Also in 2011 she duetted with Greg Dulli on the Twilight Singers record Dynamite Steps.[53]. } Her manager, Scott Fisher who has worked with the Southern Center for Human Rights and the Innocence Project is deeply involved in anti-death penalty causes. Her husband is Mike Napolitano (m. 2009), Andrew Gilchrist (m. 1998-2003) Family; Parents: Not Available . With her favorite guitars and songwriting journal by her side, we talked about Binary her 19th studio album on her own Righteous Babe Recordssongwriting, and all things . In 2008, she donated a song to Aid Still Required's CD to assist with the restoration of the devastation done to Southeast Asia from the 2004 tsunami. In 1998, she was a featured performer in the Dead Man Walking benefit concert series[61] raising money for Sister Helen Prejean's "Not in Our Name" anti-death penalty organization. Find top songs and albums by Ani DiFranco, including 32 Flavors, Not a Pretty Girl and more. while(start2 > new Date(today.getTime() + loop_time * loop_range)) { For roughly 25 years, DiFranco has been writing songs perfectly in line with the motives of the recent Occupy Wall Street movement decades before protestors erected the first tent at Zuccotti Park. !0; What is Ani DiFrancos life path number? She played them at bars and coffee houses throughout her teens. Less than two minutes into our interview, Ani DiFranco says the word fuck for the first time, and it sounds like music. She has learned from and demonstrated beside Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinich. . } else { } var start = new Date('1970-09-23T00:00:00-04:00'); Ani DiFrancos life path number is 4. In an interview on September 13, 2012, DiFranco mentioned that she was pregnant with her second child. She blazed the trail for self-directed artist careers and has been cited by musicians from Prince to Bon Iver as an inspiration to release their own art outside of the major label system. Music - Producer. She wears her hair in a wavy, bob do, and soft lines easily crease around the corners of her eyes whenever she smiles. It's not like you have two of anything. They were dating for 4 years after getting together in 2005 and were married in Jan 2009. . Is Ani DiFranco single or dating? diff = start2 - today; While she has been known as the Little Folksinger, her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Righteous Babe Records employs a number of people in her hometown of Buffalo. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Bon Iver, Brand Carlile, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. AKA Angela Marie DiFranco. trove x pocket x shorts / / big 9940 loop_range = seconds['hour']; !loop_time && ! } I can feel [the audience] when Im singing onstage and the first line is like, Yeah, we noticed that about you, and thats me, too! And were having this moment. Her next birthday is in window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { loop_range = seconds['hour']; As a singer . [40] Living in Clip, DiFranco's 1998 double live album, is the only one to achieve gold record status to date. Michael Napolitano and Ani DiFranco have been married for 13 years. Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. Arriving in 2012, Which Side Are You On?, the 17th studio album from the alternative folk legend, featured 12 original songs, including the rousing title . She was without her family two children, ages 8 and 2, and her husband, Mike Napolitano who are back home in New Orleans. Her father, from Erie, Pennsylvania, was of Italian descent. She moved to New Orleans about 10 years ago to be with her husband, producer Mike Napolitano. Throughout the early and mid-1990s DiFranco toured solo and also as a duo with Canadian drummer Andy Stochansky. Guitar Tech Jason Kendall on DiFranco's New Custom Alvarez Baritone "Ani's new baritone guitar is a custom Alvarez made after several consultations between her, myself, and Chrys Johnson, who was an artist rep for Alvarez at the time. var display = ['day']; Ani DiFranco is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, businessperson, and poet. Partner: Mike Napolitano. In general they sold music to independent music stores and women's book stores. }); PERSONAL LIFE. She addressed the controversy about her sexuality in the song "In or Out" on the album Imperfectly . Most Popular #77127. !0; DiFranco has stated that "folk music is not an acoustic guitar that's not where the heart of it is. if(!expire) { This song has a little bit of a plot twist because when I start singing, you think, Oh, another song about me, she says. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. DiFranco was one of the first musicians to receive the award, given each year to a woman who has set herself apart by her contributions to the feminist movement. However, DiFranco is quick to point out the difficulties that the President faced when trying to go forward on issues that the general public seem to have lost interest in. if(diff <= 999) { delimiter : '') + count.toLocaleString() + ' ' + display[i] + (count != 1 ? At the 2013 Winnipeg Folk Festival she received their prestigious Artistic Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg. } function updateCountdown() { Conversation starter #55: Do you come here a lot? And even with the level of privilege and comfortability we have in our society, its almost like were trying to eradicate pain altogether, she says of the songs origins. July 3, 2007. at her Buffalo home on January 20, 2007. Ani DiFranco has never been afraid to take chances. Help Ani DiFranco", "Special Benefit Concert to Help Fund the Legal Campaign to Stop the Re-licensing of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant", "Dennis Kucinich, Ani DiFranco Urging Fans to Go Green", "Music and Her Message: DiFranco at Shea's", "Bearing Witness "New Orleans favorite Ani DiFranco endured 9/11 while in New York City and Hurricane Katrina while in New Orleans", "Lenny Kravitz Headlining Gulf Aid To Benefit Oil Spill Recovery", "Ani DiFranco's Fresh Perspective on New Orleans", "A2IM to Honor Nick Lowe With Independent Icon Award & Ani DiFranco to Receive Lifetime Achievement", "Ani DiFranco to be honored at John Lennon benefit show", "Ani DiFranco Announces New LP 'Revolutionary Love,' Drops Title Track", "Music Review: Plenty of clever twists from Peter Mulvey", "Old Man Trump: Tom Morello gives new life to Woody Guthrie's protest song", "Ani DiFranco guests on new Rising Appalachia song 'Speak Out' (listen)", "Ani DiFranco Announces New Album Revolutionary Love, Shares New Song: Listen", Ani DiFranco featured in award-winning documentary film, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ani_DiFranco&oldid=1132034414, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards/ Best Rock/ Alternative Song, Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards/ OutMusic Award, Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards/ Female Artist of the Year, Planned Parenthood Maggie Award for Media Excellence, Gibson Guitar Award, Best Acoustic Artist Female, Southern Center for Human Rights, Human Rights Award, Winnipeg Folk Festival Artistic Achievement Award, Outstanding Achievement for Global Activism Award from A Global Friendship, 2016 Ryan Harvey Featured on "Old Man Trump", This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 23:27. [77], DiFranco is also a member of the Toronto-based charity Artists Against Racism for which she participated in a radio PSA. } Beginning in 1999, Righteous Babe Records began releasing albums by other artists including Sara Lee, Sekou Sundiata, Arto Lindsay, Bitch and Animal, That One Guy, Utah Phillips, Hamell on Trial, Andrew Bird, Kurt Swinghammer, Buddy Wakefield, Anas Mitchell and Nona Hendryx. Ani DiFranco was born on 23 September, 1970 in Buffalo, New York, United States, is a Musician,singer-songwriter,poet. start2.setFullYear(today.getFullYear()); ", Ani has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including a Grammy for best album package (. And I feel like I haven't seen my daughter since he was born. var text = ''; Got a new wreckord and I don't hate it." That's how Ani DiFranco begins her description of Allergic to Water, to be released Oct. 14 on her Righteous Babe label.. It's the . } else { start2.setFullYear(today.getFullYear() + 1); Stats. text += '
' + count + '
' + display[i] + (count != 1 ? In 2009, DiFranco appeared at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, debuting her revamped version of the 1930s labor anthem "Which Side Are You On?" The organization provides free marching band instruction to children in the New Orleans area in addition to academic tutoring and mentoring. Still, as with any DiFranco record, she tempers her optimism and visceral joy of being alive with her own brand of patriotism, urging Americans to take a step back from their inclination toward self-absorption and greed to consider the benefits of making a few sacrifices for the greater good. jQuery(function() { In 1998, she produced fellow folksinger Dan Bern's album Fifty Eggs. } text += (text.length ? Rolling Stone said of her in 2012, "The world needs more radicals like Ani DiFranco: wry, sexy, as committed to beauty and joy as revolution.". if(diff <= 999) { } else { DiFranco released an album on January 17, 2012, Which Side Are You On?. today = new Date(today.getTime() - loop_time * loop_range); And so began the peculiar career of Ani DiFranco, then a teen from Buffalo, N.Y., who decided from the get-go that she would not offer up her soul as a co-op to big record companies, and therefore, never saw big success as a likely outcome. Add to favorites. if(diff < 0) { } [25], DiFranco came out as bisexual in her twenties,[26] and has written songs about love and sex with women and men. On the subject of religion, DiFranco has stated:[38]. var start = new Date('1970-09-23T00:00:00-04:00'); var expire = ! if(increment < 0) { And there are those who feel she is somehow betraying her art if she writes the occasional love song instead of keeping it all-political-all-the-time. while(start2 > new Date(today.getTime() + loop_time * loop_range)) { DiFranco started her own record company, Righteous Babe Records, in 1989 at age 19. DiFrancos philanthropic reach extends locally as well. [76], Scot Fisher, formerly Righteous Babe label president and DiFranco's manager for many years, has been a longtime advocate of the preservation movement in Buffalo. } start2.setFullYear(today.getFullYear()); In 2011, she appeared on Rob Wasserman's album Note of Hope, an exploration of the writings of Woody Guthrie with musical accompaniment, though the track in which she appeared, "Voice", was actually recorded 13 years earlier. You would see much different diseases. [10], DiFranco was born in Buffalo, New York,[11] on September 23, 1970, the daughter of Elizabeth (Ross) and Dante Americo DiFranco, who had met while attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Which Sides Splinter illustrates the point well: Something about this landscape just dont feel right/ hyper-air-conditioned and lit up all night/ like we just got to see how comfortable comfortable can get/ like we cant even bring ourselves to sweat., You know, as humans, we devise this supposed way of being above nature. Hes too tall for her! complained one flustered message board contributor. She knows that male listeners have, at times, looked the other way not expecting a female artist whos been heralded by many as one of the most important feminist icons of the last few decades to produce music that might easily be processed by dudes, but she means for her work to be all-inclusive. They have been married for 13.8 years. } [37], DiFranco has described herself as an atheist. [71], In 2002, Righteous Babe Records established the "Aiding Buffalo's Children" program in conjunction with members of the local community to raise funds for Buffalo's public school system. It's both fitting and ironic for DiFranco, a feminist and musical icon, to have a husband she can refer to as "Mr. Mom." But she's the breadwinner, and her work sometimes takes her away from home. [28] In 1998, she married her sound engineer Andrew Gilchrist[29] in a Unitarian Universalist service in Canada. years: 365.25*1000*60*60*24, months: 30.41666667*1000*60*60*24, weeks: 7*1000*60*60*24, days: 1000*60*60*24, hours: 1000*60*60, minutes: 1000*60, seconds: 1000 } : United States Executive summary: Bisexual folk/punk icon. She married the child's father Mike Napolitano, also her regular producer, in 2009. Boston Globe, September 20, 1996. Later in the day, Ani played a few songs on the main stage in front of the Capitol, including "Your Next Bold Move". Ani DiFranco father's name is Dante DiFranco and mother Elizabeth DiFranco. For all of its contemplative uncertainty, Zoo resolves on an immensely hopeful note: The matter-of-fact finality of which isnt anything short of inspiring ( Pour your love into your children and theres nothing left to say ). if(! From Alice Walker to Amy Schumer, Ani is respected by wordsmiths across milieux and generations. var increment = 1 * '-1'; var seconds = { She even enlisted the Roots of Music Marching Crusaders to provide brass for the title track of Which Side. Is a committed feminist, and did not her take husband's name in marriage. var loop_range = ''; In 2017, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from A2IM (a nonprofit trade organization that represents independent record labels) and the Outstanding Achievement for Global Activism Award from A Global Friendship. if(!large) { var count = Math.floor(abs_diff / seconds[display[i]]); Solo artist and founder of Righteous Babe Records. if(start2 > today) { When big success came her way in spite of all that (and not at all by chance DiFranco is a woman of immense talent and relentless work ethic), she wasnt sure what to do with it. The underlying realities of racism make it that much more difficult for him to take charge and use the power that we have given him, that we wish he would really use.. if(!text) { She released her debut, self-titled album in 1990. This concept of transition and rebirth extends darkly through the powerful album closer, Zoo, in which she talks about daily realities of American life that encourage selfdestructive behavior: from the spiritual blight of harmful television programming ( I can no longer watch TV cuz that shit really melts my brain ), down to her own past insecurities ( I walk past my old self-loathing like I walk past animals in the zoo/ trying not to really see them in a prison they did not choose ). She and her husband currently reside in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. This information is not available. text += (text.length ? [20] She is an avid supporter of the 99% Deficit Proposal authored by economist/activist Kevin Zeese and is working to have the proposal brought before Congress. On this album she was supported by Todd Sickafoose, the upright bass player who has toured with her since 2004.Drummer Terence Higgins, who has been touring with DiFranco since 2012, also accompanied her on most of the tracks on the album. A self-proclaimed bisexual, Ani DiFranco currently lives in New Orleans with her husband Mike Napolitano, whom she married in 2009. In 2010, she co-produced a track with Margaret Cho called "Captain Cameltoe" for the comedian's Cho Dependant album. She was living by herself, having moved out of her mother's apartment after she became an emancipated minor when she was 15.[16]. BILL HABER/AP file A line from the records centerpiece a stunningly perfect New Orleans folks song entitled simply J reflects progressives disappointment in the Obama administrations performance thus far ( Dude could be FDR right now/ but instead hes shifting his weight ). Bestselling. New dates added in Colorado, Utah, and Montana this spring! (For example, she founded her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, at the age of nineteen in 1990). }); var show_zero = ! A self-professed bisexual, DiFranco married Andrew Gilchrist, the sound engineer of her recording label, on May 30, 1998.They divorced in 2003 after spending five years as a married couple. And then its like, Wait, who is she talking about? And I guess, for me, writing the song, it was. !seconds[display[i]]) { Ani Difranco has been married to Mike Napolitano since January, 2009. if(diff > 0) { The 35-year-old singer said Friday she is due in February. Suddenly, the clatter of dishes from a neighboring table and the passing rumble of trucks that routinely jockey between nearby warehouses seem quite loud to me. !0; PG recently sat down with DiFranco on a sunny afternoon in New Orleans, where she lives with her husband, engineer/producer Mike Napolitano, and their two young children. This page was updated in January 2023 with new dating information and news. Trickle Down discusses racism and gentrification, while To The Teeth speaks about the need for gun control, and In or Out questions societys traditional sexuality labels. . 23 Fans; 39 Pictures; 15 Lists; IMDB profile. } . Ani DiFranco is 52 years old. } Im just writing about my life, she says. DiFranco graduated from the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts high school at 16 and began attending classes at Buffalo State College.