"Kugel" was formed in 1997 as "Shawn's Kugel." "Finger Play" is our third CD to be released. With this release we also shortened our name to "Kugel." Shawn Weaver is the leader of the band and he performed with the Klezmer band "The Mazeltones" for 9 years before forming "Kugel" "The Mazeltones" performed traditional Klezmer and a few originals. Klezmer music is best performed as "Simcha Music:" Music that is performed at life cycle events, Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs etc. Instead of just playing the same old Klezmer/Jewish standards over and over again, Shawn writes new original material for life cycle events. Kugel has become one of the top Jewish Bands in the Pacific Northwest. Kugel's 3 CD's are a mix of this original material and arrangements of traditional material.