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April 20, 2001
Israel's Anniversary
Israeli rock legend in Vogue
David Broza will come to Vancouver to help celebrate Israel's
birthday.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
The Jewish community of Greater Vancouver will celebrate the 53rd
anniversary of Israel's independence in unique style; that is, the
musical style of popular Israeli folk rocker David Broza, who will
perform at the Vogue Theatre April 25.
A superstar in Israel, Broza has spent the past 24 years recording
19 albums, while building a fan base of music lovers around the
globe. Broza is a self-taught guitarist who played music for inspiration
during his three years in the Israeli army. Originally, he had wanted
to be a graphic artist. But that career path changed when his stint
in the army ended in 1977 and he received his first big musical
break. Israeli poet and performer Yonatan Geffen heard Broza's music
and asked him to perform with him as a side act.
Although Broza still wasn't planning a musical career, he needed
the money and took Geffen up on his offer. The two co-wrote the
song "Yiyeh Tov" ("Things Will Get Better"),
which was an instant hit. "It became like a national anthem
for the peace process and for all good times and bad times and I
started rolling from there," said Broza in an interview with
the Bulletin. "I never looked back."
Since then, Broza has had several albums go gold and platinum and,
in 1983, his album Woman By My Side went quadruple platinum.
In 1989, he debuted his first American album, Away From Home, which
the New York Times called one of the best pop albums of the year.
Broza's successful career took a dramatic turn when, in August 1998,
he was in a car accident that many thought would end his vocation
as a performer. On his way home from a concert in Israel, the car
he was riding in crashed into an electricity pole on the side of
the road. Broza suffered five broken ribs, a broken shoulder, damage
to one of his lungs and damage to the nerves in his left hand.
While he was out of action for several months, the singer said
he never doubted that his wounds would heal and that he would perform
again. He has done just that.
Currently, Broza's music has adopted a European flare. On his never-ending
world tour, Broza made several stops in Spain, where he lived as
a teenager, in order to work on what he calls the third phase of
his musical career.
"People always used to say to me after shows that they loved
the songs I did in Spanish and so, basically, that's what I've been
working on for the past year."
Broza has recorded albums in both Hebrew and English. He believes
the diversity of his music, both in style and language, helps keep
his career fresh.
"It's definitely the one thing that keeps me on my toes,"
he said. Broza is also working on material for an upcoming American
release and somehow finds the time to work as an artist in residence
at Bennington College in Vermont, where he often guest lectures
for writing classes.
He is also a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. His song titled "Together,"
which he co-wrote with Ramsey Mclean, was the theme song for UNICEF's
50th anniversary, which was celebrated in 148 countries. While his
schedule has him popping up all over the world, this will be the
first time Broza is not at home in Israel for Yom Ha'atzma'ut.
"I'm going to be missing the moments when I can be with my
friends at the memorial services and supporting my friends' families,"
he told the Bulletin. "But I'll turn that into something else
and, hopefully, this concert can become important for me and we
can make it meaningful and enjoy something that has come out of
nowhere.
"One hundred years ago, we would have never imagined that
we would have a country and a culture and music of our own,"
he continued. "I'm looking forward to it."
In honor of Israel's birthday celebration, Broza will be performing
mostly Hebrew songs for the Vancouver audience.
He has played in Vancouver before but expects a good mix of old
fans with new ones at the Vogue, as well as at his April 26 performance
in Winnipeg.
"I haven't played in either place very often so there will
be a lot of the fans who will be thinking, 'Let's see what this
guy can do."
"It's going to be a lot of fun," he continued. "Just
come and let's
have a party."
The show is being presented by the Jewish Federation of Greater
Vancouver and Bank Hapoalim and is co-sponsored by the Jewish Western
Bulletin.
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