Quotes by Hankus Netsky

“It seems like she grew up speaking Yiddish. Its really part of her life, like if she did not do this it would be weird.”

“Were trying to keep it interesting and keep motivated to new stuff-especially with vocalists. Its good to be doing new things.”

“I was raised to ignore it. It was something my mothers generation saw as an embarrassment. It was corny and archaic and not pushed as something an up-and-coming musician wanted to learn. My mother wanted me to write Broadway shows.”

“People were sort of stopping having the traditional Jewish music in weddings and ceremonies. And I kind of liked that stuff.”

“When I was 19 I started pestering my relatives who were willing to teach me.”

“All of a sudden, instead of 100 or 200 people in the audience we were playing for 1,000 to 2,000 people. People wanted to re-discover this stuff that was gone for 60 years.”

“If they (the audience) are Jewish, they can express their identity without going to church or praying. It is not about beliefs, its about music.”

“When I was 19, I started taking it seriously. I started copying my grandfathers 78s and talking to the older generation who played it, learning their stories and their music and eventually teaching it at the New England Conservatory of Music.”