David Stefan Rovics (born April 10, 1967) is an American

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

singer/songwriter. His music concerns topical subjects such as the 2003 Iraq war,

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals f ...

issues. Rovics has been an outspoken critic of former President George W. Bush, the Republican Party,

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he p ...

, and the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

. 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 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

files. He encourages the free distribution of his work by all

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

means to promote his work and spread political messages, and speaks out against websites or programs like

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His family moved to Wilton, Connecticut when he was young. Rovics was politically inspired during his adolescence by his experiences with the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

-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 Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics * Nuclear power * Nuclear reactor * Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine * Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nucl ...

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and other

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

issues. He has described himself as an "anti-Zionist

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from New York". In 1985, Rovics enrolled at

Earlham College Earlham College is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quaker values such as integrity, a commitment to peace and social ...

in Richmond, Indiana, but dropped out and moved to Berkeley, California. He worked in occupations such as a cook,

barista A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Etymology and inflection The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...

, 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 Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...

counterculture and made contact with other songwriters and performers on the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * 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. In 1996 he self-released his first album, ''Make It So'', which consisted mostly of covers of other artists' songs. He released his second cover album in 1998. He produced a series of five original song albums between 1998 and 2003 as self-released titles. The album ''Who Would Jesus Bomb?'' was entirely distributed in mp3 format over the Internet and had no commercial release, although it was included in a later "best of" album. In 2003, Rovics signed up to Ever Reviled Records and produced a studio album, ''Return''. Later that year, he released ''Behind The Barricades: The Best Of David Rovics'' in association with

AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, S ...

, including titles from his earlier self-releases which met with minimal commercial success. He has since released the Songs for Mahmud album as a self-release in association with Ever Reviled Records. Despite being the sole performer in most of his work, he usually describes himself only as a songwriter. Although Rovics' work has not gained major commercial success, it has been acclaimed in sections of the press and continues to be popular with a small yet widespread base of fans with similar political interests, as well as supporters of internet

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

. 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! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday a ...

'', the BBC,

Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera M ...

, Acik Radyo and other networks. His essays are published regularly on

CounterPunch ''CounterPunch'' is a left-wing online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly. ''CounterPunch'' is based in the Unit ...

and

Truthout Truthout is a non-profit news organization which describes itself as "dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues". Truthout's main areas of focus include mass incarceration, prison a ...

and the 200+ songs he makes available on the web have been downloaded more than a million times. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family and has a daughter, Leila, who was born in 2006. Rovics is a Wobbly - a member of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines gener ...

Political activism

Rovics has also written a song on Francis Hughes, a Provisional IRA combatant who died in the

1981 Irish Hunger Strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Ca ...

, in his song "Up The Provos". Rovics has been accused of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

and

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

due to having interviewed Matthew Heimbach

Gilad Atzmon Gilad Atzmon ( he, גלעד עצמון, ; born 9 June 1963) is a British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist, and writer. As a musician, he is best known as a saxophonist and bandleader. His instruments include the saxophone, acco ...

, including promoting Atzmon's book ''The Wandering Who''. He strongly denies these accusations.

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'' (

/ 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

External links