Matisyahu

discovered
God in the

THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

CAMILLE

majestic
landscapes of

Reggae from page 41

the Rocky
"Mountains.

the minions that criss-crossed the
country with the Deadheads'
-favorite band, Phish. Returning
home "burnt out and broke his
parents shipped him out to
straighten him up at an art-
friendly wilderness school in
Bend, Ore., where he worked on
his music and began to perform.
Two years later, he returned to
New York to further his education
at the New School in the city. He
found his way to the spiritually
and musically expansive
Carlebach Shul, which, he writes,
"fueled his soul-fire, turning him
on to the mystical power of song
in Chasidic Judaism!"
His spirituality and musical
proficiency were experiencing growth
spurts at the same time. They came
together in Washington Square Park a
few months later, as explained on his
Web site (www.matismusic.com ):
"While studying at the New School,
Matisyahu wrote a play titled Echad
(One). The play was about a boy who
meets a Chasidic rabbi in Washington
Square Park and through him becomes
religious. Shortly after the play's per-
formance, Matisyahu's life strangely imi-
tated his art. Indeed, years after the ini-
tial sparks were lit, Matisyahu met a
Lubavitch rabbi in the park, spurring
his transformation from Matthew to
Matisyahu."
The meeting motivated him to put his
music aside for a year to study in a
Crown Heights yeshivah where, he says,
he got used to living as an Orthodox.
Jew. He emerged more committed than
ever to go break new musical ground
while remaining committed to Jewish
tradition. Together with his wife, Tahli,
and their 4-month-old baby boy, he
divides his time between writing and
performing and religious study and
observance.

Career Breakthrough
Last year, after the release of his first
album, Shake off the Dust ... Arise!,
Matisyahu told the Boston Globe, "The
rabbi would like me to be in Crown
Heights, sitting in yeshivah and learning
more, but right now my energy is in
music. I have a way to affect people and
uplift them. To give that up is to go
against what God wants."
And, last January, before playing the
Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, he told Real
Detroit, "Musically, the goal is to blow up
as big as possible. Spiritually, it's to stay
humble and to affect people who appre-
ciate it with some type of spiritual issue

FATEFUL ENCOUNTER

OCTOBER 9. 2005 — FEBRUARY 5. 2006

Romeo & Juliet.

Antony & Cleopatra.

Rodin & Claudel.

Among the world's

greatest love affairs,

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one carved in stone.

For tickets call

1.877.DIA.TIXS

— to help inspire people to action and
positive deed!'
A new Matisyahu album, Youth, will
be released at the end of January by-the
musician's new record label, Epic, in
conjunction with his previous labels, Or
Music and J Dub. It will feature a new
version of his hit single "King Without a
Crown" (No. 17 on Billboard's Modern -
Rock chart) from Live at Stubbs (which
peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Top
Reggae Albums chart).
He will again be backed by guitarist
Aaron Dugan, bassist Josh Werner and
drummer Jonah David, as well as his
manager and J Dub Music executive
director and co-founder Aaron Bisman,
who is committed to promoting new
Jewish music and bringing it into the
broader cultural mix.
"It's all truth:' Matisyahu ecumenical-
ly told Hadassah magazine about his
mix of musical and cultural influences.
"As long as something is true, two
truths can work together. Judaism does-
n't own truth, and hip-hop or reggae
don't own truth. There's true things in
music and in different religions, and if
you can find those truths and bring
them out, then they can complement
each other." 0

Matisyahu performs
Thursday, Dec. 29, at St.
Andrews Hall, 431 E.
Congress, in Detroit. Doors
open at 7 p.m. All ages
admitted. General admis-
sion: $17.
For information, call (313)
961-8961; tickets available
through Ticketmaster:
(248) 645-6666.

or visit dia.org

1)IA membership

313.833.7971

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