Adam Brodsky is an locally popular anti-folk

Anti-folk

Anti-folk is a music genre that takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s folk music and subverts it. The defining characteristics of this anti-folk are difficult to identify, as they vary from one artist to the next...

 singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. In 2003, he attained the Guinness World Record

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural 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", or "Dorkboy". To highlight this, he has a tattoo, similar to Robert Indiana's

Robert Indiana

Robert Indiana is an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement.-Life and work:Robert Indiana was born Robert Clark in New Castle, Indiana. His family relocated to Indianapolis, where he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School...

 sculpture, portrayed in Philadelphia's LOVE Park

LOVE Park

Love Park is a plaza located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park is nicknamed Love Park for Robert Indiana's Love sculpture which overlooks the plaza.-History:...

, proclaiming him a DORK. His songs typically feature self-deprecation

Self-deprecation

Self-deprecation, or Self-depreciation, is the act of belittling or undervaluing oneself. It can be used in humor and tension release.-In comedy:...

, religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 (especially Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

), suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

, and rejection

Rejection

The word "rejection" was first used in 1415. The original meaning was "to throw" or "to throw back".Rejection may mean:* Social rejection, in psychology, an interpersonal situation that occurs when a person or group of people exclude an individual from a social relationship* Transplant 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 Guinness World Record

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 for the Fastest Tour by Solo Performer with 50 shows in 50 states in 50 days, and then performed in Washington DC the following night.

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

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...

.

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)

External links

• Official Site
• Adam Brodsky's page on MySpace
• Adam Brodsky collection at the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  's live music archive