It’s been 45 years since the world met “the boy in the lake,” when the 1980 horror classic Friday the 13th released in theaters. But Jason Voorhees is now all grown up and touring with his metal band, First Jason.
The band’s frontman and leading man is Ari Lehman, the songwriter, keytarist and actor best known for playing the first Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th. Think of a heavy metal version of Weird Al Yankovic and you’ve got Lehman.
Lehman — “pronounced like demon,” he tells Orlando Weekly — and the rest of the First Jason band will be debuting their new set, a four-act saga focusing on Voorhees matriarch Pamela, young and grown-up (slashy) versions of Jason, and Lehman himself.
“We have a lot of fun with the characters telling the stories and trying to do as much audience interaction as possible. So this will be the first time that we will be presenting the new set, which is designed to tell that tale and what we’re working up to,” says Lehman.
What the band is “working up to” is the release of their new album, Into the Fray.
“It’s got seven new songs. Cam Schwarz had a great idea. He said to reach out to Harry Manfredini, the soundtrack composer of Friday the 13th — and Harry is the most amazing person in the world. He sent us seven instrumental overtures so each song is preceded by a one-minute or a little longer cinematic overture, which is just so amazing, and the record sounds great,” Lehman says.
Friday the 13th, Lehman says, is a summer movie at its core, so a July show in the Sunshine State fits the film’s original spirit. “Really, Friday the 13th is all about water safety. Jason forgot to use the buddy system. You gotta use the buddy system. If Jason had used the buddy system, none of this would’ve happened,” Lehman says.
Lehman got his start in music by practicing classical and jazz piano, studying big band orchestration at New York University. He eventually shifted gears and toured across the U.S. and abroad with reggae and worldbeat bands.
“I’m a great believer in genre fluidity,” Lehman says. “I think everyone should be genre-fluid and not try to box anybody in, just like everyone does nowadays.”
The First Jason fanbase, which Lehman describes as undeniably eccentric, is primarily made up of people he’s met through horror conventions, avid horror fiends who collect memorabilia of the classics.
When Lehman became active on the convention circuit, he was introduced to the overlapping metal and horror communities.
“It dawned on me how every metalhead and every punk is a horror fan, and there’s so much great hard rock, you know, Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie … Ghost and Ice Nine Kills, who I’ve opened for several times. So, yeah, I just started this idea of First Jason, where I’m the lead singer, the guy who played Jason,” Lehman explains.
Lehman describes First Jason’s sound as a Motörhead-meets-Misfits vibe, with influences from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.
Connecting with metal and punk communities opened doors for Lehman creatively, and he’s recently been inspired by the likes of reggae and Talking Heads.
“I listen to so much music. Music just turns me on,” Lehman says. “When we process these ideas that turn us on so much, you know, not to make a carbon copy but process the music musically, I think that’s when we really do come up with the best stuff.”
The fire fueling First Jason is the loyal Friday the 13th fanbase. Lehman’s seen all the cosplay of people dressed as Jason, the counselors of Camp Crystal Lake, Mrs. Voorhees and all the mundane characters who make up the franchise. He’s met fans at meet-and-greets who gush about how often they rewatch the films.
“It’s always blown me away how much Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees truly means to people, young people, people of all generations, people with different challenges and different things and how Jason just inspires them somehow,” Lehman says. “It’s uncanny. I can’t define it, but I know that I’ve gotta be there for those people, and they’re always there for me.”
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This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2025.