BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Sharon Goldman, a popular local singer-songwriter, will celebrate the release of her new album “KOL ISHA” — A Woman’s Voice — with a full-band performance in September at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse.
“I believe this is a project that will speak to anyone who has ever struggled to explore their past and tap into their own truth,” said Goldman. “I think it speaks to a need we all have to explore universal questions of identity and belonging.”
Goldman digs deep into her Orthodox Jewish childhood for her new album, which will be her fifth solo album.
Writing her new album did not come easy.
“After releasing my last album, “Silent Lessons” in early 2014, I experienced a serious case of writer’s block,” she said. “Over the years, I had mostly written songs about traditional songwriter fare — relationships, love, breakups, and the like.”
Goldman said she really wanted to go in another direction, but didn’t know which way to go.
“Then, as a challenge to myself I happened to write a song about an Old Testament story, in the book of Genesis, that I remember really touched me growing up,” she said. “That led to some other songs based on stories about biblical and mythical women, which then led to some deeper thinking about my childhood and the rituals, liturgy, language and customs of the Jewish community I grew up in.”
That brought mixed feelings of both love and conflicts about all of it, particularly the gender stratification that accompanied some of those customs, such as “Kol Isha,” the custom of women not singing publicly in front of men in many Orthodox Jewish communities — particularly in the synagogue.
Mining the poetry of her background, including stories of biblical and mythical women – Lilith, the Sabbath Queen, the lovers in the Song of Songs – and bringing her creative imagination to bear, KOL ISHA digs into memories of prayers and rituals; of roads not taken; and voices not heard.
“Once I got started writing about these topics, I almost couldn’t stop … it turned out to be a deep well for my creative imagination,” Goldman said. “It also turned into an emotional journey for me that led to healing some childhood hurts and addressing long-held spiritual struggles, which was really meaningful to me. It even led me to have the Bat Mitzvah I never had growing up.”
Goldman said girls did not have that opportunity in the childhood community she grew up in. She arranged her Bat Mitzvah with Metuchen’s Egalitarian Congregation Neve Shalom last November and she traveled to Israel for the first time in 20 years in March 2015.
The singer-songwriter said she hopes that people connect to the universality of the stories she is sharing.
“Even though in some cases the songs are based on very personal experiences, or jumping off of ancient stories and tales, I believe they address universal questions about love, identity, family, memory and belonging,” said Goldman. “These are issues I think everyone can relate to and it doesn’t matter what religion or ethnicity you are or where you come from.”
Alan Young, of New York Music Daily, said Goldman has been writing songs that play over and over again in one’s head for more than ten years.
“But those catchy tunes have always had depth to match the hooks,” he said. “Although the songs on her new album “KOL ISHA” have a specific Jewish context, they will resonate with any rugged individualist looking to come to grips with a conflicted past.”
Goldman said she is thrilled to bring her newest work to her adopted hometown of Metuchen, where she moved from Brooklyn, New York, with her husband in 2009.
“I have been so inspired by the tremendous community of artists and musicians that live here in Metuchen,” she said. “It’s been a gift to find such support among so many talented neighbors.”
Goldman serves as the host to the Metuchen Arts Council-sponsored Schoolhouse Songwriter Series.
The celebration and performance will be held at 8 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse, 491 Middlesex Ave. The cost is $15 at the door or $12 in advance.
Tickets are available at http://sharongoldman.eventbrite.com or visit www.sharongoldmanmusic.com.