About Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie , joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza , and drummer John Sparrow . Former members of the band include drummers Victor DeLorenzo , Guy Hoffman , and Brian Viglione . Violent Femmes are considered to be an integral part of the then-underground folk punk and alternative rock scenes of the 1980s, and remain influential or inspirational to the subsequent movements, particularly on folk rock, indie rock, grunge, pop punk, emo, and the late 1980s and 1990s alternative rock scene.
Violent Femmes have released 10 studio albums and 19 singles during the course of their career. The band found critical acclaim with the release of their self-titled debut album in early 1983. Featuring many of their best-known songs, including "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up" and "Gone Daddy Gone", Violent Femmes became the band's biggest-selling album and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. After releasing two more albums, Hallowed Ground and The Blind Leading the Naked , the band's future was uncertain and they split up in 1987 when Gano and Ritchie went solo. However, they regrouped a year later, releasing their fourth album 3 . The follow-up album, Why Do Birds Sing? , contains the fan favorite and concert staple "American Music".
In 1993, founding member Victor DeLorenzo left Violent Femmes and was replaced by Guy Hoffman, who debuted on the band's sixth album New Times . Two more albums – Rock!!!!! and Freak Magnet – were released with this lineup before DeLorenzo rejoined the band in 2002 for what was to be a farewell tour. Following the commercial failure of Freak Magnet, Violent Femmes did not release any more studio albums for almost two decades, although a number of compilation albums were released in the early 2000s, along with a few one-off songs. Some controversy over the licensing of the band's songs for commercial use led to an official break-up in 2009, though they re-formed in 2013 , and have since released two more studio albums of new material: We Can Do Anything and Hotel Last Resort .
Violent Femmes were founded by bassist Brian Ritchie and percussionist Victor DeLorenzo in 1981, joined shortly thereafter by lead vocalist and guitarist Gordon Gano. According to Ritchie, he came up with the name of the group as a fake band name when one of his bandmates questioned his assertion that his brother was also in a band. He and DeLorenzo liked the name, so they used it for the rhythm duo in which they played prior to Gano joining the group. In its early days, the band frequently played coffee houses and street corners. They were discovered by James Honeyman-Scott on August 23, 1981, when the band was busking on a street corner in front of the Oriental Theatre, the Milwaukee venue that The Pretenders would be playing later that night. Chrissie Hynde invited them to play a brief acoustic set after the opening act.
The band released their self-titled debut album in 1983.
After their debut album Violent Femmes, the band released Hallowed Ground, which moved the group toward a country music sound and introduced Christian themes. Mark Van Hecke produced the band's first two efforts, but their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, saw a change in the studio. This time, another fellow Milwaukee native, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, did the producing. It was more mainstream and pop-oriented, resulting in a minor hit with "Children of the Revolution", originally by T. Rex. In 1985, Van Hecke ended his collaboration with the group and became a composer and producer in the rapidly growing video game industry. He would return later to produce two more albums for the group. The Femmes briefly disbanded, with Gano releasing an album in 1987, the result of a gospel side project Mercy Seat. Ritchie also released several solo LPs. The group came back together in late 1988, releasing 3, a return to the band's earlier, stripped-down sound. Why Do Birds Sing? was released in 1991 after the band signed to Reprise and featured another minor hit, "American Music," which became a concert staple.
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