Joseph Israel Interview

Good Reasoning with Joseph Israel

I was at the Key Club the other night on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.  The club has a dimly lit lounge downstairs that was sparsely dispersed with patrons that mingled at the bar with musicians, reggae artists, and Rasta’s.  As more people filtered in I found a comfortable spot in a dark booth with a strange and intriguing painting of some sort of half-human demonic angel that was peering over my shoulder into the glass in front of me.  I was sipping on a cold tasty beverage, as I waited patiently for the headliners to take the stage.  Performing tonight was Joseph Israel and the Jerusalem Band, a group whose music is as powerful and preeminent as that of the late great Bob Marley.

Joseph and the Jerusalem Band walked right past me through the crowd to the backstage doors.  Shortly thereafter, a familiar odor seemed to permeate the lounge from the back of the room.  Finally, the band took the stage.  It was loud.  The bass was bumping in that nice reggae dancehall style, and many onlookers from the show upstairs came down to check out what was going on.  The place had a chill vibe full of love and a hint of anticipation.  They opened with the powerful song titled Jah Souljahs and then went right into the single Mankind.  The performance was a good two hours long with Joseph Israel and his tribe performing many songs off their album Gone are the Days, including the title track.  They performed a version of Bob Dylan’s Slow Train, and some new tunes as well.  The Jerusalem Band was also joined by Ben Harper’s Innocent Criminals percussionist Leon Mobley, which was definitely a highlight of the performance.

I had a chance to speak with Joseph a couple days later in Malibu when we met up before their show at the Malibu Inn.  Some of the things we went over were his album Gone are the Days, and also we discussed the video for the albums single Mankind.  Joseph had a lot to say about the music, the people that he has worked with and reasoned on Rastafarian culture, reggae music, and all the influences that are clearly and profoundly articulated his heartfelt songs.

FS: ‘Gone Are the Days’ is such a great album and is a breath of fresh air for music, not just reggae music, but music in general.  What can you tell us about how it all came about?

JI:  The whole thing was really an amazing concept.  I got invited to Jamaica to record, and I had a bunch of songs when I went down there.  We recorded a few like Jah Kingdom and Mankind that eventually made it on the album.  Then I went home and was just like, man that was the most awesome experience, to get to record at the top studios in Jamaica!  So I made a plan to go back with Chris Meredith, who produced the album, and really do it right.  When I got back to Jamaica, I met Dean Frasier, Chinna Smith and all the top musicians on the island and really just immersed myself in Jamaican culture.  I was stoked to be making music while learning from the best!  So I just tried reserve what they had to teach because I respect so much what they have done musically, and respect reggae music in general as a vehicle to carry the message to the world.  I just try to take it and apply it to what I know as an American youth growing up in American culture. 

The album is a different blend of roots and dancehall vibes.  Some of the songs like Jah Kingdom, Gone Are the Days, and King of Kings kind of step out of the reggae mold.  On the next album you’re gonna see more of that.  Music is limitless and I don’t really consider myself a reggae musician, I consider myself Yah’s musician, an Israelite musician, so you might hear some different things come from me.

FS: How did you get hooked up with Leon Mobley of the Innocent Criminal’s?

JI:  Leon happened to be at one of my performances at South by Southwest.  I’ve always been a big fan of Ben Harper and all the music they’re making.  It turned out that Leon was a fan of my song Jah Kingdom which was playing on Sirius Radio, so we hooked up and he played with us at this last show in Hollywood.  He’s my bredrin’, we’re gonna do some things and he’ll be featured on my next album, that’s my brother man.

FS: What was the basic concept behind the video for your single ‘Mankind’?

JI:  Free Thinker Productions out of Northwest Arkansas directed the video. My wife and I had this idea of incorporating our family.  Like letting people know what our family is all about. Everybody’s families are reflections of the earth you know, because we all come from different families.  Some have broken families, some may have lost they’re families, some have great families, but we wanted to represent our family in the video, you know and where we come from in Arkansas, instead of doing it in Jamaica.  So we got together with a bunch of people and my friend DJ Hot-I got the vibes going in one of our friend’s back yard that had a nice bamboo forest.  It was a lot of fun!

FS: That sounds like a lot of fun.  Where is the skate park that the video was shot at and what is its message?

JI: We shot the skate footage at the skate park in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  It’s a really nice skate park and there’s a really great movement going on down there. My son is the one who really got me into it, because I didn’t like the concrete, you know I played basketball.  I didn’t want to fall because I didn’t want to get hurt for basketball, but then I also liked skiing.  So then one day I tried snowboarding and just loved it.  I never wanted to ski again!  That was it was it for me man snowboarding is one of my favorite things to do.

The whole idea behind Mankind is that we’re all one as a people, and so when we’re blessed we’re blessed as a whole, and now there are many curses right now that people are going through.  That’s why the song says: Its time / for Mankind / to put down his vanities / and put our trust in the Almighty.  So it’s pretty strait forward.  One of the most important things is a family unit, so you see in the beginning of the video my son is going out to the skate park which is something we do all the time.  You know we’ll go to the skate park and then maybe go have a picnic, and you see me there passing out some really great literature.  You know just to show that its education and we have a good time doing it.  My son is a skateboarder, my daughter’s are dancers, and you know we eat healthy, we live good, we love our neighbor, and we have a good time at the same time.  That’s what we were trying to show.

FS: You actually went and lived in Jamaica and learned a lot from the Rastafarian culture.  How did those experiences influence your music and shape who Joseph Israel is today?

JI:  Yes, well I started playing music when I was 17, and had been into Bob Marley for a while.  Reggae music is just an awesome way to share the message, anyways, that’s what did it for me.  I have other influences that are all song writers, like Dylan, I’m a big fan of Ben Harper.  I grew up with BB King, Rolling Stones, you know everything.

You know, the Rasta people are the ones who really started me on my journey though.  When I was brought up my family was Christian, and I didn’t really agree with certain doctrines that are Christian like if you don’t believe in Jesus then your gonna go to hell.  So I started looking out side the church, and started listening to reggae music.  Bob Marley and his message showed me a new way to look at the bible.  Then I started going to visit Jamaica so I could meet some Rasta’s for myself.  When I was there I sought out some very high Rasta Elders that really reasoned some very deep concepts.  They were the first ones to tell me that they were Israelites, and that “Jesus” wasn’t his real name, they didn’t know his true name, but they knew that “Jesus” wasn’t it, so these were big concepts for me when I was 15 years old.

So by the time I was 18 I was really transformed in many ways by what Rasta people had said.  Also reading the bible on my own as well as reflecting on Haile Selassie, Malcom X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King and what they had said too.  I am just trying to learn from everything.  Then I was blessed to meet a brother named Oren, who told me the truth and really set me down and changed my life.  I had never met anyone like this and he explained to me how Israel was going to be restored, made up of all nationalities and that the Messiah’s presence is here on the earth now and that we are being gathered.  How the prophets of old were promised to return, and that they will all be there.  So I began to study and really fill myself up on the word from that point.  I’ve never looked back, you know, so I consider myself Israel.  That’s the only name that the Almighty gave me.  He didn’t say to call your self a Rasta, or a Christian, or a Jew, or anything.  He said Israel, so that’s the name I take on.  But you know, I love everybody, and don’t want to force anything on anybody.  I just want to be the best example as I can as a person of love and a person that’s not judgmental.  So that’s the first thing; let me try to uphold the commandments before I tell anybody else that they’re wrong.  You know, pull that board out of my own eye first, because there are so many things with religious differences going on these days.  I don’t consider myself part of a religion, I consider myself a part of a great nation, a nation that is coming out of every tribe, tongue and people with Yahshua as the leader.

So the purpose is to restore what was lost, and what was lost was perfect life here on earth.  It’s not like someone has to accept this or accept that, you know like how many religions can push it down your throat and say if you don’t accept this then you’re gonna burn forever in hell.  I don’t believe in that stuff.   We all need healing.  Anyone who thinks that they don’t need healing in this time is off, you know?  When one person is crying on the earth it affects us all.  I don’t try to force my beliefs on people but I try to express them with love.  So that’s how I approach it.

FS:  You and the Jerusalem Band have been heavily involved with a non-profit organization called Restore Humanity as well.  What exactly is Restore Humanity all about and how did you get involved with that organization?

JI:  Restore Humanity is a non-profit organization that I work with and we’re doing some things with them to raise money for their projects that includes an orphanage in Kenya, bringing school supplies and other basic necessities to South Africa, and also building a girl’s school in Jamaica.  My sister, Sarah Fennel, actually started Restore Humanity, because she just had this vision of serving the Most High by serving the human race.  With all these problems on the earth, not one of us can solve them, but how can we just sit by with all these things going on?  I would invite anybody to go check that out, RestoreHumanity.org.  It’s a great organization that’s doing a lot of good work, and we’re glad to be involved with it.

I’m also really glad with what FirstStoke.com is doing too, by bringing people together because that’s what I like!  Right now I’m totally interested in kite boarding! That stuff is ridiculous!  I think board sports are really good because they teach independence and self-confidence.  When you see guys pulling off crazy jumps and gnarly tricks, you’re just like dang that’s like a ninja move! That’s straight up ninja stuff!  It’s really inspiring because it’s so common for people to be afraid to fall, but you know, it’s not that bad when you fall.  It’s like people mentally hold themselves back from so many things, whether it’s skateboarding, or whatever.  Whatever you want to do in life just go for it!  That’s what I learn from skateboarding: You just gotta go!  It reminds me of music, you just gotta go!  There’s no holding back in life, if you hold back when you’re about to bust a big trick, you’re gonna fall and get hurt.  But if you go with your might you’re gonna land it.  That’s respect for all skateboarders, snowboarders, surfers out there.

Check out Joseph Israel and the Jerusalem Band at:

LionsofIsrael.com
MySpace.com/josephisrael
RestoreHumanity.org

Peace.

Contributed by FirstStoke.com correspondent Matt Frank

Note from the Editor: Music and board sports continue to become more and more intertwined. First Stoke aims to cover a broad range of topics of interest to riders. To do so, we cover artists and musicians that embody the First Stoke community while also providing insight into what is going on beyond the athletes, contests, and sponsors.