and-about/ |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=The Forward |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=December 14, 2011 |title=Hanukkah Events – New York Magazine – Nymag |url=https://nymag.com/nightlife/barbuzz/78519/ |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=New York Magazine |language=en-us}} at New York City venues like the Knitting Factory,{{Cite web |title=Check Out Mr. Transman 2011 |url=https://www.pride.com/lifestyle/2011/08/09/check-out-mr-transman-2011 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=www.pride.com |language=en}} the Delancey,{{Cite web |date=2010-10-09 |title=Schmekel: Your Friendly Neighborhood All-Jewish, All Transgender Punk Band |url=https://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/schmekel_your_friendly_neighborhood_alljewish_all_transgender_punk_band |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040428/https://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/schmekel_your_friendly_neighborhood_alljewish_all_transgender_punk_band |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=Jewcy |language=en-US}} Public Assembly,https://donyc.com/events/2012/6/28/queer-as-punx-w-gltr-pnch-schmekel-daddy and Otto's Shrunken Head.{{Citation |title=Binding of Isaac at Otto's Shrunken Head |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L55a0PeuME0 |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}} They also played at colleges in the Eastern United States like Brandeis University,{{Cite web |title=The Brandeis Hoot – Archive » Triskelion offers safe space, educational opportunities |url=http://www.thebrandeishoot.com/articles/10854 |access-date=2023-03-22}} Yale University,{{Cite web |title=Trans/gender Awareness Week 2011 {{!}} Office of LGBTQ Resources |url=https://lgbtq.yale.edu/transweeks/transweek-2011 |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=lgbtq.yale.edu}} State University of New York at Purchase,{{Citation |title=I Heart Str8 Men (But Not 4 Sex) at SUNY Purchase Queer Music Fest, April 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3jCiHwCcps |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}} Hampshire College{{Citation |title=Homotaschen at Hampshire College 10/20/12 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnaqoU33VyE |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}} and the University of Mary Washington,{{Cite web |title=A Positive 'Schmound' at the Underground – The Weekly Ringer |url=https://theweeklyringer.com/2011/02/10/a-positive-schmound-at-the-underground/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |language=en}} sponsored by Jewish and LGBT student clubs. Schmekel's egg salad sandwich logo was created by queer illustrator and punk rocker Cristy Road{{Cite web |date=2012-11-22 |title=Schmekel: 100% Trans Jews |url=http://www.transjews.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122013920/http://transjews.com/ |archive-date=2012-11-22 |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=transjews.com |lang=en-us}} while Schmekel was performing with her band The Homewreckers.{{Cite web |date=March 15, 2012 |title=Queer House Field Night |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/performances/queer-house-field-night |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Time Out New York |language=en-US}}

Jewish cultural influence

Eddy Portnoy of The Forward cited Schmekel as an example of the cultural movement "Queer Yiddishkeit."{{Cite news|url=http://forward.com/articles/144546/transgender-jews-may-be-nothing-new/|title=Transgender Jews May Be Nothing New|author=Eddy Portnoy|author-link=Eddy Portnoy|date=19 October 2011|newspaper=The Jewish Daily Forward}} Schmekel's lyrics frequently referred to Jewish holidays, and their first album started with Kahn sounding the Yom Kippur "tekiah" and bassist Nogga Schwartz blowing a shofar{{Cite web |last=Croland |first=Michael |date=2017-08-23 |title=Punk bands prove shofar isn't just for the High Holidays |url=https://www.jta.org/2017/08/23/culture/punk-bands-prove-shofar-isnt-just-for-the-high-holidays |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=}} before launching into a punk song. The Jewish Music Resource Centre at Hebrew University of Jerusalem noted that Schmekel's music used "direct musical quotes from traditional Jewish melodies such as Chad Gadya, Ma'oz Tzur, and Al Chet".{{Cite web |last=Adelman |first=Eliahu |date=October 1, 2013 |title=I'm Sorry, It's Yom Kippur: Atonement through Punk (and Traditional Jewish Music) |url=https://jewish-music.huji.ac.il/content/%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99m-sorry-it%E2%80%99s-yom-kippur%E2%80%99-atonement-through-punk-and-traditional-jewish-music |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002150727/https://jewish-music.huji.ac.il/content/%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99m-sorry-it%E2%80%99s-yom-kippur%E2%80%99-atonement-through-punk-and-traditional-jewish-music |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=Jewish Music Research Centre – Hebrew University of Jerusalem}} Professor of Musicology Edwin Seroussi compared Schmekel's tongue-in-cheek allusions to prayers to similar inside jokes in Yiddish theatre and vaudeville at the turn of the 20th century.

According to an interview with Tablet Magazine, the different members of Schmekel participated in different amounts of religious observance but had all experienced difficulty in synagogue because of being transgender, which they addressed in their music.https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/schmekel-transgender-punk-band However, in an interview with Jewcy, they expressed feeling accepted at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah and Nehirim.

In literature

In the Tales of the City novel The Days of Anna Madrigal (2014), the character Jake reports his love interest, Amos, flirting with the lead singer of Schmekel.Maupin, Armistead. The Days of Anna Madrigal. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. pp. 84–85.

Schmekel was part of a course at Hampshire College in 2015 about the creation of Jewish identity.{{Cite web |title=Fall 2015 Course Descriptions |url=https://www.hampshire.edu/sites/default/files/Fall%202015%20Course%20Descriptions.pdf |access-date=March 22, 2023 |website=Hampshire College}}

Other projects

After Schmekel broke up, singer and guitarist Lucian Kahn became a writer and game designer of tabletop role-playing games with LGBT, Jewish, and subcultural themes, making Visigoths vs. Mall Goths{{Cite web |last=Joyce |first=Justin |date=2021-06-02 |title=The best tabletop role-playing games are sold online, but not through Amazon |url=https://www.polygon.com/22463860/tabletop-rpg-store-drivethrurpg-indie-press-roll20-itch |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}} and If I Were a Lich, Man, a set of comedic Jewish games about creative resistance against authoritarianism.{{Cite web |last=Eanet |first=Lindsay |date=2023-05-12 |title=With goblins, spellcasters and holiday heroes, board game makers are imagining new Jewish worlds |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/05/12/culture/with-goblins-spellcasters-and-delis-board-game-makers-are-imagining-new-jewish-worlds |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}} Keyboardist Itai Gal (Ricky Riot) formed a new band called Itai and the Ophanim and released Arise (2019), an album of traditional and original religious music, including "prayers for justice and unity among humans and Earth."{{Cite web |title=Concert: Zach Mayer + Itai and the Ophanim [01/11/20] |url=https://www.thebostoncalendar.com/events/concert-zach-mayer-itai-and-the-ophanim |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=www.thebostoncalendar.com}} Bassist Nogga Schwartz began working in healthcare.{{Cite web |title=Our Team {{!}} NYC Psychiatrist Services, P.C, D/B/A Fermata, Brooklyn, NY |url=https://www.fermatahealth.com/our-team-interventional-child-adolescent-psychiatrist-brooklyn/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=www.fermatahealth.com |language=en}} Drummer Simcha Halpert-Hanson became a rabbi.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-09 |title=Upon retirement, Temple Israel rabbi passing torch to new spiritual leader |url=https://www.recorder.com/Upon-retirement-Temple-Israel-rabbi-passing-torch-to-new-spiritual-leader-51554523 |access-date=2023-10-13 |work=Greenfield Recorder |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-11-19 |title=hineini |url=https://rabbis4ceasefire.com/hineini/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Rabbis for Ceasefire |language=en-US}}