Rising Stars: Meet Gedalya Folk Rock Rabbi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gedalya Folk Rock Rabbi.

Hi Gedalya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
When I was eighteen, I was living in South Florida. I barely graduated from High School and didn’t have any desire to go to college. I was really into bodybuilding and decided to get my massage therapy license and become a personal trainer/massage therapist. I finished a massage therapy course, got my license, and began working in a health club. I was always interested in writing poetry and one day I decided to begin trying to put my words to music. My mom bought me this old piano, it was one of the remains of a building that had burnt down. I began banging away at the keys and taught myself how to play chords and sing along.

After two years I actually had written a couple of songs and decided to go to NYC and give songwriting a go. I arrived and began to take my demo tape around the city but didn’t really get anywhere. I decided to stay in NYC. I began to work in a health club and had a few massage clients but breaking into the music industry was my real goal. At twenty-one, I was performing my songs at open mics in Greenwich Village and began to develop a bit of a following.

Now I’m fifty-three, married with kids. I’m also a Rabbi. I still write songs and perform in NYC. I am also the director of a non-profit called A New Song USA, using the power of music to inspire people from all walks of life. My organization also visits prisons and does concerts for prisoners.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I think back about any of the difficulties I’ve had, I honestly believe that most of my struggles were because of my outlook on life. When I live as a taker, trying to have more and more possessions or trying to get ahead at the expense of others, I haven’t been happy or satisfied with myself and then every day’s a struggle.

Whereas, when I look at life as an opportunity to use the skills I have and to be a productive member of society, offering something positive to the world and the people around me, I’ve been happy, and my struggles have been far less.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m proud of the way I’ve stuck with songwriting through the years.

The message I have has evolved and has become a true extension of who I am and what I believe in. The voice of faith in my songs comes across in a universal way, and I’m very proud of that because I firmly believe that the family of mankind needs to come together in these times. I believe that my message sets me apart from other singer-songwriters and that I have something truly unique to share.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up in Brooklyn. When I was six years old, I wanted to be a superhero. I would practice by saving my sisters from the ferocious beast in the backyard! Our dog Spunky. When I was twelve, I dreamed that I was a racecar driver, I would sit in a shopping cart pretending to be racing in the Indy 500. When I was 16, my family moved to Florida, and now I wanted to be a bodybuilder. I lifted weights day and night, took vitamins the size of grapefruits, drinking protein shakes, and flexed my muscles in the mirror a lot. When I was eighteen it all came together for me. I was going to be a rock star.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t play an instrument and that I couldn’t sing on key. I’d been writing poems since I was a kid, and I decided I would try to put them to music. I wrote my poem about things that mattered to me. Thoughts and feelings I had about myself, and the things I saw. I felt that I had a message to share and I wanted to get it out there. Not to mention that the thought of performing in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming fans appealed to me.

Pricing:

• My main objective is to get people to hear my songs and get my name and music out to the world.
• Streaming on Spotify.
• Downloads on my website for $0.99
• Subscribe to my website for $2.00 monthly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thefolkrockrabbi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gedalyafolkrockrabbi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GedalyaFolkRockRabbi/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/folkrockrabbi
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/gedalyafolkrockrabbi
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vlAiSVsVRe2FrqgiV12Pw