Musician Dan Reed may not be Jewish, but that didn’t stop him from spending nine months studying at a yeshiva while living in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood outside of Jerusalem.
“I met some of the rabbis in the neighborhood, and they invited me down to check out the yeshiva. So I went. And then I kept going back,” he said. “It was this experience that felt like a great honor, to be invited in.”
It was there, in Jerusalem, submerged in a faith with which he’d had little previous contact, that Reed composed the bulk of his upcoming album, Coming Up for Air.
The result, according to Reed, is a collection of songs that delve into his personal exploration of faith and selfhood — a radical departure from the music of his youth.
“It’s mostly been a realization that music can be more than just something to satisfy me as an artist — it can be a mode of communication between me and audience. And music can release some of the negative energy of the day,” he said. “I find I’m writing songs more about soul searching, not just libido or lost love.”
Reed will be performing a solo acoustic show on Aug. 16 at the Triple Door in Seattle.
Reed has been writing and playing music on and off for more than two decades. He began his career in the 1980s with the Dan Reed Network, a funk/rock ensemble based out of Portland, Ore. The band broke up in 1993 and since then, Reed has worked as a writer, filmmaker and nightclub owner. But after so many years in the spotlight (or behind the spotlight), Reed felt he needed a break. About five years ago, he decided to take some time off and travel in hopes of re-centering himself spiritually and creatively.
In 2005, Reed began what would become a four-year journey by traveling to Dharamsala, India, where he befriended a pair of Buddhist monks who invited him to stay in the guesthouse of their monastery. While there, he studied daily Buddhist prayers, throat singing and meditation, and taught the monks about rock ‘n’ roll (one of them, it turns out, was a huge Queen fan). It was also while he was in India that Reed became fascinated with Israel.
“[In India], I met a lot of Israelis — a lot of former soldiers. I had read a lot about the conflict, but the more I learned from talking to people, the less I felt like I knew. I wanted to go an see it for myself,” he said.
After a year in India, Reed got the motivation he needed to visit the Holy Land. While traveling through Delhi, he befriended a fashion designer from Haifa. The woman asked Reed if he would visit her in Israel. He agreed.
“Once I saw Jerusalem, I had no choice but to stay,” Reed recalled. He remained in Israel for three years.
Although he was raised in a Christian household, Reed said he has long been fascinated by a variety of religious traditions, as well as the people who peruse them. More than anything else, it was the energy of Jerusalem that attracted him to the place.
“I just really enjoyed living in a city where 90 percent of people are searching for a connection with God,” he said. “You can feel that in the air. It’s very different from the United States.”
The place inspired him not only to study with local rabbis, however. He was also moved to write music. In fact, he relocated his recording studio from Portland to Jerusalem and started work on some new songs with a new sound.
It wasn’t just Reed’s musical career that got a jump-start while he was in Israel. His interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was also piqued, and upon returning to U.S. he decided he wanted to play a role in the peace process.
Today, Reed is a vice chairman of the board for the Middle East Peace Civic Forum, a Washington D.C.-based organization that promotes a two-state solution for Israel. According to Reed, the group’s primary goal is to get people working toward a resolution, be they activists, diplomats, or legislators, together to try and find common ground.
“We’re just trying to get people to see eye to eye,” he explained. “We don’t lobby or try to get bills passed.”
Now he’s back in the States, living in New York, and devoting himself to music full-time for the first time in more than 20 years. In April, he began a solo tour through northern Europe and the U.S. His Seattle show will be one of the last stops on that tour.
Reed said that although both the message and presentation of his music have changed dramatically since he first started the Dan Reed Network, a number of his fans have stuck with him through the transition.
“Of course, I do get some e-mails saying, “˜How come you don’t rock anymore? You’re making us think too much, stop it,’” he said.
Music for a higher power
