Teapacks


Teapacks is an Israeli band that formed in 1988 as HaHotzaa La'Poal in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Originally the band was named after the correction fluid Tipp-Ex, but in 1995 the transliteration was changed so as not to infringe on the well-known brand, while keeping the pronunciation and spelling in Hebrew the same.
Each member of the band has a diverse background, and as a whole the band has Tunisian, Moroccan, Bulgarian, Romanian, Syrian, Polish, Russian, and Yemenite heritage. Teapacks gained popularity by bringing forward traditional Israeli-oriental music combined with light humorous hints. The band leader, Kobi Oz, is well known within Israel for his eccentric looks and style. The band has released eight albums plus a greatest hits collection, which collectively have sold over 300,000 copies. Teapacks has been chosen “Band of the Year” numerous times by Israeli radio stations.

History

Early years: 1988-1994

HaHotzaa LaPoal began on 6 November 1988 when vocalist/keyboardist Kobi Oz and bassist Gal Peremen met at a kibbutz in southern Israel. They began playing songs written by Oz and were soon joined by guitarist Einav Cohen and drummer Tamir Yemini. The group held their first concert at Kibbutz Dorot in December 1988. They released two singles, "Silonim" and "Lispor kvasim", in 1988 and 1989 respectively, under Oz' name. In 1989, Yemini and Cohen left HaHotzaa LaPoal and were replaced by Yoav Nagar and Ram Yosifov. Later that year, the group changed their name to Tipex and released a five-song demo tape. According to Oz, the name symbolized "wip out differences between people". They performed the songs "Lispor kvasim" and "Im yipol gorale" at a festival in February 1990.
In September that year, the band, comprising Oz, Peremen, Cohen and Nagar, recorded two songs, "Haavel" and "Boi Elai". At the end of that year, Yosifov returned to Tipex, replacing Cohen. To this day, Oz, Peremen and Yosifov remain the sole constant members of the band since 1991 and are often identified with the band. In 1991, Nagar left the group and was replaced by Avinoam Marton. This lineup released their debut album Shvil klipot hagarinim in September 1992, featuring the hit single "Harabi Joe Capara". They were midway through recording the followup, Haacharon baasiron hatachton, when Yemini returned to the band, replacing Marton. The album was released in November 1993 featuring the hits "Betoch niyar eiton", "Zmanim ktanim" and "Anana".

First success and departure of Yemini: 1995-1998

In 1995, the group renamed themselves initially to Tea Packs, due to Oz finding out that people were using Tipp-Ex fluid as a recreational drug, and released their third album, Hachaim shelcha belafa. It featured the singles "Ma asit?", "Yesh li chavera", "Vehapam shir ahava" and "Hatachana hayeshana". The following year, the group recorded the soundtrack to the hit comedy film Dogs are Colour Blind. Oz also shaved his head.
Neshika ladod, the group's fifth album, was released in 1997, featuring the singles "Lama halacht mimenu", "Stam" and "Eize olam". Yemini left the group after the tour to support the album. He was replaced with Motti Yosef. The group also took on Dani Aberjel as second guitarist, Noam Yankelevich as keyboardist and Meir "Big M" Amar as DJ, sampler and sound engineer. This is the lineup of Teapacks most recognised outside Israel, since they performed at Eurovision 2007.

Later years: 1999-2007

The first release with this lineup was "Disko menayak", with the hits "Sami veSomo", "Shalosh balayla" and "Kshani eitcha ani kemo dag". In 2001, they released Yoshvim bebeit kafe, from which the title track and "Kemo lifnei 20 shana" were released as singles.
In 2002, the band released the non-album single "Avaryan tzatzua", a tie-in song to Oz' book of the same name, which was released concurrently with the song. The following year, they released the non-album singles "Hayamim haacherim" and "Kol yom ani kimaat".
In June 2003, Teapacks released the single "Rikudei amba" and their greatest hits album Kol halehitim, featuring a bonus disc Haosef Haalternateapacks containing "Avaryan tzatzua", "Kol yom ani kimaat", five more songs from their albums and five remixes. Kol halehitim also featured a cover of the Israeli national anthem Hatikva, performed with Sarit Hadad. A Russian version of "Rikudei amba", "Tantsuyem amba", was also recorded, being released for free from the Teapacks website at that time and as a B-side to a promotional single.
In 2005, the group released the non-album single "Sof hashavua masiba". The following year, they released the album Radio/Musika/Ivrit, featuring the singles "Kluv shel zahav" and "Perach ha-shchunot". The song "Hora nadlanim' was also translated into English and released as "Money Trees Forever".

Eurovision and breakup: 2007-2009

On 7 January 2007, Teapacks were internally selected by IBA's Eurovision Committee to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Helsinki, Finland. On 27 February 2007, Teapacks performed four songs, "Push the Button", "Salam Salami", "12 Points" and "Voulez Vous", in a TV special. "Push the Button" was chosen as the Israeli entry for the 2007 Eurovision Contest by popular vote.
The band performed "Push the Button" at the Eurovision Semi Finals on 10 May 2007, but it failed to qualify for the finals. The song was controversial because of references to Iran and nuclear war.
Teapacks officially disbanded on 1 January 2009. In an interview with Mako on 10 November 2008, Oz stated that the three constant members had become tired of working together. During their breakup, Oz released two solo albums, Mizmorei nevochim and Mizmorim nosafim, while Yosifov concentrated on teaching guitar and collaborated with Moran Cohen-Talmor on several albums.

Reunion and return of Yemini: 2014-present

In 2014, Teapacks reformed and began to tour. Their latest album, Avodat kapayim, was released in September 2016, preceded by the singles "Mi haprovintsial", "Tsemed ayalot", "Layla layla tov, "Avodat kapayim" and "Lo haya lano klum". Yemini also returned to Teapacks, but during his time away from them, he had become an Orthodox Jew. Due to this, when the video to "Mi haprovintzial" was filmed in February 2016, he was replaced with Motti Yosef. Oz explained in an interview with Israel Hayom the rabbinical hoops the band had to jump through to keep performing with Yemini. The live show since 2014 features a PowerPoint presentation with the lyrics running behind the band, synced with the songs. This is a habit Oz brought to the group from his solo work - new band members Adam Mader, Sefi Hirsch, Shachar Yampolsky, Danielle Krief and Noam Chen all played in Oz' solo band and joined Teapacks in 2014.
A website called ooooiiii.com, featuring the chorus of "Harabi Joe Capara" on a loop, was created in 2006 and became popular in 2011 after being featured on Vsauce.

Discography

Studio albums

Current lineup