Adam Brodsky is an American, locally popular

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes spelled antifolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in New York City, founded by the musician, author and comedian Lach, as a reaction to the commercialization of folk music. It is characterized by its DIY ethos, ...

singer, from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, 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 British reference book published annually, listi ...

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", 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, United States. The park is across from the Philadelphia City Hall and serves as a visual terminus for the Benjamin Frank ...

, 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 ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

(especially

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, 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 Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

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 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. 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