Michael Wagner, sometimes credited as Menashe Yaakov and Don Bonus, is an American musician and producer based in

Long Beach, New York Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 ...

. He played on many early

Daptone Records Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Ban ...

releases and, with bands

The Daktaris The Daktaris, whose name means "doctors" in Swahili, were a funk and Afrobeat studio project from Brooklyn. After recording the album some of its members have gone on to be part of the Dap Kings and Antibalas and features veteran Cameroonian dr ...

and

Antibalas Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band founded in 1998 by Martín Perna. Initially inspired by Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, the music generally follows ...

, helped inspire new interest in Nigerian

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

music in America during the late nineties. After becoming a

Hasidic Jew Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

in 2004, he returned to New York and formed several bands with musicians in the local Jewish community, most notably the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Moshiach Oi!.

Biography

Mike Wagner was born in

. He was raised in a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

home, but became disillusioned with his faith as a teenager and turned to music.

Daptones Records

In the late 1990s, Wagner and fellow

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

students Gabriel Roth and

Tunde Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (; born February 25, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio, with whom he has recorded five st ...

teamed up with record collector Phillip Lehman to record several albums for the

label

Desco Records DESCO is an underwater diving equipment maker which was first organized in 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as Diving Equipment and Salvage Co. It was founded by: * Max Eugene Nohl, a diver who lived in Milwaukee. In the early 1930s, he had national ...

(later

), using a number of aliases and misleading

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

to attract purist fans of the genre. The most successful of these,

' ''Soul Explosion'', was a significant release in Daptone's history and helped renew American interest in the

Afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

genre.

King Changó and Antibalas

In 1996, Wagner became the

trombonist The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

and guitarist for the Latin/ska band

King Changó King Changó is a Latin ska band from New York City, New York with roots in Venezuela. Its name comes from Changó, the Afro-Cuban god of war.. Kingchango.com, Retrieved December 11, 2006. José Andrés Blanco (Blanquito Man) died on November ...

, who released their self-titled debut album for

Luaka Bop Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his fr ...

and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

that same year. The group released a second album, ''

The Return of El Santo ''The Return of El Santo'' is the second album by the Latin ska band King Changó, released in 2000. The album's title is a tribute to Mexican wrestler El Santo. Production The album was recorded in various cities with producers KC Porter, Macac ...

'', in 1998, before several members, including Wagner, joined with Daktaris saxophonist

Martín Perna Martin Perna is an educator and multidisciplinary artist living in Berkeley, California. Music Perna founded the musical groups Antibalas and Ocote Soul Sounds, and has written for and/or recorded with TV on the Radio, Santigold, Toro y Moi ...

to form the influential Afrobeat group

Return to Judaism, Mr. Shabbos, and Moshiach Oi!

Amidst touring with Antibalas, Wagner found himself spiritually unsatisfied. Around this time, a friend introduced him to the teachings of Rebbe Shlomo Carlebach. Wagner decided to quit music for a year and started attending

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

prayers at his family's synagogue on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and engaging in

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

, finding that it "made total sense. The void that I felt totally disappeared." During this time, Wagner converted his home into "Camp Shabbos" and started holding weekly gatherings and Torah study sessions on Friday nights. One of his guests, a singer named Josh "Mr. Shabbos" Alpert, persuaded him to return to music and join Alpert's

Celtic punk Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. Celtic punk bands often play traditional Celtic folk songs, contemporary/political folk songs, and original compositions.P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Guides, 2 ...

band White Shabbos. Wagner also contributed to Alpert's later solo album, ''The Mr. Shabbos Show'' (2008). Another guest, Yishai Romanoff, approached Wagner to join his then-solo project Moshiach Oi!. Wagner accepted, having "always wanted to be in a Jewish punk band." After rounding out the band with bassist Mitchell Harrison and drummer Paul Alpert, the group released two albums, ''Better Get Ready'' (2009) and ''This World is Nothing'' (2011).

Discography

With
King Changó King Changó is a Latin ska band from New York City, New York with roots in Venezuela. Its name comes from Changó, the Afro-Cuban god of war.. Kingchango.com, Retrieved December 11, 2006. José Andrés Blanco (Blanquito Man) died on November ...

* ''

'' (1996,

) * ''

'' (2000, Luaka Bop)

With
Antibalas Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band founded in 1998 by Martín Perna. Initially inspired by Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, the music generally follows ...

* ''Liberation Afro Beat, Vol. 1'' (2001,

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

) * ''Talkatif'' (2002, Ninja Tune)

With White Shabbos

* ''Shabbos Holy Shabbos'' (2004) * ''Redemption Songs'' (TBA)

With Mr. Shabbos

* ''The Mr. Shabbos Show'' (2008)

With Moshiach Oi!

* ''Better Get Ready'' (2009; Shemspeed, Shabasa) * ''This World is Nothing'' (2011, Shabasa) * ''Rock Rabeinu'' (2017, Shabasa)

Other work

, ''Soul Explosion'' (1998); Assistant engineer, producer *

Ticklah Victor Axelrod is an American musician, producer, and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked primarily in the genres of reggae, Afrobeat and soul, recording and producing under his own name and using the alias ...

, ''Polydemic'' (1998);

Trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

Jerome Sydenham Jerome Sydenham (born 1967, Ibadan, Nigeria) is an electronic music producer, DJ and multi-record label owner known for establishing a pan-African electro direction within the house and techno genres. Born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, he was ...

, ''Saturday'' (2001); Trombone * The Whitefield Brothers, ''In the Raw'' (2001); Trombone * Ticklah, ''Hi-Fidelity Dub Sessions Presents Roots Combination'' (2001); Guitar, trombone *

Lee Fields Elmer Lee Fields (born April 26, 1950) is an American soul singer, sometimes nicknamed "Little JB" for his physical and vocal resemblance with James Brown. He has recorded with Kool and the Gang, Hip Huggers, O. V. Wright, Darrell Banks, and ...

, ''Problems'' (2002); Guitar, trombone *

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae st ...

, '' Dub Side of the Moon'' (2003); Trombone *

Anthony B Keith Blair (born 31 March 1976), better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.Moskowitz, David V (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dance ...

, ''Untouchable'' (2004); Guitar

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Mike Living people People from Long Beach, New York American punk rock musicians American reggae musicians Record producers from New York (state) American trombonists American male trombonists New York University alumni Moshiach Oi! members Jews in punk rock Baalei teshuva Guitarists from New York (state) American male guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians Antibalas members Reggae trombonists Year of birth missing (living people)