Photo via Pabst Theater Group
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
In 1981 the Violent Femmes formed almost as a lark. Having played together in various Milwaukee lineups, bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo hooked up with an unknown high school kid called Gordon Gano after a one-off at Rufus King High School. They liked his bristling-with-adolescent-angst lyrics, married to simple, folk-like melodies. The trio jelled, and soon discovered that “folk punk” was hard to place in the city’s narrow-minded rock clubs. So they played the Jazz Gallery and on sidewalks, collecting coins from passersby.
One passerby, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, added the Femmes as an unannounced opening act for the Pretenders concert at the Oriental Theatre. It was almost a lark, but a great morale booster for the Femmes, a legendary story.
In 1983 their self-titled debut album, packed with Gano’s “Blister in the Sun,” “Kiss Off” and others, became a touchstone for unhappy adolescents as Generation X stirred to life. The LP didn’t explode with the megaton-age of Nirvana’s Nevermind, but it persisted, selling and consoling listeners who heard themselves in the lyrics, finding new fans, new audiences.
The Violent Femmes Oct. 18 show at the Riverside Theater sold quickly and a second show has been announced for Sunday, Oct. 19. The lineup includes Gano, Ritchie, multi-instrumentalist Blaize Garza and drummer John Sparrow.
Longer than Expected
Is Brian Ritchie surprised by the Femmes’ longevity? “No bands starting in 1981 thought about being together as units 40-plus years later because rock itself was not even 40 years old in 1981. I thought I’d still be a musician but certainly not that Gordon and I would still be playing together,” he says.
“The most surprising aspect of our longevity is that we are undeniably still bringing it spontaneously and in the same uncontrived fashion we always did,” he continues. “Still improvising, keeping it fresh. Also, Gordon’s voice is perfectly preserved and expressive, compared to his influences Bob Dylan or Lou Reed, whose voices were seriously compromised by the time they reached the age Gordon is at now.”
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There have been disputes along the way, changes in drummers, a break-up with nasty words exchanged, but in 2013 Gano and Ritchie regrouped to play Coachella. The Femmes’ last album, Hotel Last Resort, was released in 2019.
For their Riverside concerts, Ritchie expects to perform all of their debut LP and their second, more musically ambitious album, Hallowed Ground. “We have kept ourselves interested in our own music by re-approaching it in different ways,” Ritchie says, including concerts with symphonies. “Our PBS special with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra won an Emmy. We’ve played with many of America and Australia’s best orchestras in recent years.” Ritchie has lived for many years in Australia, dividing his time between Canberra and Tasmania.
In 2025, who are the Violent Femmes fans? “For decades our audience were the Picture of Dorian Gray of rock,” Ritchie says. “We kept ageing, and the audience stayed 15-25. Other bands you see like the Stones have an overwhelmingly old crowd and have not seemed to get into the youth market. Now, our audience continues to attract teens and even pre-teens, but a lot of the old fans have finished raising their kids and are back into the live entertainment market. Thus our crowd is a pretty healthy mix from 10-70. Another big change since we started is a huge influx of Hispanic audience members. This is great!”
Ritchie’s musical interests always extended beyond bass and guitar, and he has recorded several solo albums featuring the shakuhachi, a Japanese wooden flute. He was in town recently, recording a jazz album with John Sparrow, Dave Gelting and producer Dave Vartanian. “I’m also going to Japan right after the Milwaukee gig to get Kaiden (a license) from Myoanji Temple which is the central temple of shakuhachi players. My main outside activity is blowing on bamboo tubes,” Ritchie says.
Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13 at pabsttheatergroup.com/events/detail/violent-femmes-2025
