A Feb. 19 Arts article about the reggae singer Matisyahu incorrectly identified Aaron Dugan as the bass player/keyboardist and co-writer in Matisyahu's band. Josh Werner is the group's bass player and co-writer.
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Funny, He Doesn't Look Jamaican
Still, he says, he's not out to convert anyone with his music. He's just journaling his life experiences through his lyrics. He started performing as Matisyahu (a Hebrew version of "Matthew") in 2002, and early in this incarnation he decided that he didn't want to be put in a religious box, playing acoustically challenged auditoriums at the local JCC. There was easy money to be made performing for Jewish organizations; instead, he chose performing at secular clubs starting in 2002 for "100 bucks a night." It hurt his pocket, but that was the way it had to be.
After all, he says, Orthodox Judaism was never meant to separate you from the world.
  Matisyahu has fused music and religion in a highly unorthodox -- er, make that orthodox -- way. (By Helayne Seidman For The Washington Post) Save & Share |
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"You embrace life," he says, "while living a powerful, elevated lifestyle."
"I don't see myself as a religious musician," Matisyahu says. "I'm not trying to make myself more marketable or more mainstream. My music, and my message, is more marketable. It's emet , it's truth. And I feel like that's for everybody. It's just a matter of getting it out there."
Getting it out there is the task of his management team, Jacob Harris and Aaron Bisman of J-Dub Records.
At first, Harris says, when they laid out Matisyahu's rules of engagements to concert booking agents -- no Friday night shows or Saturday matinees -- they were told, "Good luck to you." Since he wouldn't play the two nights when it's easiest to fill a house, his guarantees -- the flat performance fees based on promoters' estimates of how many tickets they could sell -- were half what they could have been. But bit by bit, thanks largely to the word of mouth of the college crowd, he built an audience. The sold-out shows led to a record deal with Epic last year. Now, Matisyahu's in demand, but his managers are careful about overexposure. They checked out the reggae/rap careers of one-hit wonders like Afroman ("Because I Got High") and Snow ("The Informer"). They decided that wouldn't be the fate of "Matis." He wouldn't be a novelty act.
In other words, "we've taken a hard line on marketing," Harris says. They turn down a lot: A Burger King commercial, because he didn't want to promote non-kosher food. Reality TV shows. Howard Stern.
"People want him to make fun of himself," Harris says, "and it's just not going to happen."
"He's not a rapping rabbi," he adds. "He's a reggae singer and he mixes in rock and hip-hop. He's a Hasidic individual, a spiritual individual."
Descended to the pit
What's this feeling can't get rid of it
Soul sick
