MATISYAHU
Live At Stubb's
JDUB

There's been a ton of publicity about this guy and he's really getting to be big. I heard about him early in 2005 when KDHX dj Mr. Roots gave me the band's cd, "Live At Stubb's." It was recorded in Austin, Texas on February 19, 2005.

I enjoyed the disc - it had a great roots vibe - then I saw him play at Mississippi Nights and was blown away.

"Live At Stubb's" has one dozen tunes and almost an hour of well-performed music. It starts off with a nice instrumental, then Matisyahu takes the tunes up a notch with his unique vocals. He's a hasidic Jew from Brooklyn who loves roots reggae and the mix works.

The band, consisting of Aaron Dugan on guitar, Josh Werner on bass, Jonah David on drums and Matisyahu at the forefront on lead vocals, sounds excellent. There's steady bass and drum with rock guitar and it's got a lot of soul. Matisyahu then brings his unique vocal delivery and righteous lyrics to the mix.

The disc clocks in at 60 minutes with personal favorites being "Sea To Sea," "Warrior," "Lord Raise me Up" and "King Without A Crown" (which is also the video on the enhanced cd). He's known for his beatbox, rapper style, but he truly plays some killer roots reggae. Check him out

For more info, his website is at MATISYAHU