From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, this cult indie band was formed in 1981 by Gordon Gano (b. 7 June 1963, USA; vocals/guitar), Brian Ritchie (b. 21 November 1960, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; bass/vocals) and Victor DeLorenzo (b. 25 October 1954, Racine, Wisconsin, USA; drums). DeLorenzo and Ritchie first played together in the Ruthless Acoustics and went through a number of different band names before hitting on Violent Femmes. They were joined in this new band by singer-songwriter Gano, who had legendarily teamed up with Ritchie for a notorious acoustic set at the Rufus King High School. The trio opened for the Pretenders before landing a recording contract with Slash Records, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1983. Its rough, acoustic style failed to hide Violent Femmes’ intriguing variety of songs and lyrics, and although they later mellowed, this formed the basis of what was to follow. Violent Femmes included a number of songs which would be rapidly adopted as alternative rock classics, including ‘Blister In The Sun’, ‘Kiss Off’, ‘Add It Up’, ‘Gone Daddy Gone’ and ‘Good Feeling’. Hallowed Ground followed a year later, a more full-bodied work that lacked the shambolic nature of their debut. However, the album contained, what is for many, the classic Violent Femmes composition, the macabre ‘Country Death Song’. The trio then teamed up with Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads to record their third album, The Blind Leading The Naked, which included a cover version of T. Rex’s ‘Children Of The Revolution’.
There was then a hiatus in Violent Femmes’ activities while Gordon Gano appeared with his side-project, the gospel-influenced Mercy Seat, and multi-instrumentalist Ritchie recorded two solo sets for the SST Records label. The release of the succinctly titled 3 re-introduced a more sophisticated Violent Femmes, although the grisly subject matter continued. A second hiatus ensued, during which DeLorenzo released Peter Corey Sent Me and Ritchie completed another solo album. Violent Femmes reunited to record 1991’s Why Do Birds Sing?, which included a savage version of the Culture Club hit ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?’ and the stand-out opening track ‘American Music’.
New drummer Guy Hoffman replaced DeLorenzo as Violent Femmes headed over to Elektra Records, but 1994’s New Times failed to capture them at their potent best. The follow-up Rock!!!!! was originally only issued in Australia, failing to gain a US release for over five years. An abortive contract with Interscope Records meant little was heard of Violent Femmes in the late 90s before they signed a new recording contract with UK label Cooking Vinyl Records. Their first new studio album in over five years, Freak Magnet, which had originally been recorded for Interscope, marked a return to the brash energy of Violent Femmes’ mid-80s heyday. The band remained busy in the new millennium, releasing an album of new material and outtakes via the Internet and touring relentlessly. Original drummer Victor DeLorenzo rejoined the band in 2002.
