Avi Bitter first made his name in Israel as a singer in the Turkish style—a heavy, melodramatic, and emotional subgenre of Mizrahi music that is also known as “depression music,” light-years away from the modern pop- and dance-oriented side of the genre. After becoming known as a singer, he branched out in the early 1990s, starring (and singing) in a series of independent, low-budget Mizrahi B-movies that were originally intended to convey serious messages about social injustice but instead became popular cult films, regarded by many as trashy and extremely funny; sometimes he writes, produces, and even directs these films. Despite his growing cult status, the Israeli mainstream media ignored Bitter for years, until he eventually became a TV mainstay—again, mainly of the trashy/culty variety, appearing on reality TV and starring in commercials.
But even as the onetime underground star became a household name in Israel, Bitter faced financial problems due to bad business decisions. In 2007, he declared bankruptcy. Then, a year and a half ago, he met his new manager, businessman Avi Civier, and Bitter is finally back on his feet: He has a new album coming soon (the first single has already been released), a new one-man show on the way, and a new movie in the making. And now, Bitter is devoting much of his time to a restaurant that serves his own recipes and allows him to mingle with his fans and customers—and sing.
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From Tablet Magazine
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