An Interview with Bobby Aviv
A Song For The
Fallen
(Jerusalem Post, City Lights, June 28, 1996)
by Elana Shap
(Reprinted by permission)
Like millions worldwide, Bobby Aviv sat glued to the TV set last November watching the eulogies at Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral. Then he went and did what he does best - compose a song.
The inspiration came, says the New York based songwriter, not from President Clinton or King Hussein’s tributes - but from the words of a granddaughter to a grandfather.
"A lot of leaders saw this as a great photo opportunity.
Noa Ben-Artzi stood out by contrast. She spoke not on a political
or religious level, but simply as a granddaughter talking
honestly about losing her grandfather."
WRITING the music came easily to Bobby, 32, who studied composition at the Mannes School of Music in Manhattan. The lyrics for the ballad, which Bobby named Fallen Rose, were a lot more challenging.
"I wanted to comfort Noa in the song. The song is basically about rising up again...how to overcome defeat and come out stronger for it. Although I haven’t experienced what she has, it’s the nature of writers and artists to overcome things in their lives."
IN Tel Aviv for a couple of months to launch Fallen Rose, which was produced in New York, Bobby convinced NMC to distribute the CD single, and Tower Records to sell it. The CD single contains two of Bobby’s other compositions: Holding My Breath and the classical instrumental work titled Exodus. A Hebrew translation of Fallen Rose is also in the pipeline.
TIGHT-lipped about his political beliefs, Bobby refuses to see the song as a political statement. The name of Yitchak Rabin or even the word "grandfather" do not appear in the lyrics, but lines such as: A stranger smiled/and a friend took you away or I hope the angels up high/won’t let you down - work on various levels.
THE commercial aspect of the CD is a point of concern for Bobby, who has an aversion to "people making money out of death."
Accordingly he has decided to donate all proceeds to "a small charity for children where it will make some difference."
As a singer-songwriter Bobby would naturally like the CD to be a big hit, but he stresses that the motivation behind Fallen Rose is not fame or fortune.
"As an American Jew there is not much you can do if you don’t live here except send money. And that’s so impersonal. I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really give of myself."
Though adamant that he doesn’t want to exploit the emotive aspect of Rabin’s death, he knows that many will accuse him of doing just that. The alternative, for artists to conceal or ignore the source of their inspiration, he says, would be dishonest.
Noa Ben-Artzi Filosof, who Bobby met recently, told him that she has similar qualms about "capitalizing on the event."
Noa told him that she knows the public loved her until she signed the so-called million dollar deal to write a book about her grandfather, but "they don’t know the sum involved and what I intend to do with the money."
THIS is not Bobby’s first working visit to Israel. His grandfather, Mendel Aviv, founded the first radio station in Palestine in 1932 as well as the family business, Aviv Electronics. Bobby, who grew up in Beverly Hills, spent many summers in Israel being groomed to go into the family business and even studied economics towards this end. But eventually, he found music "taking over" his life.
Ironically, it was his grandfather who always encouraged his musical development.
"My grandfather built a synagogue in our back yard in Beverly Hills as he felt Jews should not drive to shul. My first connection with music was hazanut. I’ve also been playing the drums and piano since I was a kid."
It took Bobby, whose vocal style can be compared to Elton John, until the age of 26 to finally make the decision to go to music school. Despite the late start, his credits include music scores for Touchstone pictures and jingles for TV shows such as Home Show on ABC.
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