Mitch Albom: Writer, Ivory Tickler
Shut your books and rock. If you’re the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of “really famous authors” — as the band’s Web site boasts, not inaccurately — you’ll agree with that statement. At least this week, during the 2010 Wordstock tour, you will.
Jewish member Mitch Albom recently made rabbis look good according to the Forward, and he’s likely do the same for the keyboard, his instrument of choice. Simpson’s creator Matt Groening, who we can thank for Krusty the Clown reading torah and dropping Yiddish expressions like lava rocks, is also part of the team. Albom and Groening are joined by Amy Tan (vocals), Dave Barry (lead guitar), Stephen King and Roy Blount Jr. among others.
Tonight the band plays at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, and tomorrow at New York’s Nokia Theater. They’ll wrap up at The Royale in Boston on Saturday.
The group, a rotating cast that has been around for 18 years and raised nearly $2 million for charity, is collaborating with the Pearson Foundation to raise money for Haiti relief.
Find more tour info here.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
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And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
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