If I Had The Strength;

A Lemon Bucket Orkestra Ethnomusicological Review

Aaron Groh

November 22nd, 2017

MUSI 2008A: Music of the Worlds Peoples

 The Lemon Bucket Orkestra is a self described guerilla-punk-balkan-folk-brass band

massive1 This is quite the mouthful, and itself does not fully encapsulate the experience of

attending one of their concerts. While their whirlwind of sound and dance is overwhelming at

first, it can be broken down, or mapped onto, Alan Merriams model for ethnomusicological

observations. This model posits that all music can be split into three main sections: sound;

behaviour; and concepts.2 The Lemon Bucket Orkestras sound and behaviour are interesting

enough on their own, but when looking at the history behind their lyrics, or the concepts and

filters through which they compose their music, their unique blend of gypsy-punk Ukrainian folk

party music shines through the model brilliantly.

The Merriam model subsection of sound encapsulates many different theoretical

elements, including musical instruments, tuning, genres, styles, etc.;3 however, one of the largest

components of this is the Hornbostel and Sachs classification of musical instruments. It

hypothesizes that all musical instruments can be broken down into five categories: Aerophones,

Chordophones, Idiophones, Membranophones, and (added at a later date) Electrophones. From

the darbouka to the sousaphone, the Lemon Bucket Orkestra (hereafter LBO) utilizes

instruments which fit into the categories of aerophones (accordion, sousaphone, trombone, and

trumpet), chordophones (violins and guitar), idiophones (gong), and finally, membranophones

(percussion, savage drums and darbouka). Needless to say, their sound is quite unique. In fact, on

their website, one of the musicians (Os Kar) is labelled as performing the savage drums, [and]

1
"The Lemon Bucket Orkestra." The lemon bucket orkestra. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://www.lemonbucket.com/band/.
2
Nettl, Bruno, and Timothy Rommen. Excursions in world music. 7th ed. New York, NY:
Routledge, 2017.
3
Ibid.
screams.4 They frequently shift around in not just their instruments, but their musical styles as

well, moving seamlessly from a punk-influenced wall of sound in Crooked to a soloistic,

reverent, and quieter reflection in When5 - it could be said that this is where the folk aspect of

their description shines. The rhythm and feel of the music completely shifts, moving from

polyrhythmic and discordant, to extremely lyrical and supportive, with the music paving the way

for an obvious focus on the lyrics; this lyrical focus has its roots in eastern European ballads,

which one of the lines of overarching narrative is centered on.

A high school auditoriums stage is not the most open of performance venues, yet the

LBO used the entire space and more. From the lead drummer hopping up and down on the

stands, to the entire orchestra coming off the stage, and out into the reception area to complete

the concert, it was a remarkable sight. After the intermission, Os Kar made a joke along the lines

of Congratulations, youre the first group to ever sit through a performance by the LBO without

getting out of your seats and dancing, which seemed to flick a switch in the audiences mind.

After this, most of the audience was up at the front of the hall, dancing and moving along with

the beat. Before moving out into reception, the orchestra moved into the seats, performing while

standing on the arm rests. It was quite obvious that they were comfortable mingling their sound

with the audience, forming a parade of singing and dancing members through the school. Their

behaviour in this regard has its roots in the punk/rural background of the band; in fact, their first

professional music video reflects this reckless abandon: after a full night of driving home from a

4
"The Lemon Bucket Orkestra." The lemon bucket orkestra. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://www.lemonbucket.com/band/.
5
Marczyk, Mark. If I Had The Strength. Lemon Bucket Orkestra. 2017.
gig, they simply turned on the cameras, put on some suits and opened a bottle of tequila. 6 Their

behaviour is also echoed in their music, with its rapid transformation from slow and precise to an

almost inconsiderate (in the best way possible) flurry of drum beats and virtuosic violin solos.

The concepts, or conceptions about music subsection is arguably the hardest to grasp,

with many of its abstract ideas affecting both the music and behaviour. Their concert was the

first performance of their new album If I Had The Strength. The album draws on a Slavic

prison ballad as their base - a rebel returning home after giving his all in a battle - while

interweaving the band members experiences with the Ukraine-Russia conflict into a wonderful

narrative, which the frontman and vocalist Mark Marczyk summed up beautifully: [the album]

is about coming home, about never being the same, about the parts of ourselves we lose, the parts

we gain, and about the prisons we inhabit or that inhabit us.7 Despite such a diverse background

of band members, its clear that the band hails from eastern Europe as their homeland, and draw

much inspiration from the folk tales there. In the formation of their sound, they take a very

lyrical focus from the slavic ballad, but also translate that into a relatable medium. Their religion

also plays a significant role in their portrayal of this ballad. The band describes themselves as

klezmer, which is a musical tradition of Jews in Eastern Europe. It is colloquially known as

Jewish hip-hop8, or punk, and this certainly comes across in their music; however, it goes deeper

than that. The crimean land dispute taking place right now is displacing a number of jewish

6
"The Lemon Bucket Orkestra." The lemon bucket orkestra. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://www.lemonbucket.com/band/.
7
Murphy, Sarah . "Lemon Bucket Orkestra Announce 'If I Had the Strength' LP." Exclaim!
August 03, 2017. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/lemon_bucket_orkestra_announce_if_i_had_the_strength_lp.
8
Cohen, Judah. "Hip-Hop Judaica: The Politics of Representin' Heebster Heritage." Popular
Music 28, no. 1 (2009): 1-18. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/stable/40212423.
families9, and the album can be seen as a response to that. The massive wall of sound they

generate is nearly a protest to the social issues encapsulating one of the potential Jewish

homelands, not to mention a general interest on the side of all Eastern Europeans.

The Lemon Bucket Orkestras album and concert, If I Had The Strength seamlessly

merges too many genres to count. Their transition from post-punk garage rock, to soloistic,

virtuosic and back again in the blink of an eye reflects their mixed background in Eastern

European Jewish punk music, and their musical influences from growing up on the streets of

Toronto, with any and all music forming and shaping them. They also focus on lyrics throughout,

in the style of traditional slavic ballads and folk songs; this lyrical focus is interwoven with the

band members unique experiences with the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The album forms a

medium to protest it, while shining light on their roots in Eastern European culture. Their culture,

religion, and musical exploration weave together to form a truly unique soundscape.

9
Morrissey, Evelyn M. Jewish Workers and Farmers in the Crimea and Ukraine. E. Morrissey,
1937.
 References

Cohen, Judah. "Hip-Hop Judaica: The Politics of Representin' Heebster Heritage." Popular

Music 28, no. 1 (2009): 1-18.

http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/stable/40212423.

Marczyk, Mark. If I Had The Strength. Lemon Bucket Orkestra. 2017.

Morrissey, Evelyn M. Jewish Workers and Farmers in the Crimea and Ukraine. E. Morrissey,
1937.

Murphy, Sarah . "Lemon Bucket Orkestra Announce 'If I Had the Strength' LP." Exclaim!
August 03, 2017. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/lemon_bucket_orkestra_announce_if_i_had_the_strength_
lp.

Nettl, Bruno, and Timothy Rommen. Excursions in world music. 7th ed. New York, NY:
Routledge, 2017.

"The Lemon Bucket Orkestra." The lemon bucket orkestra. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://www.lemonbucket.com/band/.

Veidlinger, Jeffrey. "Before Crimea Was Russian, It Was a Potential Jewish Homeland." Tablet
Magazine. March 04, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2017.
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/164673/crimea-as-jewish-homeland.