Bryan Zive is on his way to musical stardom.
He has his band. And he has his fans.
On Nov. 19, a crowd of singing, stomping and swaying children and teens and their teachers filled the Temple Israel sanctuary at a special concert for the religious school.
Granted, it was the day after Ohio State University’s football victory over the University of Michigan. And Zive, an Ohio State student, did keep asking the crowd to split up and chant, "O-H! I-O!"
But Zive, who is music education director at the temple, was thrilled with the enthusiasm of the crowd, which stayed for the concert even though religious school was over for the morning.
His band, the Bryan Zive Band — a working title — has a larger aim, he says. It’s to help build Jewish identity with the same spirit brought to Jewish summer camps.
The band echoes the spirit of contemporary Jewish musicians such as Debbie Friedman, who gave Jewish music a folkish spin and, more recently, Dan Nichols and his band, Eighteen, who use contemporary rock as their model.
"A lot of the music comes from liturgy that has touched me," Zive says. "And that’s the whole point: to combine it with music they might already listen to."
The band’s selections, played on acoustic guitar, keyboard, drums and bass, included Rock and Redeemer, taken from a prayer and set to music composed by Zive; V’al Kulam, played with sections of the popular song Give a Little Bit originally sung by Supertramp; and Hinei, played to the melody of the Dave Matthews song Everyday.Zive, 24, is completing his degree in Jewish studies. The California native, inspired by his experiences as a camper and camp song leader, has worked for four years teaching music to youth at Temple Israel.
He became the temple’s music educator this year. Zive spends part of his instructional time teaching melodies to the religious-school youngsters.
But Zive wanted to do more with the music. He turned to some Ohio State friends for help. Ari Kessler, a keyboardist and buddy from the Alpha Epsilon Pi Jewish fraternity, rounded up a few of his musical mates from the university’s jazz studies department: Maxwell Button, a drummer; and Nate Smith, who plays bass.
The three musicians often play with other bands around Columbus and are used to switching styles, from Afro-Cuban to jazz, Brazilian and rock. Jewish music was no problem, they said. And they appreciated their youthful audience, which was more lively than listeners in many other venues.
"It’s modern rock," said Button. "It’s a positive-feeling type of gig. The music feels good."
Zive and his group play mostly at OSU Hillel. Sometimes Zive’s friend Mike Schwartz joins the band to help with vocals. The Nov. 19 concert was their first at Temple Israel. But the band hopes for more bookings.
The group is working on plans to record a CD. Meanwhile, Zive has recorded his own acoustic guitar demo.
"Eventually, I’d like to see us get on the camp tour," said Zive.
For information about the Bryan Zive Band, call Temple Israel, 866-0010, Ext. 103.