Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , Exclusive Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes has an affinity for street musicians. "I respect the ambition of people who play out on the street like that," he tells Spinner. Of course, it makes sense that the bassist would appreciate buskers. After all, his band was discovered while playing outdoors -- except the Femmes had a more clever strategy than most street musicians: As Pretenders fans were lining up to buy tickets for [...]
Filed under: News , Exclusive , Holy Hell Three years after a Violent Femmes ' song was used to advertise a fast food joint, bassist Brian Ritchie still has a bad taste in his mouth. In fact, he's so soured by the incident, a Femmes reunion appears unlikely for the foreseeable future. "I don't like having my sound misappropriated to sell harmful products, such as fast food," he tells Spinner. "That's not why we made the music. It should not be hijacked. " Ritchie [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours Although Gordon Gano and the Ryan Brothers' debut album 'Under the Sun' was released in September of 2009, fans of alternative rock will be pleased to hear a familiar voice. Former Violent Femmes frontman Gano's acerbic, witty lyrics are layered over the music of former Bogmen Billy and Brendan Ryan. Spinner recently spoke with Gano about his new project, the band's influences, and their upcoming gigs at this year's SXSW . Describe your sound in [...]
So the countdown has begun in earnest to my first SXSW. I know, right? How did it take me this long to go? In past years I've focused on festivals in other regions ( UMS Denver , Noise Pop SF , Coachella , etc) and wound up without the money or wherewithal to trek to Texas. This year, we change that. Two weeks from Wednesday, I hop a plane to Austin. I couldn't be more excited, or more overwhelmed. There will be a showcase that Fuel/Friends is helping to present (details forthcoming) and lots [...]
This is not going to be an in depth post on the personal/band history of Gordon Gano. Enough's been written from that vantage point and I can't add anything new. I will say though, that if you're too young to have experienced The Violent Femmes in person than you owe it to yourself to go through their entire catalog. You'll be rewarded with nuggets of pure punk rock energy, world music eclecticism, lyricism that is quite unmatched, and musicianship that you simply don't find with this new batch of fly-by-night blog darlings. Then [...]
Monday 1/26 * Andrew Bird, Christina Courtin @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ( MP3: "Tenuousness" by Andrew Bird) * Lady Sovereign @ Pianos (show cancelled ) Tuesday 1/27 * Black Swan Green, The Morning After Girls, My Best Fiend @ Mercury Lounge [EF Pick of the Week] ( MP3: "Darker Self" by Black Swan Green) * [...]
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