Matisyahu - just your everyday orthodox Jewish reggae star - wants to 'actually be a light unto other people, and be able to illuminate'
By George Varga
UNION-TRIBUNE POP MUSIC CRITIC
February 16, 2006
Associated Press
If the Grammy Awards introduce a Best Hasidic Reggae & Rap category next year, Matisyahu is sure to be a top contender.
BROOKLYN – If the Grammy Awards introduce a Best Hasidic Reggae & Rap category next year, Matisyahu is sure to be a top contender.
Then again, unless Ziggy Marley converts to Judaism, or the Beastie Boys become a yarmulke-wearing reggae act whose religious zeal centers more on the Holy Land of Jerusalem than Jamaica, Matisyahu will probably be the only contender.
At 26, this maverick musician-cum-missionary is single-handedly exploring and combing the surprisingly compatible rabbinical and Rastafarian traditions that so inspire him.
Or, as Matisyahu sings on “Heights,” an upbeat track from “Live at Stubb's,” his commercial breakout second album: Torah food for my brain / Let it rain 'til I drown / Thunder / Let the blessings come down!
A former Deadhead who cites Bob Marley and Phish among his biggest artistic inspirations, this Pennsylvania-born vocalist, songwriter and bandleader is quickly becoming one of the music world's most unlikely new sensations. His faith-leaping musical approach might sound contrived on paper, but not on record or at his increasingly popular concerts.
“It was very organic, very natural,” Matisyahu said of his bicultural fusion during an interview last month in the Brooklyn office of his publicist. “It wasn't even an intellectual process, of me having a flash moment where I thought: 'Oh, I can do this.' It was just like a part of who I am and what I do.”
Often singing in a Jamaican-tinged patois, he delivers his Psalms-inspired lyrics in both English and Yiddish, and is also accomplished at beat-boxing. He recently quit stage diving into the audience at the end of his shows, however, citing a dictate in the Talmud (a book of Rabbinical teachings that compiles Jewish civil and religious law) that prohibits physical contact between unmarried women and men.
Matisyahu's best songs, such as “Refuge,” “Jerusalem” and the radio favorite “King Without a Crown” (which has been embraced by San Diego alternative-rock station FM 94.9), are lyrically and rhythmically charged. Backed by his polished three-man band, he combines sinewy reggae rhythms and jam-rock guitar licks with timely, if not timeless, messages.
What results is a clean, crisp blend that is inviting, if hardly unique, at least musically speaking. But there is no one else remotely like Matisyahu, who looks more like a rabbi than a rasta and sings like a cross between Bob Marley, Black Uhuru's Michael Rose and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Acutely aware that his music and appearance might suggest a never-aired Adam Sandler skit from TV's “Saturday Night Live,” Matisyahu takes his work very seriously. He is also careful to avoid anything that might hint, however unintentionally, at self-parody.
“Certainly, in Judaism there's also a major role for humor. But I think what I'm doing is not that,” he said. “Because of my being Hasidic, religious, and doing this style of music, which may be on the border of what some people would consider to be humorous, I had to make sure to stay away from that.”
BOB MARLEY MEETS PHISH
Like many disaffected teens searching for meaning in their lives – “At 16, I was pretty much in the midst of a major rebellion,” he recalled – Matisyahu rejected religion when he was younger. Before dropping out of school to follow Phish on the road, he took a trip to Israel and had a spiritual awakening that set him on his current path.
“I was really into music. And even before I was religious, I was connected to the music in Judaism in certain ways,” he said. “Then, I became really religious.”
Matisyahu realizes that his music is unlikely to inspire mass conversions by members of his growing audience. But his uplifting songs have struck a resounding chord with Jewish and non-Jewish listeners alike.
“For sure, the main goal I have is to provide a cathartic experience for my audience,” said Matisyahu, who was born Matthew Miller and stands 6-feet-3.
“I remember the first time I heard a Bob Marley album and the first time I went to a Phish concert, and what an impact it had on me. There's no one within Judaism that I look to, to be inspired by, in terms of music. But in terms of reggae, without a doubt, nearly all reggae artists have some type of religious or spiritual devotion, and they sing about it.”
So does Matisyahu, whose success has been swift. After selling out the 700-capacity Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach twice since last summer, he is now moving up to a much larger venue.
On Monday, Matisyahu will be at the ipayOne Center at Sports Arena to co-headline the 25th annual Bob Marley Day Festival. He'll share the stage with such Jamaican music stalwarts as the Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor and Barrington Levy at the marathon show, a benefit for San Diego's nonprofit World Beat Center.
NEW ALBUM, NEW VISTAS
The ipayOne gig is a prelude to the March 7 release of Matisyahu's third album, “Youth,” to be released in a double-sided DualDisc format (one-side CD, the other DVD) by major label powerhouse Epic. It was produced by Bill Laswell, whose past credits include albums by everyone from Marley, Yellowman and proto-rapper Gil Scott-Heron to Miles Davis, George Clinton and San Diego's Stevie Salas.
Yet, whether he's appearing in a club or an arena, Matisyahu seeks to entertain and elevate his audiences while remaining true to his religious beliefs. And whether he's recording for a tiny company like JDub, which released his 2004 debut, “Shake Off the Dust ... Arise,” or for a worldwide behemoth like Epic (the same label that, at least for now, includes Michael Jackson on its roster), his quest remains the same.
“I just want to reach my potential, do the best that I possibly can do,” he said, sounding not unlike a recruiter for a rabbinical branch of the Marine Corps. “I mean, in terms of being the best vocalist, to reach that potential spiritually – the potential within myself that I'll actually be a light unto other people, and be able to illuminate. And to be able to create those moments that set people off and have them start searching for themselves, and figuring out how to create those moments for themselves.”
In concert, Matisyahu performs in the traditional Hasidic garb – a conservative black suit, white shirt and black brimmed hat – that he wears when worshipping in a temple or while at home with his wife and their 6-month-old son, Laivy Yitzchok.
A devout member of the orthodox Jewish group Lubavitch, Matisyahu adheres to a strict religious discipline that mandates he not perform during the weekly Sabbath (that is, between sundown each Friday and sundown each Saturday).
Such a restriction could put a crimp in the touring schedules of most bands, if not impede their careers. But Matisyahu regards observing the Sabbath as a distinct advantage.
“The big thing is that you have a day where you don't turn on your cell phone, you don't have to call your agent, or travel, or worry about the van getting a flat tire, or paying the tour bus driver,” he said.
“You have a day off, not half a day off, where all you're doing is, you're with your family, or eating with the community and praying, and taking time to take a walk and meditate. That is so important for the survival and success, I feel, of what we're doing. And having to arrive at a town a little earlier, so that we can load in (our equipment) the day before the soundcheck, is irrelevant.”
By George Varga
UNION-TRIBUNE POP MUSIC CRITIC
February 16, 2006
Associated Press
If the Grammy Awards introduce a Best Hasidic Reggae & Rap category next year, Matisyahu is sure to be a top contender.
BROOKLYN – If the Grammy Awards introduce a Best Hasidic Reggae & Rap category next year, Matisyahu is sure to be a top contender.
Then again, unless Ziggy Marley converts to Judaism, or the Beastie Boys become a yarmulke-wearing reggae act whose religious zeal centers more on the Holy Land of Jerusalem than Jamaica, Matisyahu will probably be the only contender.
At 26, this maverick musician-cum-missionary is single-handedly exploring and combing the surprisingly compatible rabbinical and Rastafarian traditions that so inspire him.
Or, as Matisyahu sings on “Heights,” an upbeat track from “Live at Stubb's,” his commercial breakout second album: Torah food for my brain / Let it rain 'til I drown / Thunder / Let the blessings come down!
A former Deadhead who cites Bob Marley and Phish among his biggest artistic inspirations, this Pennsylvania-born vocalist, songwriter and bandleader is quickly becoming one of the music world's most unlikely new sensations. His faith-leaping musical approach might sound contrived on paper, but not on record or at his increasingly popular concerts.
“It was very organic, very natural,” Matisyahu said of his bicultural fusion during an interview last month in the Brooklyn office of his publicist. “It wasn't even an intellectual process, of me having a flash moment where I thought: 'Oh, I can do this.' It was just like a part of who I am and what I do.”
Often singing in a Jamaican-tinged patois, he delivers his Psalms-inspired lyrics in both English and Yiddish, and is also accomplished at beat-boxing. He recently quit stage diving into the audience at the end of his shows, however, citing a dictate in the Talmud (a book of Rabbinical teachings that compiles Jewish civil and religious law) that prohibits physical contact between unmarried women and men.
Matisyahu's best songs, such as “Refuge,” “Jerusalem” and the radio favorite “King Without a Crown” (which has been embraced by San Diego alternative-rock station FM 94.9), are lyrically and rhythmically charged. Backed by his polished three-man band, he combines sinewy reggae rhythms and jam-rock guitar licks with timely, if not timeless, messages.
What results is a clean, crisp blend that is inviting, if hardly unique, at least musically speaking. But there is no one else remotely like Matisyahu, who looks more like a rabbi than a rasta and sings like a cross between Bob Marley, Black Uhuru's Michael Rose and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Acutely aware that his music and appearance might suggest a never-aired Adam Sandler skit from TV's “Saturday Night Live,” Matisyahu takes his work very seriously. He is also careful to avoid anything that might hint, however unintentionally, at self-parody.
“Certainly, in Judaism there's also a major role for humor. But I think what I'm doing is not that,” he said. “Because of my being Hasidic, religious, and doing this style of music, which may be on the border of what some people would consider to be humorous, I had to make sure to stay away from that.”
BOB MARLEY MEETS PHISH
Like many disaffected teens searching for meaning in their lives – “At 16, I was pretty much in the midst of a major rebellion,” he recalled – Matisyahu rejected religion when he was younger. Before dropping out of school to follow Phish on the road, he took a trip to Israel and had a spiritual awakening that set him on his current path.
“I was really into music. And even before I was religious, I was connected to the music in Judaism in certain ways,” he said. “Then, I became really religious.”
Matisyahu realizes that his music is unlikely to inspire mass conversions by members of his growing audience. But his uplifting songs have struck a resounding chord with Jewish and non-Jewish listeners alike.
“For sure, the main goal I have is to provide a cathartic experience for my audience,” said Matisyahu, who was born Matthew Miller and stands 6-feet-3.
“I remember the first time I heard a Bob Marley album and the first time I went to a Phish concert, and what an impact it had on me. There's no one within Judaism that I look to, to be inspired by, in terms of music. But in terms of reggae, without a doubt, nearly all reggae artists have some type of religious or spiritual devotion, and they sing about it.”
So does Matisyahu, whose success has been swift. After selling out the 700-capacity Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach twice since last summer, he is now moving up to a much larger venue.
On Monday, Matisyahu will be at the ipayOne Center at Sports Arena to co-headline the 25th annual Bob Marley Day Festival. He'll share the stage with such Jamaican music stalwarts as the Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor and Barrington Levy at the marathon show, a benefit for San Diego's nonprofit World Beat Center.
NEW ALBUM, NEW VISTAS
The ipayOne gig is a prelude to the March 7 release of Matisyahu's third album, “Youth,” to be released in a double-sided DualDisc format (one-side CD, the other DVD) by major label powerhouse Epic. It was produced by Bill Laswell, whose past credits include albums by everyone from Marley, Yellowman and proto-rapper Gil Scott-Heron to Miles Davis, George Clinton and San Diego's Stevie Salas.
Yet, whether he's appearing in a club or an arena, Matisyahu seeks to entertain and elevate his audiences while remaining true to his religious beliefs. And whether he's recording for a tiny company like JDub, which released his 2004 debut, “Shake Off the Dust ... Arise,” or for a worldwide behemoth like Epic (the same label that, at least for now, includes Michael Jackson on its roster), his quest remains the same.
“I just want to reach my potential, do the best that I possibly can do,” he said, sounding not unlike a recruiter for a rabbinical branch of the Marine Corps. “I mean, in terms of being the best vocalist, to reach that potential spiritually – the potential within myself that I'll actually be a light unto other people, and be able to illuminate. And to be able to create those moments that set people off and have them start searching for themselves, and figuring out how to create those moments for themselves.”
In concert, Matisyahu performs in the traditional Hasidic garb – a conservative black suit, white shirt and black brimmed hat – that he wears when worshipping in a temple or while at home with his wife and their 6-month-old son, Laivy Yitzchok.
A devout member of the orthodox Jewish group Lubavitch, Matisyahu adheres to a strict religious discipline that mandates he not perform during the weekly Sabbath (that is, between sundown each Friday and sundown each Saturday).
Such a restriction could put a crimp in the touring schedules of most bands, if not impede their careers. But Matisyahu regards observing the Sabbath as a distinct advantage.
“The big thing is that you have a day where you don't turn on your cell phone, you don't have to call your agent, or travel, or worry about the van getting a flat tire, or paying the tour bus driver,” he said.
“You have a day off, not half a day off, where all you're doing is, you're with your family, or eating with the community and praying, and taking time to take a walk and meditate. That is so important for the survival and success, I feel, of what we're doing. And having to arrive at a town a little earlier, so that we can load in (our equipment) the day before the soundcheck, is irrelevant.”
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