Violent Femmes: ‘Just as much fun as it ever was’

Co-founder of the Violent Femmes Brian Ritchie talks about the lasting impact of their debut album and what keeps the band a live favourite.

Violent Femmes Gordon Gano, John Sparrow and Brian Ritchie.

Eternal university favourite Blister In The Sun was the first song the Violent Femmes played together. At the time, the name Violent Femmes referred to the rhythm section of bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo, who backed a number of singers. But all that changed with the arrival of Gordon Gano.

“Gordon was playing a solo gig in a coffee house in Milwaukee (in the US state of Wisconsin),” Brian says.

“There was no alcohol and he was just playing acoustic and there were mainly teenagers there.

“Victor and I went down there with our instruments and the first song Gordon played, and this is the first time we played together, he started with Blister In The Sun and Victor played that drum part, da-da, da-da, which everybody knows.

“That was his initial reaction, so that was a perfect example of how our whole sound was developed, very spontaneously. And then we were just off. It’s pretty simple, you just listen to it and go with it.”

Gordon Gano And The Violent Femmes soon became the act to see in Milwaukee, and the singer officially joined Brian and Victor to form a trio. “He had (written) all of (the songs) from the first album, most of them from the second album and a handful from almost every other album we did, until the last two which is all new material,” Brian says.

“He had maybe 100 songs and we recorded them less and less as time went on. With the New Times album, that had Breakin’ Up which was part of the original batch of songs. Why Do Birds Sing? – there was Girl Trouble and Life Is A Scream, those were from the original batch.

“There was always something from the original batch that he was reworking or we just hadn’t got around to yet. It is amazing. He was very prolific as a teenager.”

Violent Femmes bass player Brian Ritchie.

The 1983 self-titled debut remains the band’s most successful record and was a refreshing break from the overproduced records of the ’80s. With 10 tracks playing at 36 minutes, the album packed in the classics Gone Daddy Gone, Kiss Off, Add it Up, Please Do Not Go and Blister in the Sun.

“We were determined not to make a dated record,” Brian says. “If you listen to the record now, it sounds as fresh as it did then. That was a strategy.

“We all thought it was a masterpiece but we didn’t necessarily know it was going to become as popular as it is.

“But we never had any doubts about it. We knew it was great.”

Cover of the debut Violent Femmes.

The immediate success didn’t stifle their creativity though, with the band going on to become one of the most successful alternative rock bands of the 1980s.

“We certainly are aware that people are always comparing everything we do with the first album and I guess we just got used to it by now,” he says.

“There’s The Velvet Underground, Television, The Byrds ... there’s many, many examples of the first album having a huge impact, especially bands that have a fresh sound. If a band comes out with good songs and a sound people haven’t heard too much of, it can have that impact.”

In November the band – including John Sparrow who joined Brian and Gordon in 2016 – is touring Australia, including a stop at Sandstone Point near Brisbane, with their 10th album Hotel Last Resort.

“It sounds like the Femmes. We just get together in a room and play, mostly acoustic instruments. It’s a formula that works, but it’s not formulaic. It’s just natural. It’s just the way we are,” Brian says.

“We started out playing on the street so we know how to function in a kind of rough and ready environment.

“I just like to go in to the studio and record pretty much live. I’ve experimented a lot with record production just like we all have but as time goes on, the more I think it is important to just set up in a circle as a band, put up a few mics and play and see what happens like an old blues recording, or an old jazz recording or an old rockabilly recording like Gene Vincent or something like that.”

The band has experimented with everything from punk rock to country and gospel, but Brian says it is that energy and a sense of fun that makes the Violent Femmes.

“It’s about energy, spirit, improvising, not taking ourselves too seriously, honesty and straightforward, crazy stuff. Gordon’s voice is obviously recognisable, then you’ve got the acoustic bass guitar which is a very unusual sound to drive a band, the drums are always quirky and weird and then whatever else we put on there – that’s the Femmes sound.”

Violent Femmes play with Hoodoo Gurus at the Sandstone Point Hotel on March 21.

Brian – who now lives in Hobart and has been an Australian citizen since 2012 – says for their 2020 tour the Femmes will present songs from both Hotel Last Resort and the multi-platinum debut, mixed in with many of the other hits.

“It’s never boring to play a song like Add It Up. I feel the same way playing that song as Keith Richards probably feels when he plays Satisfaction.

“It is just undeniable. Gone Daddy Gone, playing the xylophone, that’s great; Kiss Off, jamming out, it’s incredible; Blister In The Sun, you see the audience lose it, that’s always fun.

“When we get up there on our first gig on this tour, it’s gonna be just as much fun as it ever was. We keep it fresh by not using a set list and also improvising a lot during the show.”

■ Violent Femmes play Sandstone Rocks at the Sandstone Point Hotel, November 21, $96.24, ticketmaster.com.au