Matisyahu is probably the only rock star ever to hold a post-concert Torah study for fans.
“After the show I come out,” says the Grammy-nominated performer and Chassidic Jew. “I get a much better feel for the fans. I hear these stories night after night.”
“These stories” span everything from fan interpretations of Matisyahu’s music to personal tales of tragedy and inspiration. Though most of his fans are not Jewish, Matisyahu enjoys those moments of sharing, and he usually returns the favor with a dose of Jewish spirituality.
Matisyahu will perform at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 23. The tour coincides with the release of a four-song EP, “Shattered,” a teaser for his new full-length CD due early next year.
Though best known for his fusion of Bob Marley sound and Shlomo Carlebach spirituality, Matisyahu has gone down diverging musical paths this time out. After four successful years as a contemporary reggae artist, the Brooklyn-based singer feels the time has come to choose his own direction.
“I really wanted to make my own record for the first time,” he says. “That was the difference. I did not want to repeat myself. We really wanted to wait, recreate a buzz and have some new music to give the fans.”
On the EP (and forthcoming CD), the 29-year-old singer worked with producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Sublime) and guest artists such as the famed Jamaican rhythm section of Sly & Robbie, hip-hop DJ Ooah from Glitch Mob and 17-year-old Jamaican sensation Freddie McGregor.
The notion of a Chassidic Jew making it big as a reggae artist may seem like the premise for a discarded “Saturday Night Live” sketch. He certainly looks the part, with long beard, yarmulke, black coat and tzitzit.
Yet Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with a hit debut album, “Shake Off the Dust … Arise,” followed by a 2005 live album that made Billboard Magazine’s Top 5.
A year later he hit No. 1 on the reggae charts with the gold-certified “Youth,” which earned a Grammy nomination for best reggae album.
Part of Matisyahu’s rise included moving from JDub Records, a small independent label, to a major record company (he is currently signed to Epic Records). That meant some inevitable tensions, as various forces — from management to label executives — pushed and pulled on him.
But squaring an MTV-style career with an Orthodox-style life turned out to be easier than it might seem.
Though raised in a Reconstructionist home in upstate New York, Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller) adopted Orthodox Judaism after a semester in Israel during his high school years.
He also became a dedicated music fan, especially of reggae and jam bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead. Over time he cobbled together a style that blended his musical influences with a Chassidic overtone. By the time he started gaining national attention, he was already married and living in the heavily Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood of Boro Park.
“Being married with two kids sort of kept me grounded while on the road,” he says. “But other aspects were difficult for me. I had a hard time staying focused. To be inspirational was not easy for me. So I built in to my religion and practice a way to stay focused.”
To that end, the singer spends a month in Israel at least once a year. Matisyahu and his family rent an apartment in Jerusalem each fall, which he says allows him to “get into my spirituality.”
Now back on the road, Matisyahu says he’s reconnecting with the fans that put him on the musical map, including plenty of non-Jewish fans.
“Some people, especially in rural areas where there are not a lot of Jews, are almost completely oblivious to the fact that I’m Jewish,” he says. “There’s a mystique, especially if they are from a Christian background.”
At those after-concert meet-and-greets, fans tell him personal stories, often about how Matisyahu’s music gave them hope or inspiration in dark times.
One of those fans recently told him about his time in prison, and how upon release he heard a song by Matisyahu on the radio.
“He really connected to that,” recalls the singer. “He was Hispanic, and it turns out he later found out he was of Sephardic heritage.”
Matisyahu performs 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Warfield Theatre, 982 Market St., S.F. Tickets: $27.50-$30. Information: www.goldenvoice.com.