The Cucumbers: ‘Hello’ Again
Inside the Hoboken legends’ ambitious new project
Back in the early ’80s, when Hoboken was still cheap, scruffy and full of dreamers with guitars, Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried were among the first couples to plant their flag.
As The Cucumbers, their bright, jangly pop tunes and unshakable optimism helped define that era’s local scene. Decades later, after raising kids and navigating the usual suburban detours, they’re still at it — writing, recording and performing with the same warmth and sincerity that’s always been their trademark.
These days, Deena’s been channeling her energy into music while Jon’s turned to fiction, and now the two have joined forces for a wonderfully cross-pollinated project. Jon’s new novella, Hello, George, follows a young music publishing wannabe who discovers a singer-songwriter in the Jersey sticks — a story about creativity, luck and second chances. The companion album, As You Heard Me, features 18 songs by Deena, threading together her heartfelt Americana melodies with the same openhearted humanity that fills Jon’s prose.
We caught up with the couple to talk about the project, the bond between marriage and music, and what keeps their creative spark glowing after all these years.
Chicken or egg question, what came first? Can you explain the genesis of the whole project and how it turned into a novella and an accompanying full-length album? For a while now, it seems like Deena’s been pursuing a solo music career and Jon’s focused on his writing, what was it like having a project that you could work on together?
Jon: When the song “There’s a Crop Circle on My Daddy’s Land,” written by Deena and lyricist Vaughan Daniel, was signed by a Nashville publisher who hoped to turn it into a hit, I started a running joke with Deena about an imaginary country music legend named George Krott who revived his career with that song. At some point, I turned that into a story about him and Daisy Steinberg, a reclusive New Jersey singer-songwriter who, in my fictional world, wrote the song, and Barry Marcus, who helps get the song into George’s hands. The story went on to include other songs by Daisy, all of which were based on demos by Deena over many years, songs I’d always loved and for the most no one has ever heard.
Sometime last year, Deena had the idea for this project: putting out the novella along with an album of the songs mentioned in the novella — a book with music, music with a book. She added, as kind of an album B-side, additional demos — more songs that I’ve loved, for years in some cases, and few people have ever heard. I realized as we were working on this project that it’s largely thanks to Deena’s musical talent that anyone has heard my music over the years and now, largely thanks to Deena’s energy and concept, that people will read this writing of mine. I’m beyond grateful.
Deena: And I am beyond grateful to Jon for writing such a delightful story that included my songs. He basically explained what it is I’ve been doing all these years! I love the title he gave Daisy’s album in the novella, As You Heard Me. Who doesn’t want a sympathetic listener? And, as many musicians might relate, once you have someone listening to your music kindly, you want to throw tons more at them. Hence, ‘Side B’ of the album is “More Songs for Barry.” (Believe me, there’s lots more where that came from…. but we figured that album was too long as it is.)
I’ve been in music for over 45 years and still can’t pretend to completely understand how songwriting royalties work. The narrator of your story doesn’t bother providing granular details about the process, but it’s an important facet of the plot. Was it your assumption that readers would get the gist, or did you think that it just didn’t matter?
Jon: I have to admit that I didn’t think about it. So, the answer, I guess, is both: I assumed readers would get it and it didn’t seem crucial. But I think you’re right and I should have. I would have included a brief rundown of how royalties are split between writers and publishers, often in deals that historically have been awful and exploitative, but in other cases have allowed songwriters for the first time in the long history of songs to get income from their creations. Oh well…maybe in the sequel…
The songs on the album are, in the novella, written by an undiscovered singer/songwriter named Daisy Steinberg. To your credit, they all sound like The Cucumbers to me! Could you talk a little more about the songs? I’m disappointed I don’t hear Jon singing, those girl/boy vocals were my favorite part of The Cucumbers.
Jon: As described above — the demos came first, and I wrote about them in the novella. Deena played and sang every note, except the piano on “Reeling Feeling,” which was played by our son Jesse when he was 13. That includes the banjo on “Crop Circle.” But to my delight, when we do performances to present this project, in addition to me reading from the novella, we’ll be playing many of the songs arranged for guitar, banjo and two voices, as we’ve been performing for several years now…so I get to sing on many of them!
Deena: The songs were written over many years, going way back to 1983 all the way up through 2023. I’ve been writing, experimenting and fooling around in my home studio for decades. I began collaborating with lyricists David Graham and Vaughan Daniel and many of the songs I wrote with them didn’t necessarily fit in with The Cucumbers. It was fun and freeing to just write with them and go in all kinds of directions. That’s how the song “Crop Circle” came about. I don’t think The Cucumbers could have played it (although now we will try to.)
David Graham introduced me to the world of songwriters who weren’t necessarily performers and also began “pitching” (a term I learned from him) our songs (to publishers.) He introduced me to a Nashville music publisher who signed that song which was written with lyricist Vaughan Daniel. They were sure they were going to find a home for it, but they didn’t and the ownership returned to us after five years. Thank you for appreciating the old Cucumbers sound! There will be many more songs with the male/female vocals on our next album! We’re planning a studio recording featuring more of the “classic” Cucumbers sound, picking up where we left off after (2023’s) Old Shoes.
VIDEO: The Cucumbers “One Valentine’s Day”
Whatever the secret to a long and happy marriage might be, you two obviously found it. Any advice for newlyweds or young people thinking about tying the knot?
Jon: My advice to newlyweds is usually a string of cliches: Your partner’s happiness is your happiness, so make them happy — that will make you happy. A good marriage is like a Mobius strip (Really? Did I just say that?). Another one: always aim to do more than your share: that way in the end you’ll probably get close to actually doing your share. And: It really, really helps to want the same things out of life in the long run. For Deena and me, it’s been family first, then music. Housework a distant third. These days, community activism is calling louder and louder.
And what advice do you have for young bands?
Deena: My advice for young bands is to play the music you want to play and find people who inspire you to work with. Say and play what you feel, that is where it’s at. Tend to your muse!
Jon: My advice for bands reflects what Deena has been saying for years about community. Find — or make — your own community, a place for your music to be heard and appreciated. Not always easy for the introverts of this world, but if you go out and hear music you like, you don’t have to sell yourself, just tell your fellow musicians you like what they’re doing. They’ll probably be interested in what you’re doing. As far as making a career in music today, I have no clue.
The novella Hello, George and As You Heard Me: Songs from Hello, George are available at deena.bandcamp.com.
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