Q&A with Matisyahu: Improvising is risky, but leads to unique experiences

Matisyahu poses for a selfie
Matisyahu poses for a selfie with a fan at the Goldtown Nickelodeon, Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo by Annie Bartholomew/KTOO)

Grammy nominated artist Matisyahu is performing to a sold out Centennial Hall on Friday night after almost a year of planning. His music blends reggae, beatboxing and alternative styles and hit the top 40 chart in 2005 with a tune called “King Without a Crown.” Thursday night, Matisyahu answered questions at a private event for KTOO members.

Listen to the entire question and answer session here.

One highlight came in response to a question about his creative process while performing live. Matisyahu said it’s about improvisation.

“I am always more interested in sort of not doing the thing that I know will get a reaction, or that will be like good. But actually holding back from doing that, and seeing what new can happen. And that’s sort of a risk because sometimes the songs might just go into nowhere. And nothing happens. But I feel if I keep trying that throughout the course of a show, at some point there’s some kind of like — something, like, breaks open, and then I’m actually able, like, to have a really unique experience with the people that are there.”

Matisyahu spoke to the crowd of 40 people for about 40 minutes. His concert Friday starts at 7:30. If you missed getting tickets, the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council will start putting names on a waitlist at 6:30 p.m.

The show is a joint collaboration between the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council and KTOO, KRNN and KXLL.

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