Tempering the rat race’s fast pace

Seven years ago, then newlyweds, Ami and Michael Goldwasser, lived in Manhattan and were fed up with working in the fast paced, corporate world so they packed up their belongings, put them in storage and headed for a kibbutz in Israel.

The couple, Ami, an event producer and Michael, a record producer, who now live in Woodmere, sought inspiration and a new creative environment on the kibbutz, a communal farm. “It was an adventure so I said, ‘let’s do it,’” Ami said. “Everyone in the commune keeps the community going by working in the kitchen, the field and milking cows. We’ve tried to replicate it here but we can’t find a kibbutz on Long Island.”

Ami, an Oceanside native, moved to Manhattan after graduating from Stony Brook University and landed a job as a sales assistant at Esquire Magazine. She answered phones, scheduled appointments and attended movie premieres for big name actors such as Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. “I remember thinking, ‘this is it, I have to do this,’” she said. “Every year, I wanted to keep going higher and higher in my career.”

During her 20s, Ami dedicated her time to her career and went on to produce events for the Tribeca Film Festival, SONY Pictures, Cosmopolitan Magazine and even produced a multi-city national tour for television host, Oprah Winfrey. “It was the biggest production ever,” she said. “I managed a team of 50 people and we were up all night for days. The excitement and the adrenaline were amazing.”

When Ami met her husband Michael, everything changed. Michael, who grew up in Little Neck and graduated from Columbia University, knew he wanted to devote his life to his main passion, music.

Michael and his three business partners founded a record label, Easy Star Records, in 1996 and began remaking rock hits into reggae albums. His first production, “Dub Side of the Moon,” was a reggae version of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” which further expanded the record label. He’s since worked with Matisyahu, an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician, and even performed Dub Side of the Moon at Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughter Emma’s wedding. “I’ve been making music since I was 14-years-old,” he said. “Seeing fans react to the music we’re making is instantaneous. It’s really rewarding to give joy to people and see it immediately.”

Aside from the record label, Michael does freelance production work for various artists in his free time and continues to visit the kibbutz in Israel where he helped teach music and give a platform for Israeli musicians to learn and perform. “Many musicians in New York are so competitive and are making music with dollar signs in their eyes,” he said. “In Israel, you know you’re probably not going to be rich making music so they make it from the heart. There’s more of a willingness to create and I enjoy being a part of that.”

Ami and Michael said they are grateful to have flexible lifestyles that allow them to spend time with their two children, 4-year-old Tali and 6-month-old Sivan, while still enjoying their creative careers. Ami recently launched a website, www.amigoldwasser.com and is expanding her business to include private evenets such as bat and bar mitzvahs, on a local level. “I feel like people want red carpet celebrity events,” she said. “I’ve got the contacts and I bring a little red carpet to everyone’s event.”

To contact the Goldwassers, visit Ami’s website at www.amigoldwasser.com or e-mail Michael Goldwasser at MichaelG@EasyStar.com.