Have Guitar, Will Travel

“The great troubadour David Rovics put down his guitar long enough to compose this gripping and vivid book, filled with illuminating stories about the courageous people he met over the last few years who are fighting for justice in the United States and around the world. Impassioned yet conversational, he brings loving portraits -- and damning indictments. Rovics's humanity shines through, as does his unquenchable thirst for a better, fairer world.” Matt Rothschild Editor, Progressive Magazine

“The great troubadour David Rovics put down his guitar long enough to compose this gripping and vivid book, filled with illuminating stories about the courageous people he met over the last few years who are fighting for justice in the United States and around the world. Impassioned yet conversational, he brings loving portraits -- and damning indictments. Rovics's humanity shines through, as does his unquenchable thirst for a better, fairer world.” Matt Rothschild Editor, Progressive Magazine “Tirelessly crisscrossing the planet, guitar in hand and song in his heart, David Rovics generously takes us along. With prose as simple and crystal clear as water, he introduces us to people fighting for justice and for a little thing called democracy in the streets of Japan, Palestine, Denmark, Nevada, Texas, and dozens of points in between. If you're ever tempted to believe that 'nothing's happening,' consider these beautifully told stories to be the perfect antidote: read it to give yourself courage.” Mark Rudd Author of Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen “One of the greatest gifts of wisdom is to educate people by telling them stories. That is what David Rovics does in his songs, and this is what he does, at much greater length, in his book of travel writing. In the songs, he often speaks in the voices of others; in the travel writing, he speaks directly in his own voice. But the insight, the humor, and the radical vision are a constant. When you read this book, you'll become acquainted both with the repressive forces (cultural as well as paramilitary) and with the communities of resistance in a wide range of countries, spanning the Americas, Australasia, and both northern and southern Europe. And you'll do it all quite effortlessly; it's like listening to an extended version of what David tells his audiences in between songs at one of his gigs.” Victor Walls Professor, Berklee College of Music “Rovics's 'protest travel writing' is both entertaining to read and a valuable account of our contemporary activist history. He takes us into some of the most important conflict zones of the last decade, and his first-person stories bring alive the events and memories. Activist history too often disappears--thank you David for documenting these struggles!” Starhawk, author of The Spiral Dance and many other books

As a professional troubadour of the folk punk variety, David Rovics has been traveling the world for most of the past twenty years, performing at protests and in community centers, music clubs, union halls, college campuses, squatted social centers and many other places. David has been widely recognized as a songwriter of repute, with more than a million songs downloaded, and his music regularly featured on radio programs around the world including BBC and Democracy Now! In October, 2006, with the death of David's friend Brad Will, shot by paramilitary forces in Oaxaca, Mexico, David felt compelled to write something about Brad's life and death. The response to this piece convinced David he should do more writing, and since then David has become a regular contributor to Counterpunch and other publications, and has published a booklet on PM Press called Sing For Your Supper: A DIY Guide to Writing Songs, Playing Music and Booking Your Own Gigs.