BIO
ARI LEHMAN
Bandleader, Composer, Singer, Keytarist
"Razor sharp hooks, monster playing and infectious melodies take FIRST JASON to a level that you need to see to believe! Their DIY work ethic and expertly crafted material are winning over legions of fans with every note they shred!”
SPENCER CHARNAS of ICE NINE KILLS
“First Jason is amazing...hits you over the head with an anvil being swung at 1000 miles an hour by the metal gods. Lehman and crew break out of your speakers in surround-sound, get in your face, flash you the devil horns... will leave your jaw dragging across the floor."- COLLEGE NEWS
Ari Lehman is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor. A classically-trained pianist, he attended NYU, where he studied big band orchestration and jazz piano. He went on to record and tour with reggae and worldbeat bands in the US and abroad.
In 2004, Lehman launched FIRST JASON, named for his distinction in playing the first Jason Voorhees of the iconic horror film "Friday the 13th, " and has been melting faces ever since, slashing machete to metal with his keytar. His boot-stomping music includes elements of jazz, rock, Afrobeat, Middle Eastern, classical, reggae, classical, and punk. Lehman has been entertaining audiences in a variety of venues across the country, UK, and in Europe. FIRST JASON has supported many major acts including ICE NINE KILLS, AVATAR, IN THIS MOMENT, INCANTATION & TWIZTID.
"The role of Jason Voorhees has become a legendary mantle in cinema, with many talented performers donning the hockey mask . ...But only Ari Lehman can claim to be the one that started the legacy of this iconic horror villain. " - Ethan Zack, Looper
ARI LEHMAN (born May 2, 1965 in New York, New York) is an American performing artist, composer, and actor. He is best known for having played the first Jason Voorhees as a child in the iconic final Crystal Lake scenes in the Paramount horror film Friday the 13th. Lehman currently records and tours the US and Europe with his punk metal band, First Jason.
A native New Yorker, Ari Lehman grew up in Westport, CT, 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 the famous jazz educator, Dr. Billy Taylor
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 Vladmir Shafranov. Lehman's career led him to become a prominent touring keyboardist for some of the top names in 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.
First Jason has independently released fpur 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 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." “To Be a Monster” (2017) and their most popular album to date “LORD OF THE LAKE” (2019) that contains the hits “KILL FOR MOTHER” and “VOORHEES IS THE NAME” which both have videos up on YouTube. Currently FIRST JASON has recorded two new songs that released recently called “THE PRICE OF PEACE” & “THE SCAPEGOAT”. The video for “THE PRICE OF PEACE” produced by Camp Rattler drops on October 13 2021
Lehman has also composed, performed and recorded a number of soundtracks for independent films, including Alexia Anastasio's critically acclaimed all-female "Salome", and Vamp Films "Vampire the Movie", "which won the 2007 Rondo Award for Best Independent Feature.