Twin Cities musician Adam Bohanan is creating 'a very funky' soundtrack for Hanukkah

NINA MOINI: This week the Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah, and during the holiday season, people often turn to music to get into the holiday spirit. But there's not nearly as much festive Hanukkah music as there is Christmas music, so a local musician is trying to change that. Adam Bohanan is putting on a show called A Very Funky Hanukkah Show tomorrow night at the Cedar in Minneapolis, where he'll share some new original Hanukkah tunes. And he joins me in the studio now to share more with us. Thanks for being here, Adam.

ADAM BOHANAN: Thank you for having me, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Happy Hanukkah. Thank you for coming in.

ADAM BOHANAN: Happy Hanukkah, yeah.

NINA MOINI: So I feel bad I didn't know this. Growing up, did you feel like, there aren't that many Hanukkah tunes? Like, I'm feeling like I want something more to work with here, or what inspired you to do this?

ADAM BOHANAN: So I definitely felt like there wasn't any Hanukkah music that spoke directly to me. I am Black and Jewish, and I grew up loving Christmas music but also feeling like I wasn't connected to it. And then I didn't really feel any connection-- I felt a little connection, but until I heard Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' "Eight Days of Hanukkah," which is one of my favorite, all-time favorite Hanukkah songs, if not my favorite Hanukkah song. And I heard that song, and I was like, I want to make a show that's basically all that. It's a funky, upbeat Hanukkah show that really shows off all the greatness of Hanukkah, but also really makes you feel excited.

NINA MOINI: Well, funny you should mention that, because we have "Eight Days" by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings cued up. Which was recently picked up, actually, by one of our song-of-the-day contributors.

ADAM BOHANAN: Amazing.

NINA MOINI: We do a song of the day. But let's give it a listen for just kind of vibes. This is not your original song, but one that really inspires you. Let's take a listen.

[SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS, "EIGHT DAYS OF HANUKKAH"]

Eight days of Hanukkah

Every one of them glows with love

Eight days of Hanukkah

Every one of them

NINA MOINI: I gotta say, I get it, Adam. This is the vibe.

ADAM BOHANAN: I know, 100%. [LAUGHS]

NINA MOINI: Yeah, but funky jazz is probably not the first genre that people would think about. What type of reaction are you getting from folks when you're telling them, I want to blend more, I want to do more things?

ADAM BOHANAN: Well, yeah. So from musicians, I'm getting a lot of excitement. Local musicians, when I moved here, I got connected to the local musician scene. And there hasn't been a lot of Hanukkah music in general, but there are all of these big Christmas shows every year. There's touring Christmas shows. I have a lot of friends, local musicians, that are doing the Humbug.

And I want to set up something for the Jewish musicians in town, and they're very, very excited about something like this. As far as the local Jews that I've spoken to, they're also so wildly excited about something like this. My synagogue, Shir Tikvah, are posting about it. All these other synagogues are posting about it. They're very, very excited. And yeah, I think I'm getting a lot of good responses from it.

NINA MOINI: Oh, I'm so happy for you. OK, let's listen to one of your original songs now. This is the song "We Won't Break Up."

[ADAM BOHANAN, "WE WON'T BREAK UP"]

But we won't get too close

Put that jewelry on hold

Buy me sufganiyot

NINA MOINI: Tell me about this song. What's the inspiration?

ADAM BOHANAN: So the inspiration for this is I wanted to show the passing of time using key points in time in the Jewish religion, like Shabbat and Sukkot. And then Hanukkah is in the winter, and you're not gonna break up in the winter because it's cuffing season. You want to be all close and warm.

NINA MOINI: (LAUGHING) Too cold, yeah.

ADAM BOHANAN: (LAUGHING) Exactly. And so yeah, you wait until Purim, which is in the spring, to really let your partner go.

NINA MOINI: Oh my gosh! You're letting all the secrets out here.

ADAM BOHANAN: I know. There's a reference to how we're leading each other on, just in the song. But yeah, it's basically just about showing the passage of time through the lens of Jewish holidays, basically. But it's really about Christmas-- or sorry, sorry, it's really about Hanukkah. But the holiday season, and how you want to stay warm and snuggly and close in that time, yeah.

NINA MOINI: No, that totally makes sense. OK, let's listen to another original. I'm so excited. I'm honored that you're sharing this with us. This one is called "Burning Up the Candles."

[ADAM BOHANAN, "BURNING UP THE CANDLES"]

Steam coming off the latkes

Just took them out the oil

Feeling from the deeps, we got this

Now my blood begins to boil

I got too close to the fire

Burning up the candles

Fire, burning up the candles

Fire, burning up the candles

NINA MOINI: We're just jamming in here. You can't help but move. OK, tell me about "Burning Up the Candles."

ADAM BOHANAN: So "Burning Up the Candles," I am a big fan of the Meters and the Ohio Players, and I wanted to write something really funky like them. I actually did a show with George Porter Jr. in LA back in the day with my old band. And so I'm a big fan of that style of gritty funk, and so I wanted to write something that really resonated.

And obviously there's "Fire" by the Ohio Players, and I was listening to that. And I was like, fire. You know, fire burning up the candles. And I got inspired by that, and I was picking out little notes of little things that happened during Hanukkah, and how you're connected and cooking latkes and sufganiyot and all that. And so I wrote this song, and it really-- I just started with a little guitar riff, and it really came together really nice. I love it so much.

NINA MOINI: I love to ask songwriters about that process. Because when you're like, oh, it just came right out of me--

ADAM BOHANAN: [LAUGHS] Yeah.

NINA MOINI: --a lot of songwriters are like, no, this took me a year. So I'm wondering about your process. It sounds like you're just tuning in to what's around you.

ADAM BOHANAN: So there are some songs that take an entire year, right. But with these Hanukkah songs specifically, there's so much material and there's so much to think about, and I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do with each song. So they came out basically instantly.

NINA MOINI: I love that.

ADAM BOHANAN: I know, I loved it, too. And yeah, and especially listening to inspiration, I was listening and bouncing off of what I had already had in my mind, and it really just came out of me.

NINA MOINI: Mm-hmm. Music is so cool, and songwriting, because it's about pride as well. Just pride in your religion and in your culture and putting lyrics behind feelings that you know a community is sharing. I mean, how does it feel to be able to express that pride? And you mentioned just how excited people are around you.

ADAM BOHANAN: I went to a lot of schools in-- I was brought up in England. And I went to a lot of schools out there, a lot of Christian schools, and I wasn't allowed to show my pride in my religion. I would get bullied for it. And I would get bullied for being Black, too, so I felt disconnected from a lot of the community around me. And then just being able to write these songs and really show myself in the music, both in my Black side in the funk, and then my Jewish side in the music, in the lyrics. I feel like people are accepting me for exactly what I am, so it feels really great.

NINA MOINI: That's amazing. And also, you're helping other people to see more of themselves in the music. So before we have to go in about a minute, tell us about the show tomorrow night. Can people still come out? Tell us how to get involved there.

ADAM BOHANAN: Yeah. So the show is at the Cedar Cultural Center, and yeah, you're very welcome to buy tickets. They're available online at thecedar.org, and come on out. There's going to be a great opener. The Jazzy Jewess of South Minneapolis is going to be opening the night. And the band is really fantastic, and the music is great. And I'm very excited to put it all together, and the tickets are available right now.

NINA MOINI: Amazing. Thank you so much for coming by Minnesota Now and sharing your music with us. I really appreciate it, Adam.

ADAM BOHANAN: Thank you for having me, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. Adam Bohanan is the singer behind A Very Funky Hanukkah Show tomorrow night at the Cedar.