Moshiach Oi! was started in 2008 by singer/guitarist Yishai Romanoff, who had sought to reconcile his then-recently renewed Jewish faith with the punk rock music he had loved as a teenager.[2] Initially a solo act, Romanoff eventually brought in his friend Mike Wagner, as well as bassist Mitchell "Mordechai" Harrison and drummer Paul "Pesach" Alpert, to complete the band.[3][4] The band's name is derived from a combination Moshiach, the Jewish name for the Messiah; oy vey, a Yiddish expression conveying exasperation and dismay; and Oi!, a British working-class genre of punk music.[3][4]
The group's debut album, Better Get Ready, produced by Wagner and mastered by veteran punk producer Don Fury, was released by Shemspeed Records and the band's own Shabasa Records label on August 25, 2009.[3] A second album, This World is Nothing, was released two years later just on Shabasa,[5] accompanied by the single and music video "Got Nothing On Me".
A third album, Rock Rabeinu, was released on August 10, 2017.
All of Moshiach Oi!'s music has been distributed through their self-owned independent label Shabasa Records. The label's roster also includes several other acts, all of whom feature some or all of Moshiach Oi!'s members.
Current artists
Moshiach Oi!
Blanket Statementstein, an acid punk/alternative hip hop band. Their lineup has at various times included all four members of Moshiach Oi!, the Jewish rapper Y-Love, and drummer Dennis Donaghy of Dirt Bike Annie.
RockaZion, a Jewish reggae band led by Joseph Rotkowitz.
White Shabbos, a Celtic punk band. The group is led by Alpert's brother, Josh Alpert, who is also signed to the label as a country folk solo artist under the name Mr. Shabbos.
Shin Shin Mem, a reggae, punk, and alternative rock project by Shlomo Shmuel Moshe Etlinger.
Na Nach Oi!, Yishai Romanoff's acoustic solo project.
