SHERRI ZUCKERMAN
From left, Scott Anthony, Rebecca Turner, Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried.
This post kicks off a new NJArts.net series, “Songs of Resistance,” featuring protest songs written and/or performed in response to this moment in history. If you have a song you would like to suggest, please email njartsdaily@gmail.com.
If you are feeling angst about living in Trump’s America, then you might find some solace in the outrage expressed in “Stunned and Bummed” (see video below), a song of resistance co-written by Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried of The Cucumbers.
Shoshkes sings:
We’re stunned and we’re bummed
And we’re absolutely crazed
Pointing fingers and assigning blame
There’s a big bad wolf out there on the loose
And nobody knows just what to do …
You could say we had plenty of warning
But ignorance is habit-forming
Still, we all wake up in the morning
Hoping it isn’t true
With her distinctive, gentle, calming voice, Shoshkes encourages us to take action and reminds us that “Everything does matter/Every little thing you do/Every little thing can shatter/And the big ones shatter, too.”
DEENA SHOSHKES
Bob Perry, left, and Chris Flynn perform at the “March of Protest Songs” event.
The video is from a March benefit for the ACLU, titled “March of Protest Songs,” which was part of the Saturday Afternoon Song Swap series that Shoshkes and singer-songwriter Rebecca Turner started in 2008. The event, a Millburn house concert, featured protest songs, both originals and covers, by more than 20 artists, including Ed Seifert, and Bob Perry & Chris Flynn (who sang “Broken Sides,” co-written by Perry and Ed Rogers; see video below).
The lyrics in this song warn that there is “No love on a broken side/Hate builds up and divides/Crying tears that now turn red/And the fear like a virus spreads.”
Also at the show, Turner led Shoshkes, Fried and bassist Scott Anthony in a stirring rendition of the hippie national anthem “Get Together” (see video below), written by Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service and popularized by Jesse Colin Young and his band The Youngbloods in 1967, a year when the Vietnam War was raging. The lessons about love and fear resonate today when our country is fractured by wars, and threats to our democracy.
I take comfort anytime I hear these lyrics:
If you hear the song I sing
You will understand
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It’s there at your command
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
DEENA SHOSHKES
Elena Skye and Boo Reiners perform at the “March of Protest Songs” event.
Elena Skye and Boo Reiners of The Demolition String Band performed their rousing roots-rock song “Jesus Was a Liberal” (see video below), a Skye-written track that appears on their 2017 album I Wait for the Light. They offer a counterargument to the religious right when they sing: “Jesus was a liberal/I really do think so …/Jesus was a peace freak/He took care of the meek/He turned the other cheek.”
The last in-person Song Swap was in February 2020, before the pandemic forced a pause in most live music.
“Back in January of this year, Boo and Elena hosted a benefit concert for the ACLU featuring the songs of Woody Guthrie at 503 Social Club” in Hoboken, Shoshkes said. “Jon and I took part in it and were so fired up and inspired by it. That’s when I reached out to Rebecca and we began planning the March of Protest Songs Song Swap.”
Shoshkes said the political environment necessitated a revival of the Saturday Afternoon Song Swap, to contribute to resistance.
“We feel that sharing music together at this moment is perhaps the most significant action we as musicians can take,” she said, adding that “music and songs spread ideas and hope … We raised over $400 for the ACLU and our spirits, as well. We had a nice audience of friends and neighbors, too.”
The Song Swap enables songwriters to share and refine their work in a supportive environment. When they first started, Shoshkes was thrilled that the series was mentioned in The New York Times.
In 2018, to commemorate the Song Swap’s 10th anniversary, Shoshkes and Turner released a two-volume compilation album with songs from many participants. (see Spotify playlists below)
What is next for this series?
“The future of the Song Swap is always there for us, at the ready,” said Shoshkes. “Although we don’t have a date at the moment, we’ll have another protest Song Swap soon. An audience is always invited. That’s the best part of the magic. Over the years we’ve created an audience for each other which has grown. Many bands have formed out of friendships made at the Song Swap, and many of the songs debuted and developed at the Swap have turned into singles, EPs and albums.”
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