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Violent Femmes
American rock band
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. 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 (1993–2002), and Brian Viglione (2013–2016). 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.
genres: alternative rock, folk punk, new wave, post-punk
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
alternative rockfolk punkacoustic rockpost-punkcowpunkfolk rock
The Broken RecordExtra
Early years and first album (1981–1983)
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.
Violent Femmes were founded in 1980 by bassist/multi-instrumentalist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor De Lorenzo. The name is a contradiction in terms, “Violent” being self-explanatory and “Femmes” being Milwaukee slang for wimp.
The rhythm section added high school singer/songwriter Gordon Gano in 1981. Gano and Ritchie had previously performed together at Gano’s National Honor Society induction ceremony, where they caused a near riot. Gano was expelled from the Society and suspended from high school for this outrage.
One of the only stable aspects of the band is their aversion to rehearsal. Due to this they would take the music to the streets in an attempt to hone it and earn some spare change. It was on one of these occasions that they were spotted by the Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde and the gang were so amused by the Violent Femmes antics that they invited the band to open the show for them. The hometown Milwaukee audience received the Femmes with unanimous booing. However by the end of the set the Femmes had converted approximately 50% of the audience to their cause. Many years later Brian Ritchie encountered Hynde when the Femmes and Pretenders shared the bill at a radio conce
Also known as: The Femmes, The Violent Femmes, VF
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Violent Femmes, the records, oldest first
Violent Femmes
1983 album
wanted
Hallowed Ground
1984 album
The Blind Leading the Naked
1986 album
3
1988 album
wanted
Why Do Birds Sing?
1991 album
wanted
New Times
1994 album
Rock!!!!!
1995 album
Freak Magnet
1998 album
Happy New Year
2015 ep
We Can Do Anything
2016 album
on the air
Hotel Last Resort
2019 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Blister in the Sun" is a song by American rock band Violent Femmes, originally released on their 1983 self-titled debut album. It was later released as a promo single in 1997 after its inclusion in the film Grosse Pointe Blank.
A live promo single was released in 1999 in promotion of the live album Viva Wisconsin.
Background
"Blister in the Sun" was written by Violent Femmes vocalist Gordon Gano. The drum lick was written by Victor DeLorenzo; the song was his first performance with the band.
Lyrics
The lyrics to "Blister in the Sun" refer to drug use. After the song was released, a misinterpretation arose that the lyrics were about masturbation. In a 2013 interview with The Village Voice, Gano said:
Legacy
In 2005, "Blister in the Sun" became the first English-language track to ever be allowed on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, the Republic of Ireland Irish-language radio station, after having been selected by listeners for the event.
