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David Rovics

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David Rovics
Rovics in 2013.Rovics in 2013.
Background information
Born (1967-04-10) April 10, 1967 (age 57)
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active1992–present
Websitewww.davidrovics.com
Musical artist

David Stefan Rovics (/ˈroʊvɪks/ ROH-viks; born April 10, 1967) is an American indie singer/songwriter. His music concerns topical subjects such as the 2003 Iraq war, anti-globalization, anarchism, and social justice issues. Rovics has been an outspoken critic of former President George W. Bush, the Republican Party, John Kerry, and the Democratic Party.

Rovics is critical of the United States government's policies and claims that the "U.S. government's foreign policy represents U.S. corporate interests" and that "the U.S. government does not like democracy either at home or abroad."

Although some of Rovics' work is not self-published, and much of it is commercially distributed, Rovics has made all of his recorded music freely available as downloadable mp3 files. He encourages the free distribution of his work by all non-profit means to promote his work and spread political messages, and speaks out against websites or programs like iTunes that charge money for downloading his songs. Rovics has also advocated the performing of his songs at protests and demonstrations and has made his sheet music and lyrics available for download.

Biography

David Rovics was born in New York City. His family moved to Wilton, Connecticut when he was young. Rovics was politically inspired during his adolescence by his experiences with the conservative-oriented, Christian milieu of his home town. His parents, both classical musicians and educators, were liberal in their outlook. Perhaps for this reason, while in his teens Rovics acquired interests in nuclear disarmament, vegetarianism and other counterculture issues. He has described himself as an "anti-Zionist Jew from New York".

In 1985, Rovics enrolled at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, but dropped out and moved to Berkeley, California. He worked in occupations such as a cook, barista, secretary and typist, while pursuing his musical interests as a street and subway performer and in small clubs and bars. He immersed himself in leftist counterculture and made contact with other songwriters and performers on the underground circuit. By the early 1990s he was a full-time busker in the Boston subways.

From the mid-1990s, Rovics has spent most of his time on concert tours around the world. Rovics tours regularly on four continents, playing for audiences large and small at cafes, pubs, universities, churches, union halls and protest rallies. He has had his music featured on Democracy Now!, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Acik Radyo and other networks. His essays are published regularly on CounterPunch and Truthout and the 200+ songs he makes available on the web have been downloaded more than a million times. Although Rovics' work has not gained major commercial success, it has been acclaimed in sections of the press.

He currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family and has a daughter, Leila, who was born in 2006.

Political activism

Interview with David Rovics on Talk Nation Radio dealing with the politics of music.

Rovics has also written a song on Francis Hughes, a Provisional IRA combatant who died in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, in his song "Up The Provos".

Rovics been accused by anti-fascists such as It's Going Down of promotion of individuals associated with white nationalism, Holocaust denial and antisemitism such as Matthew Heimbach, Gilad Atzmon, and Kevin Barrett. He temporarily removed the interview with Heimbach from his site, but responded that Atzmon is not an antisemite and Heimbach not a fascist, and that it is important to understand why people are drawn to the far right.

Discography

  • Make It So (Self-release, 1996)
  • Pay Day at Coal Creek (Self-release, 1998)
  • We Just Want the World (Liberation Records, 1999)
  • Live at Club Passim (Liberation Records, 2000)
  • Living In These Times (Liberation Records, 2001)
  • Hang a Flag In the Window (Liberation Records, 2002)
  • Who Would Jesus Bomb? (Self-release, 2003)
  • Behind the Barricades, the Best of David Rovics (AK Press/Daemon Records 2003)
  • The Return (Ever Reviled Records, 2003)
  • Songs for Mahmud (Ever Reviled Records, 2004)
  • Beyond the Mall (Self-release, 2004)
  • For the Moment (Yoyo Records, 2005)
  • Halliburton Boardroom Massacre (MI5 Records/Caroline Distribution, 2006)
  • The Commons (Irregular Records, 2007) Recorded live at Club Passim
  • Ten Thousand Miles Away (Liberation Records, 2009)
  • Waiting for the Fall - A Retrospective (Liberation Records, 2009)
  • Troubador: People's History in Song (Liberation Records, 2010)
  • Big Red Sessions (Liberation Records, 2011)
  • Ten New Songs (2011) (Liberation Records, 2011)
  • Meanwhile In Afghanistan (Liberation Records, 2012)
  • 99% (Liberation Records, 2012)
  • Spies Are Reading My Blog (Liberation Records, 2013)
  • A Coup That Wasn't A Coup (17 Aug 2013)
  • Everything Can Change (Liberation Records, 2013)
  • Into A Prism (Liberation Records, 2013)
  • Falasteen Habibti (Self-release, 2014)
  • All the News That's Fit to Sing (Self-release, 2014)
  • When I'm Elected President / Wayfaring Stranger (Self-release, 2014)
  • The Other Side (Self-release, 2015)
  • 1936 (Self-Release, 2016)
  • Letter to My Landlord (Self-Release, 2016)
  • Spies are Reading My Blog (Self-Release, 2017)
  • Punk Baroque (Self-Release, 2017)
  • Ballad of a Wobbly (Self-Release, 2018)
  • Historic Times (Self-Release, 2019)
  • Meanwhile in Afghanistan (Self-Release, 2019)
  • Songs for Today (Self-Release, 2019)
  • Strangers and Friends (Self-Release, 2019)
  • Notes From a Failed State (Self-Release, 2020)
  • Say Their Names (Self-Release, 2020)
  • Rebel Songs (Free The Imagination) (Self-Release, 2020)
  • It's Been a Year (Self-Release, 2021)
  • May Day (Self-Release, 2021)

Children's albums

  • Har Har Har! Pirate Songs for Kids (CD Baby.Com/Indys, 2008)
  • Ballad of a Dung Beetle (2011)

References

  1. "Folklife: Interview with David Rovics Singer Songwriter". YouTube. July 11, 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  2. "tlaxcala". Archived from the original on October 18, 2013.
  3. "David Rovics - Download Songbook". Progressive @rt & Design. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. ^ "David Rovics Biography". David Rovics. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. Rovics, David (23 September 2013). "The Antideutsch and Me: An Open Letter to the German Left".
  6. "Review: Return". Acousticmusic.com. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  7. Jasmin. "The Social Significance of David Rovics". The Pulse. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  8. Emerick, Katie. "Rabble rouser for the new left". Anchorage Press. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  9. "David Rovics". Time Out Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  10. Dineen, Matt (September 2006). "The Soundtrack to Protest: An interview with David Rovics". ZNet. Archived from the original on 5 October 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  11. "Up The Provos". Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  12. ""No, It Is the Children Who Are Wrong": A Response to David Rovics". It's Going Down. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  13. "Neo-Nazis Who Organized Deadly 'Unite the Right' Rally Claim They're In "Communication" with 'Anti-War' Protest Leaders in DC". It's Going Down. 19 February 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  14. Burley, Shane (24 April 2022). "The Gilad Atzmon and David Rovics Antisemitism Controversy, Explained – 🏴 Anarchist Federation". 🏴 Anarchist Federation – 🔴 Anarchist news multi-lingual platform Ⓐ daily anti-capitalist news & anti-fascist information from 350+ collectives. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  15. Rovics, David (16 July 2021). "The Campaign Against Me". This Week with David Rovics. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  16. Rovics, David (31 January 2021). "Platforming Fascists". PM Press. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  17. Burley, Shane (19 March 2023). "Fascists Are Attempting to Win Followers by Rebranding as Antiwar". Truthout. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  18. Lankford, Ronnie D., Jr. "David Rovics - For the Moment". AllMusic. Retrieved January 22, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. Brown, Alan (April 5, 2007). "David Rovics: Halliburton Boardroom Massacre". PopMatters. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  20. Altman, Ross. "David Rovics - Meanwhile in Afghanistan". FolkWorks. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

Further reading

External links

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