JE Magazine Interview with Abie Rotenberg

JE caught up with the famous Abie Rotenberg to “talk some music�.

 

JE: So Mr. Rotenberg, what was the first album your songs were used on?

AR: The album was called Klei Zemer

 

JE: What instruments do you play?

AR: I play piano and guitar

 

JE: When did you start playing?

AR: As a child I took piano lessons, and guitar I just picked up myself.

 

JE: Lots of people take piano lessons but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they play when the lessons are over.

AR: Actually, I stopped playing at the age of 10. But I always enjoyed zemiros and songs, plus I can carry a tune and do harmony.

 

JE: So how did you get involved in Jewish music now that you can play and sing?

AR: Well I grew up with people who eventually put out albums. Eli Teitelbaum who put out the first Pirchei Boys Choir was a friend. Additionally, I was in the same yeshiva as Rabbi Boruch Chait and Leibel Scharfman. You also have to keep in mind that Jewish music wasn’t as big as it is today. There were singers like Carlbach and R’ Benzion Shenker, Neginah was getting started, and there were not too many bands either. The fact that there was so little out there at that time meant that if you could play an instrument, carry a tune, and sing harmony, you were Jewish music.

 

JE: What was the first song you ever used?

AR: That would be Ki Lecha on Klei Zemer

 

JE: So how does one go from D’veikus, Journeys, Pirchei etc. to making The Marvelous Middos Machine?

AR: Well, when you have children in the house to inspire you and a concept comes into your head, you expand it. Those songs, that were all original, raised awareness of different traits inherent in each child. It was a very educative tool. I enjoyed making them.

 

JE: So why did The Marvelous Middos Machine Series stop at Volume 3?

AR: Well, my kids grew up and of course there aren’t 613 middos, so we pretty much covered all the main category of middos.

 

JE: So is there a possible 4^th in the future?

AR: I honestly don’t know. There might be. I have no plans to make a fourth. But, I didn’t envision putting out 3 from the beginning. There might be a fourth that will look like it continued from the third, where you won’t know that there was a 20-year gap.

 

JE: So as a child, where did you grow up?

AR: I grew up in Queens.

 

JE: There were many years between Journeys 3 and 4. Did the inspiration for the album take you all that time or were you busy composing songs for other albums during that time?

AR: Well to be honest, music is not my main parnossah. B�H I have a job that keeps me busy at times. When inspiration comes to me, I work with it. For instance, on Journeys 4, I had all 9 songs and was waiting for the 10^th, when I came up with Mama Rachel. It could have been any other song, but that’s how it turned out.

 

JE: So what would you say is harder, composing a tune or writing lyrics to a song?

AR:  For me personally? Writing lyrics is more difficult. Music is an open field. You can string together a few notes and have a nice tune. On the other hand, getting words that have meaning is very complex, because even though the music speaks to you, it’s the words that inspire you.

 

JE: Some examples would include: Mama Rachel, The Man From Vilna and Shema Yisroel?

AR: Exactly. Those tunes are meaningful and mournful. They pull at the heart. The words, on the other hand, make them so much more than a story, a feeling.

 

JE: What is your opinion of Jewish music now, in the year 2005?

AR: We are in galus and music is being influenced by the music of the nations. The style now is more “poppy�, with less of the Yiddish taam that it used to have; yet it still inspires. Music is first and foremost to inspire Yidden. It can also be entertaining, but it should be meaningful.

 

JE: Do you still sell songs or are you just working mainly on your own projects?

AR: Well, I still have some songs floating around that I give to people. However, the best songs I really like to keep for myself (chuckles).

 

JE: Once you sell a song, do you have a say in how it’s put together, in the arrangements?

AR: A lot of the songs that are being bought are original, so I am involved.  For example, Kol Zimra had a lot of my old songs, along with some new. Usually, you have to hope for the best and see if they want your opinion.

 

JE:  What is your view on music and dancing at weddings today?

AR: The music is for sure more sophisticated. I mean just look at the cords that the guitar player is using. The bochurim and parents dance better too. I don’t know if it’s from the music, but times change and so do the dance moves. Twenty years back it was popular to dance in a circle and the horas were not so complicated. Nowadays they are. I think that back then when we were mesameach a chaver at a wedding, we danced our hardest and best. The same holds true today.

 

JE: Do you sing by weddings?

AR: Yes. I have sung by many weddings, though never for pay and never by the chupah. I like to watch the chupah. It’s a very special moment and I would rather be an observer. I only sing for friends and family.

 

JE: So do people ask you to write songs for their wedding?

AR: Yes, they do, and some of the songs end up becoming famous. Mi Adir was written for my daughter’s wedding, and Yehi Shalom was written for a friend.

 

JE: In your singing career have you traveled a lot because of your singing career?

AR: Yes. I have been to London, Los Angeles, the West Coast, Dallas, and Eretz Yisroel amongst a few. You have to sing different songs to cater to different crowds, but in the end Jews are Jews and they get inspired through music.
 

Thank you for your time. It was really nice being able to speak to someone who has been in the industry a while, whose singing is soul-ly to be mesameach others with his beautiful and heartfelt niggunim.