Ani DiFranco September 23, 2012 Ani DiFranco performing at the Ancienne Belgique in 2007 On this date in 1970, punk folksinger Ani DiFranco was born in Buffalo, N.Y. Ani (pronounced AHH-nee) started singing Beatles' songs in local bars as a youngster. By 15, she had begun writing her own material, and was living on her own. She graduated at age 16 from the Visual and Performing Arts High School in Buffalo and moved to New York City at 18. She has produced 13 albums. Sing Out calls her lyrics "jaw-dropping." Spurning offers from indie and major labels alike, Ani started her own record company, Righteous Babe Records. Ani not only writes and publishes her own songs and produces her own recordings, but even creates the artwork. An in-demand artist, she tours acoustic, college and rock club circuits, winning over a diverse audience. Her freethought views are revealed in such songs as "Animal" (from Educated Guess), in which she sings about growing up "surrounded by willful ignorance" and "the religions of men." She said in an interview with the Progressive: "I'm not a religious person myself. I'm an atheist. I think religion serves a lot of different purposes in people's lives . . . but then, of course, institutional religions are so problematic" (May 2000). “I'm an atheist. . . . how unfortunate it is to assign responsibility to the higher up for justice amongst people.” — Ani DiFranco, interview by Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive, May 2000 Compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor - www.ffrf.org