Queens Tribune

Basya Schecter’s band, Pharaoh’s Daughter, has been playing together in New York City for just short of 10 years. But this month marks their first Queens appearance. On Dec. 23, the band, which blends a psychedelic sensibility with pan-Mediterranean sounds, will perform at Queens Theatre in the Park.
Raised Orthodox in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, Schecter traveled to Israel at 18 to attend Yeshiva.
“I went to solidify my dedication to becoming a Jewish teacher and get married and have children,” Schecter said. “This kinda went wrong and I got exposed to the whole night life.”
Her time abroad was transformative. Not only did she work in clubs as bands’ opening act – she performed as a dancer –she was also introduced to “world philosophy and mind-altering ideas.”
“Instead of going to class I went to a bookstore,” she said, adding that Hermann Hesse and Anthony Burgess were particularly influential.
“I would watch ‘A Clockwork Orange’ once a week,” Schecter said. “Somehow I was addicted to it.”
Schecter was also addicted to exploration; traveling to the port city of Haifa would inevitably result in boarding a ship bound for Turkey, Greece or Morocco. One musical night in Turkey is particularly memorable.
“I ended up in a Turkish youth hostel and every single song I knew the melody,” she said. “It was like a big realization – this is Jewish music.”
This discovery of the musical ties between various cultural traditions stayed with Schecter who returned to New York to attend Barnard College. There, she picked up the guitar and found a collaborator in Rego Park resident Jack Hoppenstand.
Their band, Temporarily Anonymous, recorded demos in Hoppenstand’s Queens home, which had a small studio.
“I spent my entire last year of college in his house on 63rd Drive,” Schecter said.
Her dedication to music didn’t surprise her family; Schecter’s father sang and was at one point managed by song publisher, producer and TV host Don Kirshner.
“It wasn’t like – oh my god where did this come from?” she said, adding that she relies heavily on her brother’s opinion.
“He’s always been an advisor,” she said. “He can listen to it over and over again and give good advice. He’s been my second ear”
Still, there was an adjustment period.
“The music part was easy to handle,” Schecter said. “The non-religious part was harder.”
The band’s size has fluctuated over the years. It currently includes six other musicians who play violin, percussion, drums, winds, accordion and keyboard. Schecter sings and plays guitar and Oud, an Arabic lute.
She ranks Radiohead and a number of African artists such as Salif Keita, Youssu N’dour and Oumo Sangare among her top influences. Although she has recently integrated more English lyrics, she sings primarily in Hebrew and Yiddish. Still, the band is most frequently categorized as world music.
“Thank god we don’t just get calls for Jewish stuff,” she said. “I’m happy about that”
From Queens, Schecter travels to Israel for more gigs. The band, which released another album, Haran, in 2007, has a busy touring schedule for the upcoming year with shows booked in Canada and Florida.
Despite the success of her music career, Schecter said she has no desire to quit her day job.
“Even if I was making millions of dollars I would still want to teach,” she said of her job at Brotherhood Synagogue. “I really find working with kids is an incredibly good supplement to performing and creating.”
The band plays benefits and soup kitchens, but Schecter finds teaching most grounding.
“It’s such a BS detector,” Schecter said. “Working with kids keeps you totally real. Kids aren’t interested in the fact that there were 1,000 people at your show.”
For tickets call (718) 760-0064 or go to www.queenstheatre.org.