Reminder: Matisyahu Performing in Santa Cruz in One Month

That's right, Jewish slugs, just a reminder that in 30 days, Chassidic Reggae superstar Matisyahu will be gracing the stage of our fine Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium during a night of Bob Marley celebration. Seriously, if you haven't seen him perform yet, you're missing out. And word on the street is, he might be stopping by the Chabad House after his performance to chat with students.

As you may or may not know, Matisyahu didn't grow up an Orthodox Jew. In fact, he grew up mostly secular like many of the students at UCSC. For a while, he was what we might call a hippy, following the band Phish around, and eventually got into reggae. He said he developed his beat-box skills at parties, just beat-boxing with his friends like people sometimes do after a few beers. But he just has more skill than the average party beat-boxer, and now he actually gets paid to do it. Eventually Matisyahu felt an emptiness in his life, like a vessel waiting to be filled, and followed a winding path that eventually led to a Torah-observant lifestyle. The clip below is one of the best videotaped interviews I've seen with Matis so far, where he divulges his colorful past.



To buy tickets to the Santa Cruz show, click here. You have to register if you're not already a member (registration is free). I also want to remind everyone that JewniProj's exclusive Matisyahu MP3 from his upcoming album 'Youth' is still available for download here along with the lyrics.

Oh, and one more thing while we're on the topic of reggae/Bob Marley: This Thursday night, January 26 2006, is, well, I don't know if I can call it a debate, maybe more like a rally for legalizing marijuana. No, jay kay, it's called a discussion. Entitled Legalize it? Pros, Cons, and the Jewish Perspective, being held at 8:00pm in the Kresge Town Hall, co-sponsored by the Leviathan. I'll be there. You'll be there. It will be a smoking good time.