Questions and answers with Matti Caspi - Part 2

What is your best quality?

My laziness.

And your worst?

My laziness.

Matti Caspi is a very…

Irresponsible man.

What historic figure would you want to meet?

Beethoven.

Why?

Because he’s very mysterious to me. I saw a one of his manuscripts in a museum in Hague, Holland, and that’s the only thing I remember. The manuscript was presented behind an armored glass. It contained a partiture of his. I noticed he scratched the first violin part he had written on the bottom of the page. He probably didn’t like it. Instead he transferred that part to the flute above, and the flute’s part he gave to the clarinet and so on. To me it was paradise just looking at that marvel. I would really want to meet him because I’d have a lot to say and in a loud voice.

Then we have a surprise for you…

What character has influenced you a lot?

Musically?

In any sense you’d like.

My school teacher from Hannita. His name was Shimmy. He is the teacher I remember, and thanks to him I remember so many things down to the last detail. Because he taught us in his own special way. He would step into class, look around and say “I don’t want to teach in here, follow me”. And we would all go to the chalk cave in Hannita, light some candles, sit quietly, and listen to him as he told us stories of the bible while impersonating each character, for example, he portrayed god as a “Yeke” (Yiddish term for a very adamant German person) and Noah as a Moroccan guy. It’s only thanks to him that I remember stories of the bible. Other times he would come to class and write a single word on the board. One day he wrote: “Spice“. He asked us: “What is spice“? And we would give all kinds of answers and he would then explain. Then he would say “Marco Polo went on numerous journeys around the world. What was the most important thing he took with him”? and we would say: “a blanket to keep him warm, or high shoes, or an extra oar, etc.” and then he said: “Salt. Salt was the most important thing he took with him, otherwise the food would taste bad. Where does salt come from”? “From the kitchen” we said, and then he said: “No, no, I mean before it comes to the kitchen”. And then we got to learn about salt mines, minerals, journeys and adventures around the world, and so much more. His classes were always interesting, and we didn’t write in our calendars: “Literature or Bible class”, only “Shimmy’s class”. He would also at times enter class with a football and be the first to leave class and play with us during recess, and then he’d be the last to go back in class because he wanted to continue playing.

Is he still alive today?

Yes, he lives in Hannita.

What’s the most idiotic thing you’ve done in your career?

The album: “Songs in a Tomato Juice”, and I’m very proud of it.

What are you afraid of?

I’m afraid of poisonous snakes. When I was ten years old in Hannita, in the Kibbutz, I was very short and thin. I would hang around canals and there were many of those in Hannita. One day I felt something was watching me and my instinct was to stop immediately. I turned my head slowly to the left and saw a snake’s eye looking at me in the dark. I started walking back very slowly and very quietly so it wouldn’t move and attack me. It was a two-meter snake, very thick and black, not poisonous, but a constrictor one… Still it would frighten any young boy, even an adult. That’s what I was afraid of, and am still afraid of today.

Matti, do you believe in god? In destiny?

I don’t believe in destiny, I believe in god. In the past I didn’t believe in god because.. I just didn’t. One time during bible studies at school the teacher told us about mount Sini and said the people said: “We will do so and listen”. I immediately stood up and said: “why? We will listen and then we’ll act”! I was against that idea of believing everything blindly without asking questions. After that I didn’t like the Jewish religion, not because of the religion itself, but because of the religious leaders. They always were involved with all kinds of corruption. They have made me hate it even more and as a result I decided to leave Israel. But later while I was on an airplane on my way from Los Angeles to Washington for a show, I read a book that made me realize things I never realized before, and that was the moment where I started believing in god. But that doesn’t mean I believe in fate or destiny, or that I’m superstitious. When I was a little boy I thought that maybe it’s ok to believe in superstitions. I remember they told me to wish upon a falling star. I did. I wished for it to stop falling.

What would you take with you to a deserted island, other than salt of course?

Well I just wanted to say good food, but it depends on how long I’ll be there.

You get to decide for how long and what to take with you.

I would take the people, the music and the food I love the most. Then it wouldn’t matter for how long.

Where will you be in fifteen years?

No idea. But I’m pretty sure I will still be in this world doing the same thing. I might live in a different place in the world, but I’d still come to perform in Israel. Maybe the length of the flight will be far shorter than the time you have to wait while stuck in a traffic jam in Israel.

What would you change about yourself?

I’ve always wanted to change my nose. But today I’m used to it. I would also like to be more responsible, my lack of responsibility has always been me detriment. I was hurt because of it and worse, have hurt others.

What would you want god to say to you when you meet him in heaven?

That the dining hall is this way, and the bathroom is that way…

If you weren’t a musician, what other profession would you want to have?

I would love to be a carpenter. I really like carpentry.

What sound do you detest the most?

The sound of metal scratched on a garbage can.

What’s your favorite food?

Any kind of food, I don’t have only one favorite type in particular. I love Italian food, French food and Brazilian food.

What makes you laugh the most?

Things that almost happen. Like a person tripping on the street and almost falling. All the things that stir the imagination.