THE DORONS

The Rosenfields don’t go on family vacations these days. Instead, they book studio time. Known professionally as the Dorons, the Rosenfield family is a four-piece band made up of seasoned pros and formally trained musicians specializing in thought-provoking Indie rock. The Providence, Rhode Island-based quartet features a mom, a dad, and two brothers. 

“Never in a million years did I dream I would be in a band with my wife and our two sons. It’s such a joy — everyone in our group is passionate about the music, and they each make great contributions to the band,” says Norman Rosenfield, lead guitarist and dad.  

Yosef Rosenfield, lead singer and rhythm guitarist, reflects, “I am the only person I know who gets to play his favorite songs he grew up listening to and record them as original music. Being able to sing these songs means so much to me.” After a series of singles, the Dorons step forward with their stunning debut, the playfully titled 11-song album, The Doronic Verses.  

The Dorons also features drummer, songwriter, and mom, Janice Kaidan, as well as bassist, older son, and Atlanta-based attorney, Aryeh Rosenfield.  

The music of the Dorons evokes 21st-century folk-rock, singer-songwriter, and alt-rock styles with searing lead guitar playing, impassioned vocals, sage and sensitive lyrics, earworm hooks, and a stirring acoustic-rock foundation. Their songs also contain nuanced rhythm section interplay. 

The band’s evocative name is fascinatingly layered. It references the Doors and the bittersweet minor scale, the Dorian mode, plus it hilariously rhymes with “morons.” Additionally, the word “dor” in Hebrew means “generation,” which speaks to the multigenerational nature of the band.  

The band unofficially came together back in 2017 when older brother Aryeh, then a music major in college, had a senior recital and decided to recruit his family to play with him for the occasion. Mom and dad had retired as performing musicians, previously vets of the '80s and '90s Boston alt-rock scene. Younger brother Yosef had only been playing guitar for three years. 

Nonetheless, the band played a daunting multi-album-themed set covering iconic releases by the Clash, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. “It took a lot of chutzpah to replicate those artists,” Norman quips.  

The four-piece band’s formation was almost fated. Though mom and dad had retired from making music — burnt out from the grind of gigging, coupled with the demands of making a living and raising three children — the Rosenfield household was still saturated with music, from Bach to the Beatles. In fact, Thursday night car rides featured top 20 countdowns from the '60s and '70s.  

When little brother Yosef decided to follow in Aryeh’s footsteps in 2020 as a music major, planning his senior recital, he opted to perform music from his parents’ vast catalog as professional musicians. This concert prompted the Rosenfields to record songs for their debut album. “It seemed like a waste after all that preparation to not do more as a band,” Norman says.  

The Doronic Verses is a tight 11-song album of carefully crafted contemporary rock, shaded with singer-songwriter intimacy, country flourishes, and blues-rock urgency. The acoustic-rocker song “This New Poison” is a freshly penned original written by Yosef and Janice, and it boasts a Greta Van Fleet-esque swagger, replete with smoldering bluesy lead guitar. This track was interesting for Yosef to sing because its lyrics — penned by his mother, Janice — portray an opinion that Yosef does not hold. “It was a unique challenge to get into a mindset that ran counter to my own beliefs, but that song ended up being my favorite song on the album,” Yosef says.  

The catchy pop rock tune “Not the Usual Fare” features acoustic guitar layered with chiming electric guitar, along with overlapping “call-and-response” backing vocals. “I wrote that song years ago about my brother, who was autistic, during a time when society and the medical profession didn’t understand the condition. He was a beautiful soul and loved music, and he ended up being institutionalized,” Janice says. Her words here in this song are viscerally emotive, and one standout passage includes the lines:  

"Don’t let them put you in seclusion, Don’t let them put you on a rack, They just think punishment’s the answer  when you don’t travel on their track" 

The lushly layered ballad “Precious Pain” is a song of loving disagreement with heartfelt lyrics including:  

"All the world’s a stage and you prefer to play the victim    Such a satisfying system when it’s you who keeps the keys to your cage" 

Up next, the Dorons will be recording and performing more, if Norman has any say in the matter. “I know I won’t have to twist arms too hard to do some summer performances and go back in the studio,” he says with a good-natured laugh. Yosef, for one, won’t need too much convincing. “The studio for me was the most meaningful part of the experience. We were all in sync, and that element of communal flow just felt euphoric,” Yosef marvels. “I’m excited to do more!”