KALO on The Voice Israel: Why I Sang in Hebrew, Nine Sirens and All

The Voice Israel aired today. Somewhere in Israel, people were watching an episode that was filmed weeks ago, and I was here in Oklahoma already knowing how it ends, feeling the strange delay of it all. Time works differently when you live between two places. You carry an ending around in your body long before anyone else gets to see it.

I didn't advance. I'll say that plainly because I don't believe in dressing up the truth, and I've never once believed that the story is only worth telling when it ends in a win. Watch my segment below or visit The Voice Israel on YouTube.

The day it was filmed, the sirens went off nine times. Nine trips into the shelter and back out again, waiting, breathing, walking back up into the light. Me walking up to the stage in the middle of it with everyone. And singing with my guitar.

I sing in English most days of my life. But there's a version of me that only comes out in Hebrew. That day, she had the need to come out. And through all of these difficult times, I've needed her more than ever.

Watch the video and you'll hear it. The song is "Bo," by Rita, 1988, written by Miri Figenboim and composed by Rami Kleinstein. It means "Come." Every Israeli my age grew up on it, a song about calling someone home, back to themselves, through whatever stands in the way. It’s about healing. That's why I chose it that day.

I didn't advance on the show. But I sang exactly who I am, an Oklahoma-based blues-rock guitarist who grew up on a Jimi Hendrix cassette in Haifa, and who still needs Hebrew, needs to be home, needs to be with my people. That's not a consolation prize. That's the whole point.

The new EP comes out this fall. And on the show, I made another promise: an album written in Hebrew, coming after it. Follow along on Spotify so you're there when it lands, and if you want to know the next time I'm playing a show in Israel (or in the U.S.), get on the mailing list. I'll tell you before anyone else does. There’s also Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

בוא נפזר את מסך הערפל
בוא נעמוד באור ולא בצל
עד מתי נמשיך לברוח
אל משחקים של כוח
מותר לך לבכות לפעמים
כשמשהו נשבר בך בפנים