Who says Hebrew school has to be boring? If you're talented enough, you might be able to get a rock and roll career out of it. That's just what happened for Dan Book and Roger "Clunky" Jacobson, two thirds of the all-Jewish band VooDoo Blue. This spring, the Baltimore-based group (along with drummer Justin Posner) released their debut album Smile N' Nod . Our executive editor Josh Eagle sat down with lead singer Dan Book and found out about VDB's tattoos, life on the road and whether there's any Jewish influence in their music.

You guys have been together as a band since Hebrew school, huh? That's a long time...

Yes, the bass player and I went to Hebrew school together and have known each other since we were three. It's been eight years of playing. And the drummer also went to Hebrew school, but not with us.

Is it true you got your start at a local JCC?

We did a bunch of "Battle of the Bands" at the JCC! No one would let us play clubs, because when you're 14 or 15, they won't even let you in the door. We did not win those battles, sad to say. But it's OK, we don't hold a grudge. We have a record out, and the guys who won probably don't even play together anymore! They're probably businessmen or something. Whatever, I'm not jealous.

How has Judaism influenced the band?

It's really important. It would be crazy to say it's not, because our backgrounds and our families and the way we are as a band is a big part of why we've had success to this point. I wouldn't call us a Jewish band, because we don't write songs about religion or spirituality. However, the fact that we're Jewish has a lot to do with the band we are. We wouldn't have gotten our start if it weren't for our Judaism, because we wouldn't have had an avenue to get our music out there at that age. Justin (the drummer) and I met by playing other people's bar mitzvahs. We definitely embrace [our Judaism] and hope people know it.

So what's up with the current tour?

It's the craziest schedule we've had thus far. I think its 20,000 miles or something. It's not a big deal at this point.

How long did it take you guys to put the whole thing together?

We started writing for the record in November of 2004, and we got our record deal in March 31, 2005, and we started recording in April, and it took us four months to make the record. So essentially we did six months of writing and preproduction, four months of recording, and the record comes out a year after we got our deal.

Did you have any kind of release party?

We did, we had a huge release party at home at our place called the Rec Theatre. It's a 700-person venue, it was ridiculous. That's like our home town room, it's fantastic.

So talk to me a little about who has influenced your sound as a band.

It's an endless list. Because there's like 50 years of music that influences us, and it crosses all genres. The most important bands for us are bands who did it themselves, like the Ramones. I would say one of our biggest inspirations is the Beatles as far as our writing and production goes, because we wanted to make a record that was real in-depth. Hopefully, there's a lot to sink your teeth into. The Police is another band that we really look up to. It's hard to say what our record sounds like, but that's pretty much what we listen to. We listen to a lot of mid-90's, Silverchair, Nirvana. Early Weezer, Green Day.

It's eclectic, it's a good mix.

We try to make every song different, so that everyone could find something in this record and have a different favorite. I think we got that.

Did I notice something that sounded eerily familiar to an Eddie Van Halen riff on "Drowned"?

Yep, you got it. That's a kick back. We do those things on purpose. It's great that you found that, we like to see what people will pick up on. We threw in a lot of these little references to bands that we love.

You played for hip hop mogul Sylvia Rhone ( the current president of Motown Records and the first African-American woman to head a major record company) not too long ago. What was that like?

We played a showcase for Sylvia Rhone. That was an interesting one. Yes, she's cool. She's a cool chick. Last summer we did a showcase for all the majors, and she was part of it. And we got passed on by every single one. That will pretty much give you an idea of how they all went. We did like 25 showcases for different labels and every one of them passed. I'm not afraid to say it because it's the truth. That showcase we were supposed to play at seven, but she didn't show up, so we played the showcase for everyone else who was there, I twisted my ankle in the last song. Everyone really loved it, everyone was flipping out. And then she showed up in a limo and she gets in there and she's like, 'Ok, will you play?" So we had to play again, with a twisted ankle. But I played the set, we finished, she came up. She was a sweetheart, she was like 'you guys were amazing, I really, really liked it.' But at the same time, the same label had a little band out called Jet up on the table and they decided to sign them instead. So, no shame in that, they sold two million records. It's a good story.

What have you learned from being in the business?

I think I've grown up a lot. You get more information quickly and you learn about more important things relative to living in the world and being an artist. It's a gritty business and I think I've learned a lot about people and how to judge character and how to figure out who I want to work with. I learned a lot about numbers (laugh) and adding. I think I've grown up quite a bit, maybe more than your average 22-year-old.

You know I have to ask: how did your folks feel when you got all those tats?

Tattoos are an anomaly as far as the Judaism thing goes. My parents are pretty cool with it. They realize that it's artistic and a way to express ourselves. Plus our parents look at what's normal in our business and what we do, and they get it. If I were working in an office, I'd be more than happy to wear a suit and tie. They definitely were not happy about it in the beginning, though. But you love your kid, so you deal with it.

What about the debate over whether or not tattooed Jews should be buried in a Jewish cemetery?

The only time I even really get looked at is in temple or if I'm at a Jewish restaurant. To be honest with you, my grandmother, she passed away a year ago, but I had a lot of tattoos when she was alive, and she liked them! She did say she wished they were on the wall rather than my arm, but she loved them. And she was 90 and old-school Orthodox!

The song Bobby Know It All is such a fantastic tune. How did you guys come up with it?

Basically, we were at a writing point where we wanted to come up with something different. Jeff Demasjorland, who writes most of the lyrics, wrote a story about a kid named Bobby who is on his computer and gains the ability to download people's information by shaking their hands. [The video] is a very creative mix of cartoon/comic book style with live action, and it's our first acting performance, so it's pretty rad.

So, none of the band members actually have super powers?

No, I'm sorry. Does that upset you?

It's disappointing.

I'm sorry. But we still make some really good music.

What's your favorite song on the record?

My favorite song is Beach Blanket for Boredom . That one's about how when it snows in your suburb, everyone freaks out and panics and buys all the toilet paper in the town. It's very Zeppelin-y. I actually think it's a really Jewish mom type of theme. Your mom buys 18 cartons of milk, and it snows like half an inch. But she's got to be prepared, right?

So talk to me a little about who has influenced your sound as a band?

The most important bands for us are bands who did it themselves, like the Ramones.

What are your hopes for this album?

We just hope that anyone who buys it or burns it loves it. We're a band that's really not so much concerned with the numbers. Because I think you ask a lot of bands and they want to sell a certain amount of records, but us being on an indy label and being a baby band, it's our first album. The way we look at it is: I'd rather sell five records and have nobody return it than sell a thousand and have like 600 people return it because they thought there was only one song that was good and the rest was crap. We really tried to make an album full of good songs, and I think people will take it home and put it in and be like, "Wow, they really worked hard on this record." I think people are going to talk about it, I can't see how it wouldn't spread. We just hope it provides us the status to make a bigger and better second record. As a band, that's really all you can hope for is that you make a better, bigger second record.

No dreams of big fame and glory?

You know, man? A couple years ago, I probably would've said that. The further you get into the business, the more you realize it's a business. [Fame and glory] is only a part of it, like if you're Fallout Boy, for the moment. And God bless 'em and good luck--I really envy them. If we ever get to that level, I think we'll deserve it, but I'm not going to count on it. If you do it for fame and fortune, you are going to miss out on what it's really all about. You've got to love to do it, or it's going to get old way before you "make it big."

What's it like to be on the road?

Crazy, dude! It's everything you think it is. Different places every night, different people. When you're on the road, you kind of want to come home because you want your bed and you want your normalcies. But we're road dogs, that's where we feel comfortable. Living in a van, sleeping in a Walmart.

When you do come home, where do you live?

I live with the 'rents, and I have no shame! I live in the basement, we all do. It's great. It stank before because your parents might get sick of you, but when you're out on the road all the time and you come back, they're like, "Oh, I'll do your laundry and fix your car." We all love our folks!

Check out VDB’s video for Bobby Know-it-All here!:
http://www.punkrockvids.com/voodooblue

Josh hasn't stopped blasting VDB's latest album since he did this interview. While Joelle and Lindsey love the tunes, they're planning a scheme to steal Josh's speakers.