Between December 1 and December 28, our neighborhood will play host to a unique ethno-cultural music retail experience. That’s because the excellent Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation plans to open Tivka Records, a pop-up 1950’s-style Jewish record store, right here in Bernalwood (!), at 3191 Mission Street, just north of Valencia in the space next to Queen’s Nails:

The store will feature an eclectic series of exclusive live music performances, film screenings, academic lectures, comedians, remix workshops, food trucks, and more.

Special events will emulate the historical and cultural significance of Tikva Records – NYC’s most prolific Jewish record label of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Events will explore the Jewish American songbook, and Jewish culture in general, interpreted by some of today’s brightest performers, comedians, musicians and lecturers. Rare vinyl from select Jewish musicians of the past 80 years will be sold at the new Tikva Records, and we will have all of our latest album releases for sale.

This will be a terrific (but fleeting) opportunity to check out some interesting music drawn from a few unusual corners of the Jewish-American experience. The name Tikva Records alludes to a Jewish-themed record label by the same name that was sometimes described as the “Jewish Motown.”

In other words: “Fiddler on the Roof,” this is not. Consider the example of The Sabras, who recorded with Tikva Records…

Archive.org explains:

By far the most coveted cult album from the Tikva catalog is 1967’s Jerusalem of Gold, the only release from Hebrew reverb specialists The Sabras. Though they formed in New York City with one American and three Israeli members, the band took their name from the tough Israeli prickly pear cactus that had become the familiar Zionist handle for Jews born on Israeli soil. The cover makes the quartet look like a Vegas novelty act (wide-collared, chest-hair-bearing gold lame shirts, an Ottoman handlebar moustache, electric guitar poses, a dumbek over the knee), but what’s inside is a bit more serious: twelve slices of fuzzed out diaspora garage rock. They are at their tightest on the lean and mean “Ho Yaldonet” (“O Little Girl”).

Listen to it right here:

Remember, Tikva Records will only be open for a month, so don’t dawdle. Likewise, don’t don’t miss the impressive schedule of events they’ve got on tap; lectures, listenings, comedy, food trucks, and more. Dayenu!

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics