Name four great Hanukkah songs. Not easy, huh? Even the great Jewish songwriters, from Irving Berlin to Lieber and Stoller, only wrote Christmas songs. The Festival of Lights could really use some tunes! Enter two nice Jewish guys to heed the call. Adam Gardner (GUSTER) and Dave Schneider (THE ZAMBONIS) joined forces in 2005 and started a band called The LeeVees. They wrote four songs about Hanukkah and were quickly signed to a record deal. “Channukah Rocks” was released on Warner Bros/Reprise Records and so began the amazing journey of The LeeVees. Creator of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Bob Boilen said “the best holiday record of the decade without question”. December 2023 was a career highlight. The LeeVees played the prestigious NPR TINY DESK CONCERT. Not only did the band showcase their joyous vibe and songs but recently retired show creator and huge LeeVees fan Bob Boilen came out of retirement to introduce the group for the special episode. But wait, PBS SPECIAL December 2024! A one hour long PBS Hanukkah Special featured Interviews with Adam and Dave, exclusive live performances and featured five LeeVees tunes.
The band has toured extensively with The Barenaked Ladies, Matisyahu and Guster. They performed with The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall as well as doing plenty of tours of their own. The classic TV show “Grey’s Anatomy” featured three LeeVees tunes and their catchy hilarious rocker “Goyim Friends” was used on Family Guy offshoot “The Cleveland Show”. 2025 will see a special 20th Anniversary vinyl only release of “Chanukkah Rocks” with extra Tracks including a brand new just recorded beauty titled “Fill It Up”.