The Moshe Hecht Band is an American Hasidic

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. Formed in 2010 by eponymous frontman

Moshe Hecht Moshe Hecht (born 1985 in Queens, New York) is an American Hasidic singer-songwriter and rabbi, best known as the eponymous lead singer of the folk rock group Moshe Hecht Band. Biography Early life Hecht was born in Queens, New York in 19 ...

, the band also consists of several local musicians and has toured throughout New York. In 2011, they released their debut album, ''Heart Is Alive''.

History

In 2010,

-based singer-songwriter

gathered together several local musicians to form the Moshe Hecht Band. Since forming, the band has played at venues throughout New York such as the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

and the

Canal Room Canal Room was a music venue located at 285 West Broadway between Canal Street and Lispenard Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The space was formerly known as "Shine". It underwent a $1 million renovation in 2003 ...

, (As archived on the band's website.) as well as events like the 2012 Celebrate Israel Parade and a Shemspeed showcase at the

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

. Their debut album, ''Heart Is Alive'', was recorded in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and New York City with producers Steven Ray Allen, Alon Cohen, and Jake Antelis, and was released through Aderet Music on October 18, 2011.

Musical style

The Moshe Hecht Band's music is primarily derived from rock,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

, and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, as well as traditional Hasidic melodies. Hecht himself has expressed his affinity for secular artists such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

, and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, as well as Jewish musicians such as

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

and

Isaac Bitton Isaac "Jacky" Bitton (born 2 December 1947) is a French-American musician. Initially gaining fame as the drummer for secular rock band Les Variations, Bitton became a ''baal teshuva'' through Chabad in the late 1970s and subsequently began a ca ...

. Lyrically, Hecht's songwriting tends to be overtly religious, with ''Heart Is Alive'' mixing traditional

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

prayers with English lyrics about the life of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and man's relationship with God. Despite this, he has stated that he feels his music to be universal: "Any person of faith will find power and inspiration in my music."

Members

— lead vocals * Schneur Menaker – guitar,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Evgheni Goncear – bass guitar * Bryan Hershkowitz – drums * Paul Alpert — percussion * Josh Henderson – violin

Discography

;Albums * ''Heart Is Alive'' (October 18, 2011) ;Singles * "Believers" (June 15, 2011; music video)

References

External links

* {{authority control Folk rock groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups established in 2010 Hasidic music American reggae rock groups 2010 establishments in New York City