Ari Lehman - Friday the 13th, First Jason and Music - Tales from the Original Jason Voorhees

Ari Lehman is an American composer, performing artist and actor. He is best known for playing the original Jason Voorhees in the classic Horror Film Friday the 13th. He currently is the lead singer of the horror punk rock band "First Jason."

 

 

A native New Yorker, Ari Lehman grew up in Westport, Connecticut, where he trained in Classical Music and Jazz Piano. Lehman was presented with an All-State Award for Excellence in Jazz Piano and a scholarship to Berklee School of Music by jazz educator, Dr. Billy Taylor.

 

Lehman heard about an audition being held in Westport for the movie, "Manny's Orphans", about a group of inner-city orphans who play soccer, directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Lehman snuck into the audition and landed the role of "Roger". This role led to Lehman getting the call to play Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th from Sean S. Cunningham. "For his audition Lehman was asked one key question by the director, ‘Can you swim?’"

 

 

After the release of Friday the 13th, Lehman returned to New York City, where he enrolled at New York University and concentrated on Big Band Orchestration and Jazz Piano, "where he studied with the likes of Vladimir Shafranov". Lehman's career led him to become a keyboardist for artists of Reggae and African music of the time, with whom he toured throughout the US, Europe and West Africa, and recorded with at Tuff Gong Records and Interscope Records.

 

 

In 2004, Lehman formed his punk metal band whose name, First Jason, is based upon his role as Jason Voorhees. First Jason has independently released two albums: Jason is Watching! (2009), with Chuck Lescewicz "Nefarious" from Chicago death metal band Macabre playing bass, and Amit Shamir "Cleaver" from New York hardcore punk band Cro-Mags on drums; and "Heed My Warning,"(2013), described by Uber Rock (UK) as "a brand of thinking man's horror-themed rock."

 

 

Ari comes on the podcast to discuss landing the iconic role, his love of all things music and his love of performing!