In an age where Social Darwinism has trickled down and sucked light from the world as if it was a vampirous straw, Matisyahu lights many candles with his Festival of Lights show.  Many entertainers can offer a musical ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, but not many are tightrope walkers in terms of taking career chances for the sake of art. Without a net, this hip hop-reggae-beat box Chassid has his followers dancing in line behind him, only to emerge sheared and clean shaved and reborn.  This may well be the boldest risk that an entertainer has taken since Kiss removed their makeup, but this has far deeper potential reverberations.  It is not often that an entertainer does something as dangerous to a safe niche as Bob Dylan did ‘going electric’, or engaging on a Gospel tour.  Many entertainers would drool over having such a loyal fan base, and would faint at the potential downside of such a move possibly alienating them.  These implications speak to honesty of motivation, and indifference as to whether the art at hand simply fills seats.  The music actually being superb  here is almost a bonus, as the integrity of the performer is in itself a welcome billboard advertising depth in the often shallow entertainment industry in this present age.     

Matthew Paul Miller was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and moved to White Plains, New York. In what seems quite the twist of symbolic fate, the singer finished high school in a wilderness program in Bend, Oregon.  The music of Phish drew the teenager in, and their jam band community expanded his spiritual awareness. Searching for boundaries to reign himself in Matisyahu embraced the Torah, and observed the strict teachings of the Chassid community. The seeming paradox of these two influences resulted in the birth of the artist who has created quite a unique niche.  The synthesis of these beliefs has been released in his art, which is not just quite like any other under the sun. He has said in the past that his music speaks to soldiers, cancer patients, and drug addicts, yet people can have fun and even dance to it. This Sunday (Dec. 21st) the singer will perform an acoustic show at the Paramount in Huntington, New York (Get Tix Here). The evening will feature acoustic versions of his hits, and acoustic treatments from his latest release Akeda. Live For Live Music asked Matisyahu some questions, and he was rather insightful in his responses. 

 

L4LM: Any thoughts on coming back to the Paramount for this show? Will it be different from the last time?                        

MATISYAHU: This time it will be an acoustic Hanukkah show.  There will be some new songs, and some of the standards.

L4LM: The title to your album is Akeda, which translates as ‘binding’.  Abraham was called to leave a comfortable existence to follow the voice of God. I wonder how we can shed our bindings today, and be brave enough for the struggle?

MATISYAHU: Everyone has their own personal struggles, however big or small that they are.  We attach ourselves to certain things, such as habits, lifestyle, ideas, and ideologies.  A person needs to shed these bindings through sacrifice, and start fresh.  We all need fresh ideas. 

L4LM: When we look at the last part of John Lennon’s life, he was seemingly on a journey, where he was shedding his bindings.  No song from Double Fantasy spoke more to that concept than ‘Watching the Wheels.’  Is that why you chose that one to cover?

MATISYAHU: Yeah, that actually is a coincidence.  I was given a list of songs to choose from, but that may have been intuitive.  It does resonate.

L4LM: You played at Bonnaroo with Trey Anastasio in a memorable performance.  Can you share some memories of that show?

MATISYAHU: Playing with Trey was like my dream. That was 2005.  We were on the main stage on Saturday Night.  This was a huge, surreal moment in my life. This performance boosted my career.  He is my favorite guitar player.  I have to emphasize that I really hope to play with Trey again.

L4LM: I heard you once say that your music is only entertainment.  It’s funny, I heard Bob Dylan say that he was only a song and dance man.  With the concepts permeating the songs from either of you, it is hard to conceive it as ‘only entertainment’.

MATISYAHU: Well, Dylan would have to answer that in that way. I especially like ‘Hurricane’ by him, about the boxer Rubin Carter, and that brilliant string of albums he did in the sixties.  Dylan is a real searcher, and he was not afraid to follow his creative instincts.  Regardless of what people may have said, he followed his vision. 

L4LM: Some people badly try to come off as Dylan-esque. You two naturally seem to have many things in common, and it seems quite unforced.

MATISYAHU: I heard a story from a friend of mine.  Dylan came into a Yeshiva in Crown Heights.  He stayed for a day, asking a rabbi all about the meaning of the letter ‘Aleph,’ the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  He stayed for the whole day, and left and then never came back.

L4LM: Dylan is like the wind, he blows where and when he wishes.  How did you get into Phish?

MATISYAHU: When I was sixteen, I had gone to my first Phish show at The Centrum.  Phish is a piece in my search.  That is about truth and beauty in music.  Improvisation is such an important part of the experience.  For me, it was like going to church.

L4LM: What qualities do you seek in your music?

MATISYAHU: I want to make the ideas in the songs represent something timeless.  It is important to capture simplicity and humility, and to not try and make something bigger than it is. 

L4LM: You speak of Godly sparks. What are they?

MATISYAHU: Searching for Godly sparks in the world.  When you find them, connect with them.  You use them to elevate yourself, and look for Godliness in other people.  The sparks are truth. 

L4LM: How is Akeda sitting with you with the record done, and now you are taking it on the road?

MATISYAHU: To me, Akeda is my most mature songwriting. This is my favorite record of the ones that I’ve done. This album has a depth of quality, as opposed to quantity. 

L4LM: How do you find the acoustic shows going?

MATISYAHU: The acoustic shows are really special.  They are really strapped back.  The real dynamics that I love about music are here. All the things I love about music are here.

L4LM: How do you handle some of the criticism your changes have engendered?

MATISYAHU: Not everybody is an artist.  The way that I listen to music is not a surface thing. Outward changes weeded out some of the fan base.  Those people judged me, sixty to seventy percent of my fans were not necessarily into the music.  Many of them seemed to be only into the outward appearance that I had at a certain point in time. 

L4LM: Have you ever read the Book of Galatians, where St. Paul is preaching about the need for grace and freedom, based in love?  There is a man who really broke away from tradition, and really traveled a heavy road afterward at times.

MATISYAHU: I did find freedom through discipline and rules.  It did help me to better myself in some ways, with things that needed work. It was a weight off my shoulders, and it gave me a zest for life when I cut my hair and shaved later.  I felt a reconnection with real freedom.  It is a really redemptive feeling, and it should play out in the songs.

*** Matisyahu will play Huntington, NY this coming Sunday, Dec. 21st as part of The Paramount Jam Series. Purchase tickets for the show HERE. ***

 

– Written by Bob Wilson 

(with a special thanks to Jeremy Hagy for his help).

 

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