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PRESS RELEASE

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Washington, D.C. - On December 9, 2022, singer-songwriter, educator, and community organizer Gabrielle Zwi of Rockville, MD will release their new folk-pop protest tune, “Guns to a Playground Fight”. Inspired by the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, and to be released just before the 10th Anniversary of the landmark shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, “Guns to a Playground Fight” examines what it means to grow up as a member of the “school shooting generation.”

 

“I became active in gun violence prevention efforts in high school to support friends who had experienced it… even those of us who haven’t been directly impacted have been affected,” says Gabrielle. “The threat of gun violence, school shootings especially, has always been a component of the American Gen Z reality.” Indeed, Vox reported earlier this year how previous generations “practiced tornado and fire drills at their schools. Because of what happened to them, their kids have active shooter drills, too.”

 

Gabrielle Zwi wrote the lyrics to “Guns to a Playground Fight” the day after the shooting at Robb Elementary School, which was also a week after their college graduation, never intending to share the song. It was a rant, a way to process and self-reflect on their concluding experience as a student. However, in August Gabrielle came across lifehack-esque TikTok videos showing how to use objects commonly found in classrooms to barricade doors, noting how most of the comments for the videos applaud the creativity and ingenuity of the original poster— only a few comments from accounts in other countries pointed out what a tragedy it is that the need for these videos exists. This stark reminder of the universality of their experiences for students and teachers across the country prompted Gabrielle to record the song and share it with the world.

 

I’ve never lived a single day / In a world without mass school shootings / With Columbine in ninety-nine / You’d think by now I’d be desensitized / Sandy Hook when I was in seventh grade / How naive was I to believe things would change (they never change)

 

“Guns to a Playground Fight” afforded Zwi the opportunity to highlight contributors who have their own experiences. The cover art is designed by Mollie Davis, a survivor of the Great Mills High School shooting that took the life of 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey. Great Mills is mentioned in the song, along with Magruder— two Maryland high schools which you’ve likely never heard of. “While school shootings make up such a small portion of gun violence in the US,” Gabrielle emphasized, “there are still so many that barely make headlines because of how normalized it has become”. Recorded with Kang Ewimbi at the WMUC Recording Studio, the track features guitarist Jose Ceballos and bassist Oscar Armenta, all students at the University of Maryland who relate strongly to the material. The track is mixed and mastered by Marco Delmar— who is a parent of Gen Z students himself— at Recording Arts in Arlington, VA.

 

No stranger to activism, Zwi is an artist who has brightly embraced their identity as a Jewish Brazilian-American, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and being autistic and disabled. “My life is inherently politicized,” says Zwi. “When I express my feelings through song, it has implications; when I write a love song it’s a queer love song; when I write about my frustrations in school, it’s with the context of my disabilities; the experiences we have are tied to something greater than ourselves.” Zwi’s voice can be heard at Students Demand Action, March for Our Lives, and Fridays for Future rallies, as well as TIME Magazine’s Guns in America project.

“Guns to a Playground Fight” is available on all major platforms on December 9, 2022. Proceeds from the track will be donated to Lives Robbed, an organization founded by families impacted by the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, TX.