Yidcore: Semitic Punk Will Rock You

Yidcore, formed as a joke during the boys' college days, and includes Bram Presser on vocals, shofar and humous (a substance to which the band has formed a delicious obsession), Myki Slonim on guitar and 'pig,' Dave Jesudasen on bass and rabbinical impressions and Rory Kelaart on drums and lycra. While the music sounds like a 'punkier' version of System of a Down, especially Presser's high-pitched vocals, Yidcore looks more like a Jewish GWAR, the infamous blood-tossing monsters from outer-space band.

There are many "shining moments" from past trips here, Presser says, "Once I tried to do an internal felafel on-stage. I put all the ingredients in my mouth - tahini paste, falafel mix, salad - and then jumped up and down." But the rash experiment backfired. "I threw-up all over," he laughed, adding, "It was awful. I never felt so sick."

Not necessarily shallow, the band's obsession with Judaism extends beyond the Arabic culinary repetoire. Concertgoers have the opportunity to join the punks onstage and blow a shofar. Though not all audience participation ends with a thunderous wail - there is a history of injuries at their shows. In Kfar Saba, an audience member suffered a heart-attack "and in Tel Aviv a girl got a broken back," Presser boasts, adding that, "sometimes we get banned from clubs."

Not all low-brow, Presser does speak fluent Hebrew. His grandfather is a Hebrew linguist in Australia and, if he didn't know the language, he states, his family would be disappointed in him. But, he adds with a chuckle, "they're disappointed anyway."