Milwaukee, WI · folk-punk

Violent Femmes

2 festivals played ↓

'Blister in the Sun' and the strangest great American songbook — acoustic punk forever, xylophone solos included.

Violent Femmes trace back to 1981, when bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo began playing together in Milwaukee, with singer and guitarist Gordon Gano joining soon after. The trio built a reputation busking on street corners, and were spotted in 1981 playing outside Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre by Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who convinced Chrissie Hynde to invite them onstage for a short acoustic set that night.

Their self-titled debut, recorded largely on acoustic instruments with a stripped-down rhythm section, appeared in 1983 and became a slow-burning staple of American alternative radio and college rock. It carried the songs "Blister in the Sun," "Kiss Off," "Add It Up" and "Gone Daddy Gone," and eventually earned platinum certification, making it the band's best-selling record.

The band's music sits between folk, punk and country, built on acoustic guitar, an unusually prominent acoustic bass and Gano's nasal, adolescent-sounding delivery. Later records added horns, xylophone and gospel and religious themes, without abandoning the rough acoustic core of the early albums.

Violent Femmes split in 1987 and reformed a year later for the album 3, followed by Why Do Birds Sing? in 1991, home to the concert staple "American Music." DeLorenzo left in 1993 and was replaced by Guy Hoffman for New Times and Rock!!!!!, before DeLorenzo returned in 2002. A licensing dispute led to an official breakup in 2009.

They reformed in 2013 and have since released two further albums, We Can Do Anything in 2016 and Hotel Last Resort in 2019. The current lineup pairs Gano and Ritchie with multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza and drummer John Sparrow, with the early material still central to their live shows.

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folk-punk