Trying to talk to The Violent Femmes is not that easy. The opening
band has been touring with them for awhile and told me a few things about
the Femmes. One thing I did find out is the Femmes never do sound checks
before they go on stage - they usually show up about 30 minutes before they
go on and just do it.
I did have the chance to talk to Brian Ritchie. Brian told me a story
about the picture on the backside of the album "The Blind Leading The
Naked." The baby in this picture is Brian Ritchie's son who is now nine
years old, and yes, those are real fish and they smelled. His son is going
to join them when they go to Japan.
After talking to him, I found out that he has three solo albums apart
from the band. His albums are very hard to get a hold of because the
record company apparently went out of business. Scary huh? If you would
like to get them, they are "The Blend," "Sonic Temyou would
like to get them, they are "The Blend," "Sonic Temple" and "Court Of
Babylon" on the SST label.
They are touring to support their album, "Add It Up," a greatest hits
album. They are no longer on Elektra because a few key people in the
company ended up quitting. The Femmes themselves had a little dispute with
the label and as a result, they are no longer with them. If The Violent
Femmes are in your town, catch the show. They are excellent live!
