The first time I caught Matisyahu \u2014 Christmas Eve, 2003 at a club in Brooklyn \u2014 he was like nothing I\u2019d ever seen. And musically, I\u2019d seen a lot: a heavy metal barbershop quartet; a bluegrass jazz combo led by a Tuvan throat singer; a guy who played John Coltrane\u2019s \u201cGiant Steps\u201d on a dental dam. But Matisyahu represented an even less likely amalgam. He was a Hasidic Jewish reggae singer, arguably the first and only one on earth. (Quick ethnographic aside: Hasidism is an ultra-observant, religiously conservative sect of Judaism originating in 18th century Eastern Europe; reggae is a genre of pop music with roots in 1960s Jamaica).<\/p>\n
More Talmudic scholar than front-man, Matisyahu took the stage in full Hasidic regalia \u2014 black suit, black hat, black overcoat, long beard and ear-locks (\u201cpeyos\u201d in Hebrew). But once the band kicked in, rabbi could shred, alternating between chant-like roots reggae and a more frenetic \u201cdub\u201d style, except with lyrics about the return of \u201cMoshiach\u201d (the Messiah). He sang in Hebrew, Yiddish and even Aramaic. He beat-boxed like a boss. He lit a menorah (it was also Hanukkah). And he danced wildly, with a hand tightly clamped to his \u201cyarmulke\u201d in gesticulations simultaneously evocative of Soul Train and Fiddler on the Roof.<\/p>\n
Naturally, I thought he\u2019d make a great magazine pitch; an editor for the \u201cNew Yorker\u201d agreed. So I arranged to meet Matisyahu \u2014 he was 24 at the time and still in yeshiva (religious school); I was 27 \u2014 and we whiled away an afternoon at 770 Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubovitch Hasidic movement. We discussed the respective influence of Bob Marley and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach on Matisyahu\u2019s music; we compared Judaism and Rastafarianism, which share surprising similarities (e.g. dietary codes, Star of David imagery, a cultural longing for \u201cZion\u201d); we drank coffee. Then I spent the next six months writing and revising a 1000-word article.<\/p>\n
The rest, as they say, is history. Matisyahu went on to become a Grammy-nominated musician, releasing four studio recordings, two live albums and, about a year after I met him, the Top 40 single \u201cKing Without a Crown.\u201d He\u2019s toured the globe and headlined festivals. \u201cEsquire\u201d magazine once called him \u201cthe most intriguing reggae artist in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
My \u201cNew Yorker\u201d piece, on the other hand, ultimately got bumped in favor of a different profile about a rapping imam. And then I moved to Alaska. C\u2019est la vie (or, as they say in Hebrew, \u201celeh ha-chaim\u201d).<\/p>\n
Well, now, more than ten years later, our paths cross again \u2014 in Juneau, of all places \u2014 as Matisyahu opens the Juneau Arts & Humanities 2016-17 season at Centennial Hall this coming Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Co-sponsored by KTOO\/KRNN\/KXLL, he and guitarist Aaron Dugan bring a stripped-down acoustic version of the full touring act, which next heads to the One Love Experience in California followed by a performance at the Sultan\u2019s Pool in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\u201cFiguring out the logistics was a real headache,\u201d said Cheryl Snyder, KTOO Assistant General Manager for Arts and Culture and a self-confessed fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we were determined to bring Matisyahu up here,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s such a unique artist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u2019s something else I should mention, which lends him yet another level of complexity: Matisyahu isn\u2019t Hasidic anymore. Actually, there\u2019s something else I should mention: he didn\u2019t start out Hasidic, either. Like me, Matisyahu originally hails from a secular Jewish family in suburban New York; he first came to Hasidism in his early twenties as a \u201cbaal teshuva,\u201d or convert.<\/p>\n
In fact, Matisyahu (given name Matthew Miller) broke with the movement in 2011, posting a selfie to Twitter in which he appeared without his trademark beard. He\u2019s been clean-shaven pretty much ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see it as leaving [Hasidism], exactly,\u201d Matisyahu told me last week via email. Another difference between then and now: he wasn\u2019t nearly as easy to track down for an interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you dedicate, sacrifice and give yourself over to something, it becomes a permanent part of who you are as a person,\u201d he continued. \u201cIn that way, Judaism and \u2018hasidishkite\u2019 will always be part of my whole being, my essence, for as long I live.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, strict adherence to religious law certainly must have complicated the life of a rock star. For instance, observance of the Sabbath precluded performing after sundown on Friday nights. Interesting tidbit: Matisyahu once made an exception to this rule during a 2007 tour in Alaska, because the sun didn\u2019t set until 2 a.m.<\/p>\n
This trip to the Last Frontier features no such restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though it\u2019s far away, I like the idea of coming to Alaska again,\u201d he said. \u201cI know I have fans up there, and fans want to hear the music. I look forward to giving it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of press time, Matisyahu at Centennial Hall is sold out. However, people are encouraged to show up at 6:30 p.m. to sign the waitlist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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