Yishai Romanoff is an American

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

musician, best known as the lead singer for the Breslov punk band

Moshiach Oi! Moshiach Oi! is an American Hasidic hardcore punk band from Long Beach, New York. Formed in 2008 by lead singer Yishai Romanoff and guitarist Mike Wagner, they released their debut album, '' Better Get Ready'' (2009), on Shemspeed Records, fol ...

. Romanoff, as well as the rest of the band, is featured prominently in the 2012 documentary ''

Punk Jews ''Punk Jews'' is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jesse Zook Mann and produced by Saul Sudin (husband of Elke Reva Sudin, who appears in the film), Evan Kleinman, and Alexander Emanuele. The film profiles several non-traditional Orthod ...

''. He is also a drummer for Shabasa labelmates Blanket Statementstein, RockaZion, and Shin Shin Mem.

Biography

Early life

Romanoff grew up on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. His father was a secular Jew, while his mother was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

who converted to Orthodox Judaism. He attended a Modern Orthodox yeshiva at a young age. Frustrated with the yeshiva's rules and strictures, he left and began going to public high school. During his teenage years, Romanoff became a fan of punk rock, following bands like Leftöver Crack and

F-Minus F-Minus was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1995 in Huntington Beach, California, United States, started by Jen Johnson and Brad Logan. F-Minus was known for their dueling male and female vocals in songs that were sometimes as short as ...

and going to shows at CBGB and

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run non-profit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. It was founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979-80 Real Estate Show. The centre featured an art gal ...

. He also dabbled in drugs, smoking

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

daily and developing a

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addiction. Later on, Romanoff took trips to Israel with Birthright Israel and Young Judaea, which left him curious about his heritage. With the help of his friend Mike Wagner, he ultimately kicked his drug addiction, becoming

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

, and renewed his commitment to Judaism. He is a vegan.

Career

In 2008, Romanoff, wanting to reconcile his love of punk with his newfound faith, began writing and recording Jewish-themed punk songs under the name

. Initially a solo project, Moshiach Oi! became a full band with the addition of Wagner on guitar, Mitchell "Mordechai" Harrison on bass, and Paul "Pesach" Alpert on drums. The group's debut album, '' Better Get Ready'', produced by Wagner and mastered by

Don Fury Don Fury is an American recording engineer and producer who owned three rehearsal and recording studios in New York City. He has recorded and produced music for a variety of punk and hardcore bands including GG Allin, Agnostic Front, Sick of It A ...

, was released by

Shemspeed Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and She ...

and Shabasa in 2009. A second album, ''This World is Nothing'', was released independently in 2011. The band was featured heavily in the 2012 documentary ''

''. Romanoff in particular appears in the film's opening scene, where he is shown screaming on a rooftop. He also appears on the cover of former ''

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

'' columnist Michael Croland's 2016 book ''Oy Oy Oy Gevalt!: Jews and Punk''.

Performance style

In typical punk fashion, Romanoff's live performances are often wild and exuberant. John Leland of '' The New York Times'' described him at a 2013 concert, " side curls flailing, knees jackknifing up around his torso, leaping, crouching, shouting..."

Matthue Roth Matthew "Matthue" Roth (born June 30, 1978) is an American columnist, author, poet, spoken word performer, video game designer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a slam poet in San Francisco, Roth gained attention for his unusual blend o ...

, in a '' Tablet Magazine'' piece covering Blanket Statementstein, referred to Romanoff as "the drummer for whom Animal the Muppet is probably not only a musical guide but a fashion icon."

Discography

;With

*''Better Get Ready'' (2009;

, Shabasa) *''This World is Nothing'' (2011; Shabasa) ;Other work *Blanket Statementstein, ''Blanket Statementstein'' (2008) *RockaZion, ''In This Generation'' (2011) *Shin Shin Mem, ''Shirei Moharan Vol. 1'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanoff, Yishai Hasidic singers American punk rock singers 1986 births Living people Moshiach Oi! members Jews in punk rock Jewish American musicians 21st-century American singers Musicians from New York (state) People from Long Island Baalei teshuva Breslov Hasidim American punk rock drummers