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Olivia Greer
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Website http://www.oliviagreer.com >> This web site features photos of the artist's work.This web site features audio clips of the artist's work.

Personal Statement: Folky pop that doesn’t pull punches.
Friends have joked that Olivia Greer may have to sleep her way to the top. No traumatic childhood to overcome, no dusty emigration to New York from parts unknown. But the truth is that it’s the strength of her songs and the force of her performances that are taking Olivia Greer to the top, as she emerges as a powerful new voice for her generation.

Olivia is a singer & songwriter. With a resume that includes opera training from the age of 5, and being the youngest participant in the inaugural summer of the AFL-CIO's Union Summer, it's no wonder that her work pushes boundaries, both artistically and politically. With songs like "Hello World" (a rock lullaby to a troubled world) and "She Danced" (inspired by the work of Emma Goldman), Olivia makes music that's deeply connected to her drive to make a difference.
Current Work
As a performer, Olivia plays regularly with her band at great New York venues like CB’s Gallery, the Cutting Room, Makor, Pianos and 169 Bar. Her singular, bell-like voice has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro. Olivia's two enthusiastically received EPs – "4 Songs" and "The Park Slope Sessions" – are available on CD Baby, and as downloads at most major music sites.

As a songwriter, Olivia received a 2005 ASCAPlus award for emerging songwriters, and her song “In The Quiet” was honored in the 2005 Great American Song Contest. In June 2005, she was commissioned by acclaimed theater company The Culture Project to write a song along the theme of reproductive rights ("For A Friend Who Isn't Well”) for the opening night of their festival Women Center Stage 2005.

Current projects include an anticipated early-2006 release of an extended EP, featuring new songs along with old favorites. 2006 also finds her at work on a song cycle inspired by the poetry and life of Anne Sexton, in collaboration with composer Whitney Ashe.
Short Bio
In 2002, an auspicious white lie led Olivia to write her first song. Since then, her work has been received with great enthusiasm by fans and fellow musicians. Olivia’s bell-like voice has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro. Her genre bending, folky-pop songs intimately examine a personal relationship at one moment, and expand to take on the world at the next.

As an artist and activist, Olivia has been working in the world of social justice activism since childhood – from rallies to mailings, workers rights board hearings to grant proposals. She looks to tie each of her passions to her commitment to social justice work in what she sees as a world community, and throws herself into each project with vigor. Olivia has also recently co-edited and published a book called Actions Speak Louder Than Bumper Stickers (www.actionsspeaklouderthanbs.com), a collection of funny progressive bumper stickers, each paired with a "factoid" -- a tidbit of real information that grounds the joke in reality. As the bumper stickers inspire laughter, the factoids spark reflection, conversation -- and perhaps even action.

Union Affiliations/Professional Organizations
ASCAP
View Review Excerpts
Artist Location
New York, NY

Type of artist
Performer, Writer, Composer, Editor
General Themes
Activism/Social Justice, Feminism/Gender Issues, Religion/Spirituality, Mass Media/Pop Culture, Peace/Conflict Resolution
Keywords
singer-songwriter pop rock folk-rock
Last updated on May 21st, 2008

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