Matisyahu tour brings area guitarist home

By JASON NARK
Courier-Post Staff

If Aaron Dugan hasn't had his surreal moment yet, it should hit him Sunday night at the Electric Factory.

Dugan, who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and later Willow Grove, plays guitar for Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae singer who has exploded on the scene recently with an album in the Billboard Top 50, and a hit single on the radio and MTV. Matisyahu and the band will headline a sold-out Electric Factory Sunday in support of their third album, Youth, which hit the shelves on March 7.

Dugan, 28, said he had an epiphany of sorts at the famous Northern Liberties concert venue in 1997 when Radiohead played there in support of their highly acclaimed album, OK Computer.

"That was the concert that got me back into rock music," said Dugan, during a recent interview from Los Angeles. "It changed the whole way I approached guitar."

Dugan played at the Theater of the Living Arts with Matisyahu in December, but said the Electric Factory will be a bigger experience.

"I have a lot of Philly pride. I still can't believe we're playing there. I remember when they booked this gig, I was very excited."

Dugan had his first guitar epiphany right before his 14th birthday when his family moved from the Northeast to the suburbs of Willow Grove.

"Ninth grade was probably the most important year for me," he said.

Dugan said he'll have a veritable army of family and friends in attendance at the sold-out show.

Dugan met Matthew Miller, now known as Matisyahu, while he was attending the New School for Jazz in New York City during the late 1990s. The two didn't begin playing together regularly for another couple of years when Miller had fully embraced Lubavitch Hasidic lifestyle.

"He called me one day after we both graduated and asked me if I wanted to play a Hanukkah Menorah lighting in Union Square Park," said Dugan.

According to his biography, Matisyahu was born in West Chester, Pa., and was nearly kicked out of Hebrew School in White Plains, N.Y. He spent his teenage years traveling across the country, following the Grateful Dead, going through a spiritual revelation on a camping trip to Colorado, and re-connecting with his faith after a trip to Israel.

He describes the music as a mix of "Bob Marley and Shlomo Carlebach," and his intelligent, spiritual lyrics often are peppered with a little Yiddish.

Dugan said he doesn't mind it when people ask if the band is a novelty, something akin to Weird Al Yankovic doing reggae. They often change their mind after listening.

"I think it's kind of funny. There's several ways to look at it," said Dugan. "We keep getting calls for gigs and I want to play every day."

That seems feasible too, as Matisyahu has been selling out nearly every venue on this tour.

"We just did K-Rock (92.3 FM, New York City), Conan (O'Brien Show) and the Jimmy Kimmel Show," he said. "And we're still alive."

Reach Jason Nark at (856) 486-2473 or jnark@courierpostonline.com
Published: March 17. 2006 3:00AM