The Klezmatics really put a spin on klezmer music by updating the sound and then infuses it with social and political commentary. Please explain.

 “Well, when we started on this journey, one of the things that was suggested to us was that we should take the music somewhere else and somehow be more contemporary. Once we had really learned the language of the music, the way we went about that was to put more of ourselves into the music. Rather than be drawn to theater music or nostalgic songs about the old country, which none of us have ever experienced; instead, we were drawn to love songs, sort of socialist anthems. If there were love songs, we would change the gender because for instance, I’m the lead singer and I’m gay. Also, we sing about other issues that are important to us, be it peace, or marijuana (laughing), drinking or things like that. It’s us trying to present ourselves as whole people on the stage, not just people who are playing this music for nostalgia’s sake.”

It seems that the East Village, the very hip and progressive section of Manhattan where the band first came together, has had a hand in the direction the band has taken.

  “Yeah. When the band first started, half of the band was living there, so I think that the kind of energy that was there in the mid-80’s did play a role. There was a kind of inclusive feeling about people experimenting with different kinds of music. Plus, rent was cheap. It was a place where you would just run into people on the street. It was a good place for us to be.”

Does the band see itself as saving a dying art form?

  “Well, you can’t really say it’s a dying language. It’s still spoken in some communities as a daily vernacular language. Not by too many people, but it is still spoken. There’s a saying: ‘If Yiddish is dying, well, it should die for another hundred years.’ So, it’s still being used and there has certainly been a resurgence of interest in Yiddish in the secular community and also the various Conservative and Reform movements. That, I think, has been affected by the Klezmer revival.”

Does the band welcome or dismiss its early slogan as “the planet’s radical Jewish roots band.”

  “Oh, that’s OK, but I think the language sounds a bit dated. It’s always kind of a challenge to come up with ways of describing yourself that is going to mean something to someone. Frankly, it’s not all that radical. At some point that was a good description, but I think it’s time we came up with another one.” (laughing)

The band will soon be releasing a new album titled “Rise Up” (Rounder). Will there be any sort of theme running through the album?

  “No, not really. It kind of runs the gamut from serious dance tunes to homoerotic love songs to Hasidic songs to worker anthems and peace songs. So, it’s our usual kind of mix of different parts of the Yiddish repertoire. If there’s any difference, I would say that there’s a bit more leaning toward Hasidic material, which some of us have been exploring in a project outside of the Klezmatics.”

Wow. I’m curious, is the Hasidic community accepting of homosexuality?

  (Laughing.) “It’s like most questions that you ask Jews, it really depends on who you talk to. But, it’s funny that you should mention that. I mean, if people are going to say we’re radical I think that maybe that’s one way that we are. On the same CD, you can have a homoerotic love song with a zei mir for Shabbes (Yiddish for ‘be well on Sabbath’). It really does kind of reflect the all the different ways we go with the culture in our own lives. Maybe it’s a head scratcher for other people, but for us it seems kind of natural. It’s just who we are.”

 The Klezmatics perform at 8p.m., Nov. 30 at the Emelin Theater, Library Lane, Mamaroneck. 914-698-0098. 28$