Yishai Romanoff

Yishai Romanoff (born 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and founding member of the Hasidic punk band Moshiach Oi!.

Early life
Romanoff was born in 1986 in Long Island, to a secular Jewish father and an atheist mother who converted to Judaism when he was a child. He attended a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, but was turned off by what he saw as confinfing religious strictures and controlling rebbeim and left for a public high school.

While in high school, Romanoff developed an addiction to drugs (particularly marijuana and heroin) and a nihilistic outlook on life. He also became a fan of punk rock music, listening to bands like Leftover Crack and F-Minus and attending shows at CBGB and ABC No Rio.

Eventually, Romanoff quit drugs with the help of his friend Mike Wagner. He also made several trips to Israel sponsored by the organizations Birthright Israel and Young Judea, during one of which he experienced "an intense spiritual awakening" that inspired him to become a baal teshuva and recommit himself to Orthodox Judaism.

Moshiach Oi! and Shabasa Records (2009-present)
Seeking to reconcile his newfound faith with his lingering love of punk rock, Romanoff came up with the idea for the Jewish hardcore punk band Moshiach Oi!. Initially a solo act, he eventually added Wagner on guitar, bassist Mitchell Harrison, and drummer Paul Alpert to make a full band. They released their debut album, Better Get Ready (2009), on Shemspeed Records, before switching to their own independent label, Shabasa Records, for a second album, This World is Nothing (2011). In 2012, the band, particularly Roamnoff, were featured in the 2012 documentary Punk Jews.

Romanoff is also a drummer in other Shabasa bands, Blanket Statementstein and the reggae group RockaZion.

Discography

 * With Blanket Statementstein
 * ''Blanket Statementstein (2009)


 * With Moshiach Oi!
 * Better Get Ready (2009; Shemspeed, Shabasa)
 * ''This World is Nothing (2011)


 * With RockaZion
 * In This Generation (2011)