MAMA DONI & THE MAMA DONI BAND
GO WILD WITH ‘CHANUKAH FEVER’ IN NEW JERSEY
“FUNKY MUSIC WITH A JEWISH TWIST”
NOV. 28 – BERGEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
One lucky Macaroni Kid reader is going to win a family four pack of tickets to go see Mama Doni & the Mama Doni Band! To enter, email me at maryannj@macaronikid.com telling me why you would like to win the tickets. MUST be a NW Jersey Macaroni Kid subscriber to be eligible to win! Winner will be picked at random.
“Her stage name may sound as if it belonged on a jar of pasta sauce, but Mama Doni is an indisputably Jewish performer. Doni Zasloff Thomas in real life, she specializes in putting a Jewish spin on all kinds of musical styles, including reggae, rock, disco and Latin.” – The New York Times
"A zany musical chicken soup of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer, and other styles." -The Boston Globe
“Wacky Jewish indie-rock for kids.” - The Star-Ledger
MONTCLAIR, NJ (Oct. 21) – In a spirit of outrageous fun, The Mama Doni Band brings its special brand of “funky music with a Jewish twist” to two all-ages Chanukah shows at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 28 at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 North Van Brunt St., Englewood, NJ.
Doni Zasloff Thomas, a.k.a. Mama Doni, is the lead singer/songwriter of The Mama Doni Band, winner of the Simcha Award for “Inspiring Joy Through Music” in competition with more than 100 bands from 15 different countries at the 2008 International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam. The band celebrates Jewish culture with irrepressible zest in its high-energy, interactive family rock concerts filled with catchy pop songs that break the mold of traditional Jewish music. Quirky, offbeat, and unpredictable, The Mama Doni Band offers up a contagious and unexpected blend of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer and “Jewgrass” – all woven together with a hip Jewish sensibility and a zany sense of humor.
Mama Doni promises plenty of surprises throughout her band’s hip Chanukah concerts, including giveaways of chocolate gelt, dreidels, CDs, and t-shirts, and opportunities for kids to boogie like a dreidel, air guitar with the band (“Latke Man” style), join in an applesauce vs. sour cream rock-along, and chime in on the eternal question of "Chanukah" or "Hanukah.” Rocking out for Chanukah, Mama Doni & The Mama Doni Band will perform such latkelicious songs as "The Funky Gold Menorah,” "La Vida Dreidel,” and "I Say Chanukah (You Say Hanukah!).” Chanukah will never be the same!
As a special treat, there’s also be a “sneak peak” at songs from Mama Doni’s next CD, Shabbat Shaboom, with reggae dancing to "Mazel Tov,” rocking out to a Latin dance beat in "Challah-Day!,” and some crazy "Jewgrass" dancing to a song all about family, "Mishpocha.” The Bergen PAC shows will overflow with wild and wacky numbers, including such Mama Doni favorites as “Jewish Cowgirl” and “Shofar-Blowin’ Band.” Hip young kids and their even hipper parents and grandparents should be ready to get up and dance at these spirited Jewish rock concerts!
According to Carrie Stetler in The Star-Ledger, Doni Zasloff Thomas “is proud to have a schtick. And that schtick, she says, is to ‘Jewify’ all forms of music – from country to reggae to holiday songs.” Kids’ media authority Amy Kraft, of Media Macaroni, enthused, “We were all laughing out loud … Listen as Mama Doni spreads around some challah-day spirit in her inimitable cross between Sheryl Crow and Tone Loc.”
Mama Doni, a resident of Montclair, New Jersey, hopes that her music will add some Jewish flavor to the lives of people everywhere. She speaks with great passion about preserving the priceless Yiddish and Jewish spirit by imbuing it with a contemporary vibe that connects to life in our times.
