A couple of weeks ago, a lot of buzz was going around Allderdice due to new flyers that were put up throughout the hallways and stairwells. The signs read: Interfaith Band, and under that, it said, "Performances by Bobby Barracuda Cuda and Sal Stressman on March 20th." Obviously, I had to investigate this matter. I was able to speak to both students and staff who either knew about the band or attended the performance themselves.
The first teacher I had a chance to talk with was Mr. Saltenbrand. When I asked if he knew how this band came about, he replied, “Well, a couple of months ago, we had a staff meeting. While we were waiting for it to begin, we were chatting about what was more fun to do, karate or making bagels. Bobby advocated karate deeply, while Sal protested for bagels. The disagreement got quite heated, and in the spur of the moment, Bobby accused Sal of being the person who stole his bible off his desk the day before, and therefore is the reason he could not hold Bible club. Sal was appalled by the accusation since he was in his room after school supervising the Jewish Student Union meeting. Long story short, the argument escalated, and it ended up with Sal pinning Bobby down on the floor and yelling, ‘Look who the real karate master is now!’ McCoy had to split them up himself, and to have no further altercation occur, he ordered them to stay in a room together until they made up. Naturally, we all thought this was a dumb idea, but after we resumed our staff meeting about 30 minutes later, we heard them humming and singing together. This essentially birthed their interfaith band.”
A senior student who was staying after school for a mock trial claims, “I was walking to the bathroom when I heard some noise coming from a classroom on the fourth floor. It started with someone singing what sounded like a worship song and the other humming along. Then it switched to one of them singing what I believe to be the Jewish prayer called Adon Olam. I peeked through the window of the classroom, and I saw Mr. Barracuda standing up, clapping his hands, and Mr. Stressman sitting down on a stool and tapping it. They seemed to be having a wonderful time.”
From there, it seemed like the two had hit it off. No one knows exactly how their musical talents came about during their reconciliation; however, since then, the two have been reportedly inseparable. Several staff members have informed me that they typically stay after school three to four times a week to practice. Ms. Castrate said, “They even brought in their guitars. I could hear them teaching each other different songs from each of their faiths. They kept practicing the same few songs, and I knew when they finished the set perfectly because Mr. Stressman would hop onto Mr. Barracuda’s back and do a victory lap down the third-floor annex and back. Bobby would be shouting out ‘Baruch Hashem!’ while Sal yelled ‘Praise the Lord! They particularly got excited when Sal nailed Jesus Paid It All.’”
A junior member of the Allderdice Bible club informed me that they would hold joint meetings for both the JSU and Bible club to do practice performances. The student commented, “I never thought I would spend hours after school listening to Mr. Stressman sing about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but there he was doing it while Mr. Barracuda was doing what seemed like interpretive karate/dance moves in the background while humming along. It was a sight to see!”
Eventually, both Mr. Stressman and Mr. Barracuda felt ready to perform. They began putting up flyers in the hallway and offering extra credit to the students who would attend their show. The morning show was to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral, while the evening show was to be held at Temple Sinai. Many students attended the show and were more than willing to share both their accounts of the performance and their thoughts of it with me.
One junior said, “I went to the morning show, and it was surprisingly moving. I am not a religious person, but after seeing that, I felt engulfed in the beauty of both Christianity and Judaism. At the end of the performance, they got up and hugged each other, and I heard Mr. Cuda whisper to Mr. Straussman, ‘I love you, brother,’ while a tear rolled down his cheek.”
Another junior attended the morning show and commented, “I was not expecting this duo, but it was really good. I specifically enjoyed Mr. Barracuda’s rendition of the Jewish morning prayer, Modeh Ani. He recited it beautifully, while Mr. Stressman’s backing vocals and guitar were delightful. Then Mr. Stressman got up and belted out Jesus Christ is Risen Today. It was truly impeccable. ”
A senior had a chance to attend the night show and said, “It was something else. Rumors were swirling around that they were not going to perform the evening show because they weren’t feeling well. Yet, they still showed up and put on quite a show. Mr. Stressman was wearing a mask, while Mr. Barracuda was belting out the lyrics of Aleinu without a mask. However, this did not stop them from having a good time. Mr. Stressman even pulled down his mask for a second to take a celebratory shot with Mr. Barracuda before performing his version of Jesus, Friend of Sinners. It was excellent.”
The next day, it was revealed that both Mr. Barracuda and Mr. Stressman tested positive for COVID-19. Yet, regardless, I was informed by both of them that their journey together as a band was the most fulfilling experience of their careers. So be sure to check out their next performance (once they recover from covid) on April 17th!
