The Jewish Home | NOVEMBER 16, 2017
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Around the Community Moishe attributes his precedent-setting longevity to the fact he’s enjoying himself every bit as much as his audience. “Children – especially when they’re the age of our fans – are VERY perceptive. They instinctively sense genuine interest from a performance that’s on ‘autopilot.’ When people who know me personally see me in concert, their reaction is always along the lines of ‘When you’re on stage, it’s not an act – it’s you...the same Moishe we know from shul, the bungalow, the neighborhood, etc.’” Moishy smiles and continues, “A few years ago, I was reading a series of interviews with well-known mechanchim. One of the questions was along the lines of ‘if parnassa wasn’t an issue could you ever see yourself doing anything else?’ Across the board the answer was emphatically ‘no.’ These world class mechanchim all shared the realization they were given an exceptional gift – the ability to teach and ensure the mesorah, the lifeblood, of our people. While I don’t for a second delude myself into thinking I’m in their league, or that what we do on stage compares to what they do in the classroom, I did understand how and why they valued their very special gifts because I’ve b”H seen the effect our ‘chinuch method’ has had on children and vis-a-vis that, their families. I’ve seen parents who had no interest in Shabbos or kosher ultimately begin to observe Shabbos and kashrus because they wanted to make their child who heard our songs about keeping Shabbos and kosher to be happy. That’s what I’ve tried to make our live shows about – to take the kesher that begins with the album and build on it when we’re in concert – as that’s an environment that lets you connect with children and their families on a way more authentic and personal level. And the reason we’ve b”H been successful in doing it is because the children sense without a doubt that Uncle Moishy is enjoying the show every bit as much as they are...sometimes even more,”
he says with a grin. Will this new sound cause any of that classic Uncle Moishy DNA to change? “Only for the better,” says Mendy Hershkowitz, Sonic Duo’s Musical Director and the album’s arranger/conductor. “We went for a sound that’s richer and more contemporary and we have successfully integrated fully orchestrated tracks for the concert experience,” explained Mendy. When asked what was in the works for the upcoming “WELCOME” tour, Chesky Breuer, Mendy’s partner and the “Duo’s” Executive Producer and Talent Director, refused to elaborate as details were still being worked out. “We also realized that Moishy’s audience loved seeing the Uncle Moishy they’ve been hearing at home, in school and in the car come to life and not just in the usual ‘singer and music’ sense but in the high-energy, ‘I’m having as much fun as you are’ sense – and that becomes much easier to convey thanks to the dimensions these fully orche s t rat e d tracks add.” While the album and concert tour have been generating the kind of interest usually associated with a major debut album, the level of interest being generated by the totally reimagined website has far exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. “To our market, most websites are at best passive forms of entertainment, rarely about anything that lets the child interact with the content in a positive and productive manner. That’s why we chose to call it Uncle Moishy World because we’re planning to populate it with content from all parts of the ‘world’ that Uncle Moishy has created for over three generations of children,” explains Chesky who added that most of the site’s content was inspired by Moishy himself. “He told us, the #1 question he gets from children after concerts is ‘When are you coming back?’ straight to the point, the way the age group that makes up his fan base tends to be. Moishe’s vision for
the site was in effect a 24/6 ‘answer’ to that very question, a place where children could experience ‘the next best thing to Uncle Moishy actually being there.’” Uncle Moishy explained that because a child’s imagination is an amazing entity, rather than limit it we want this site to be both a source and resource – a source of fun and kosher interactive entertainment for children and a resource that parents and adult family members can use to help their children appreciate the “basics” of our people and faith, Hashem, Shabbos, kosher, our Jewish holidays, mitzvos, etc. To ensure that the site will be “all that, and then some” the group engaged the services of an award-winning, Hollywood animation artist/ cartoonist to execute it. “Of course, it will also provide ‘product and performance’ related content,” adds Chesky, “though it’s main purpose is to welcome children to a whole new ‘world’ of Uncle
Moishy. Besides, if the current calls, texts and emails are b”H any indication, people always seem to know just where and how to find us,” Chesky says with a grin. Not surprisingly the “buzz” generated by both the new album and the new site has been causing Uncle Moishy’s “Concert Hotline” to ring 24/6 with inquiries. “Once word got out about our upcoming tour – we’ve been getting calls from communities all over the globe – all asking when Uncle Moishy’s going to be coming to their town,” Mendy says. “Once we share our plans for recreating the album experience – and to expect an Uncle Moishy concert like never before – the response is usually ‘please email me the contract’” Mendy concluds with a smile. To arrange for Uncle Moishy and his world to come to your town as part of his “WELCOME” 5778 Tour, please contact Sonic Duo directly at 347-467-1958.