Adam Brodsky is an American, locally popular

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...

singer, from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. In 2003, he attained the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the Fastest Tour by Solo Performer with 50 shows in 50 states in 50 days.

Background

Brodsky frequently refers to himself as "the

Dork Dork is a pejorative term for a person (compare with " dweeb" and "fool"). Dork may also refer to: People * Dork Sahagian, Armenian-American climate scientist Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dork'' (EP), an album by AFI * ''Dork'' (magaz ...

", or "Dorkboy". To highlight this, he has a tattoo, similar to Robert Indiana's sculpture, portrayed in Philadelphia's

LOVE Park LOVE Park, officially known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, is a public park located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park is nicknamed LOVE Park for its reproduction of Robert Indiana's 1970 ''LOVE'' sculpture which overlooks the pla ...

, proclaiming him a DORK. His songs typically feature

self-deprecation Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be u ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

(especially

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, and rejection. His albums often include banter made between sets during performances. His self-owned label is Permanent Records, which he started in the mid-1990s. Among the artists who have recorded under it are Todd Young, Butch Ross, EDO, Greg Simon, Pete Chambers and Steph Hayes. In 2000, he was named the Best Folk Performer in the Philadelphia City Paper Music Awards. That year, he also developed a side project called, "A Brief History of Folk Music." Contrary to his raucous shows, it was primarily aimed at children. Between August 3, 2003, and September 21, 2003, Brodsky set the

for the Fastest Tour by Solo Performer with 50 shows in 50 states in 50 days, and then performed in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

the following night.("Hats off to punk-folk singer-songwriter Adam Brodsky who completed his ambitious '50 States...") Brodsky allows audience members to record his live performances. In 2003, Mary Krause of Permanent Records gave permission for fan-made recordings of Brodsky's shows to be hosted on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. Adam removed himself a self-imposed "hibernation" and went back on the road in April 2008 with shows in Hoboken, NJ; Boston, MA; Schenectady, NY and Ithaca, NY, with Steph Hayes from Steph Hayes and The Good Problems.A Small Tour To The North
AdamBrodsky.com (March 28, 2008), Retrieved January 25, 2010

Discography

* ''Deeply Flawed'' * ''Dork Radio EP'' * ''Dork'' (1997) * ''Folk Remedy'' (2000) * ''Hookers, Hicks, and Heebs'' (2003) * ''Under the Covers'' (promotional) * "No More Luxuries", hidden track on the Jim Carroll Band Tribute, ''Put Your Tongue to the Rail'' (1999)

References

External links

Official Site

Adam Brodsky's page on MySpace

Adam Brodsky collection
at the

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodsky, Adam Songwriters from Pennsylvania Jewish American musicians American male singers Singers from Philadelphia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Jewish anti-folk musicians 21st-century American Jews American male songwriters