Mike Wagner (musician)
| Mike Wagner | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Wagner |
| Also known as | Menashe Yaakov, Don Bonus |
| Born |
May 13, 1975 Long Beach, New York |
| Genres | Afrobeat, reggae, punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, trombonist, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, trombone |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels |
Ninja Tune Luaka Bop Shemspeed Shabasa Daptone |
| Associated acts | The Daktaris, Antibalas, King Changó, White Shabbos, The Mr. Shabbos Show, Moshiach Oi!, The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Blanket Statementstein, RockaZion |
Michael "Mike" Wagner (born May 13, 1975), sometimes credited as Menashe Yaakov and Don Bonus, is an American musician and producer based in Long Beach, New York. He played on many early Daptone Records releases and, with his bands The Daktaris and Antibalas, helped inspire new interest in Nigerian funk and afrobeat music in America during the late nineties. After becoming a Hasidic Jew in 2004, he returned to New York and formed several bands with musicians in the local Jewish community, most notably Moshiach Oi!.
Mike Wagner was born on May 13, 1975 in Long Beach, New York. He was raised in a Modern Orthodox home, but became disillusioned with his faith as a teenager and turned to music.
In the late 1990s, Wagner and fellow NYU students Gabriel Roth and Tunde Adebimpe teamed up with record collector Phillip Lehman to record several albums for the funk label Desco Records (later Daptone Records), using a number of aliases and misleading liner notes to attract purist fans of the genre. The most successful of these, The Daktaris' Soul Explosion, was a significant release in Daptone's history and helped renew American interest in the Afrobeat genre.
In 1996, Wagner became the trombonist and guitarist for the Latin/ska band King Changó, who released their self-titled debut album for Luaka Bop and Warner Bros. Records that same year. The group released a second album, The Return of El Santo, in 1998, before several members, including Wagner, joined with Daktaris saxophonist Martín Perna to form the influential Afrobeat group Antibalas.
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