Photo: Sandy Wynia
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As a child, Nefesh was strongly influenced by the music of Neil Young, CSN&Y, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Joni
Mitchell, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and others in the folk-rock and rock
scene of the late-60's and 70's--
as well as Jewish folk and cantorial music which was prevalent in his family. At
age 12, and armed with a songbook to Neil Young's "Harvest," he started years of self-study on guitar.
His
early adult years led him to study blues guitar by listening to
greats like B.B.
King, Otis Rush and Eric Clapton. However, his penchant for strong melodies always
remained.
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Despite
Nefesh's passion for music and performance, he relegated his musical
talents to his home, occasional jams with friends and very rare public
gigs.
He never viewed himself as a singer-songwriter until the late
90's--when personal epiphanies revealed a gifted writer with a strong
stage presence.
In January of 1999, he started an intense period of writing and
performing that has yielded more than 100 original songs and 250
performances in the United States and Canada since that time–as both a
soloist and with his band.
His first CD, Stripped, was
released in 2000 and garnered excellent reviews--with comparisons to
Michael Stipe, James Taylor, Richard Shindell, Ellis Paul, Harry Chapin
and others.
He has made radio appearances on WDET in Detroit and CFRB in
Toronto, Mediaone TV in Michigan, and has had airplay in Europe.
His 2006 CD release, Pureheart,
is a powerful folk-rock extravaganza featuring 13 memorable songs of
love, heartache, and personal observation. In 2007, Pureheart
was nominated by members of the Detroit Music Awards for "Best
Recording" (acoustic/folk category).
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