The 80s Record You Turned Down Low Because You DID NOT WANT Your Parents to Hear | Professor Of Rock
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2022
- Coming up next an interview with 80s underground band Violent Femmes.. They somehow sold 1 million copies of their self titled Violent Femmes debut album with absolutely no promotion. No radio play, no label support... nothing. The album had several familiar songs that the children of the 80s know by heart, like Add it Up, Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off and Gone Daddy Gone but the album was like contraband, if you had it you were lucky because it was hard to find. How did this little band that could sell a million albums fin out next with an exclusive interview with the band members including original members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie.
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#1980s #indie #vinylstory
Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you ever rode in the back of a pickup with your friends, back in the dangerous 80s You’ll dig this channel. Nostalgia all the time. Make sure to subscribe below right now. by clicking the red button.
Violent Femmes. First of all one of the greatest band names ever. the Femmes were the foremost purveyors of Folk Punk. Originating from Milwaukee Wisconsin, Gordon Gano on guitar and lead vocals and Brian Ritchie on bass on backing vocals were the mainstays with other members going in and out of the band.
Though the band has realized many albums over the decades it’s their self title debut album that started the fire with 80s classic like today’s focus Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, the always censored Add it Up and Gone Daddy gone made this record infamous. It was hard to come by. Even though it would sell a millions copies and it did this without any label support or real radio play.
it was all through this thing called word of mouth before the word viral was used in our everyday vernacular. True word of mouth… lending and borrowing the cassette or vinyl out to friend. I remember first hearing it because I was lucky to get an elder classment to record a copy for me on cassette. I cherished it so. I played it low so my parents wouldn’t hear and take it away.
This was a classic 80s contraband album. You had to earn it. Violent Femmes were actually founded by bassist Brian Ritche and early percussionist Victor Delorenzo after the end of the First wave of American punk and then turned into a full-fledged band When Gordon Gano came into the fold. It was Ritchie who came up with the band’s name . It was of course a joke and not meant to stick but it did and he and Delorenzo used it as the rhythm duo they had before Gano joined up.
In the beginning they busked not the street and played Coffee shops. It was a member of the Pretenders that discovered them in the late summer of 1981. Jame Honeyman Scott the guitarist found the band busking on the corner of the street of a Venue the Pretenders were playing so Chrissie Hynde and the band asked them to play a short acoustic set before they came on stage. How cool is that? They recorded the debut album Violent Femmes in 1982.
It was released by Slash records in the spring of 83 and even though it sold 1 million copies it actually wouldn’t enter the billboard charts until almost a decade later on august 3 1991 Now it’s at 3 million copies sold. Up next the band including original members Singer guitarist Gordon Gano and Bassist Backup vocalist Brian Ritchie tell the story of this 80s classic. - Розваги
Poll: What is the best "indie" album of the 80s?
Probably anything and everything by the Smiths. They never disappoint.
Bad Brains - Rock For Light
Was (Not Was): _What Up, Dog?_
@Michael Stahl Hey, you could go with _Closer_ instead of _Unknown Pleasures_. _Closer_ is, in my opinion, a far superior album.
***ECHO & THE F-N BUNNYMEN!!!*** ...learned EVERYTHING from those Cats! ...the runners up.....
Murmur - R.E.M.
Boy - U2 (...It was indie once, so, it slides...)
Cocteau Twins - (forgot the title...)
The The- S/T
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her To Eternity
Hunters & Collectors
Takina Tikaraim - Ancient Heart
Sinead O' Connor -The Lion & The Cobra
The Fall - Bend Sinister
Midnight Oil - (..forgot the title, the One with "Beds Are Burning"...)
Style Council - Cafe Blue (...man, this One changed me LIFE...)
....MANY, many more that I can't think of, now, you couldn't KEEP me outta the Indie Stores....then! ...ha-HAA!
When I was in high school I was casual friends with a punk who used to spend a lot of time in Milwaukee and he used to see these guys on the street all the time. He picked up their cassette like three days after the band got their hands on it and brought it back. I got a copy like a week later. It's the one and only time in my life I've ever been ahead of the curve.
Ha ha. That's so cool. Thanks for sharing.
Super cool story!
@@ProfessorofRock I'm curious if you ever heard of the band "Last Crack" they were/are from Madison, WI. Their 1991 album "Burning Time" is very good. My late friend Phil "Philo" Buerstatte was their drummer he went on to play in White Zombie for a while he passed away in 2013. Look up the "Burning Time" album and give it a listen if you get a chance it's very original. Thanks I love your channel. P.S. I'm a ZENNI customer.
A friend of mine gave me a mix tape that had “Smells Like Teen Spirit” about a year before they got big. I listened to it 3 times in a row, and literally thought “this just changed music”.
That Blister In The Sun riff is something every beginning guitarist stumbles onto. ❤️
My dad is 52 and loves this band. I’m going into college and this is my favorite band! I saw them live a few months back. It was the most insane concert I’ve ever been to. I want to see them again.
I didn't get into the Femmes until very recently - at age 52! I deeply admire how much great music they can make with just three instruments (literally - snare drum only!). Blows my mind and has helped me re-discover how limitations can drive creativity in my own guitar playing.
That was a great interview. Those guys were really funny.
The debut album is an absolute masterpiece. The catchy "Blister in the Sun" is an unforgettable classic tune!
One of the most influential bands in American music history, and they STILL fly somewhat under the radar.
Yes, definitely. Who did they influence?
@@timfool "Their raw sound and honest lyrical perspective have been cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Pink, Keith Urban, The Smiths, ThePixies, John Cusack, Mark Morris, and Wim Wenders."
Though they obviously weren't an influence on Led Zep, Robert Plant said they were one of his favorite bands.
Best part of being a ‘Femmes fan is that my kids also love this band. You can always tell the good music-it stays around for multiple generations.
Yet that really was the "zeitgeist" sound of our generation.
Hell, my daughter learned blister on her violin...
About 32 years ago. I Just got a job at Bennegan's . The bartender(Who looked like Johnny Depp) finally invited me to one of his parties because he said I looked exactly like his friend and wanted us to meet. I go to the party and there were about 20-30 people. He puts "Kiss Off" on and every single person started singing along. I had never heard Violent Femes before. It was one of the best music experiences ever. I bought the album and fell in love with every song and the band. Thanks for bringing back that memory.
i worked in a department store in high school we played the violent femmes through a teddy ruxpin doll, it never got old.
In the eighties, in my high school years, my girlfriend, her two good friends, and I would skip the last few classes of the day, take my 1976 Honda Accord, and head to Cannon Beach from west Portland. As soon as we hit HWY 26, my copy of the Violent Femmes would be inserted into the tape deck. Everybody sang along. Some would take lead, some would be the chorus, and every one shouted to :"Everything, Everything...." It was the some of the best times in my life.
I took drum lessons from Todd Roper of CAKE and he told me that, for an mtv contest or something, that the prize was CAKE and Violent Femmmes would play a show at the winners house. CAKE was big at the time and went on first. They had a huge amount of gear etc. He said the Femmes just rolled up in their cars all casual. The drummer brought no drums! He saw the drummer right before they went on look around the house, grabbed a tin garbage lid and plastic can, nod approvingly, then went on and played those. He said their set was WAY better than CAKE's!!
Still, that would be one of my dream. concerts--Violent Femmes and Cake.
The Violent Femmes debut celebrated its 40 year anniversary in April this year. I picked up a copy of the RSD picture disc, finally owning this amazing album on vinyl. Thanks for doing this interview. It makes listening to the album so much more fulfilling.
My mom and I loooove Violent Femmes!!! She always had such an amazing taste in music and I owe her a lot of credit for introducing me to these guys 🔥
I was a alternative/indie night club DJ, one night I played every track on the album in a row, mixing side 1 & 2 .
This album was an absolute dance floor filler , and it caught on very quickly. This was in the md 80's during apartheid.
Magnificent piece of work
"Add It Up" was adopted as a bus trip anthem by the contest speech and debate team of Enid (OK) High School in the early 1980's. My Mom was the traveling teacher. All were able to keep the "What happens on the bus stays on the bus" agreement. 🙂
Interesting. EHS class of 88 here, love hearing this
We were there 1981-85. Dad was USAF stationed at Vance AFB.
❤️ Add it Up!!!
College radio was an important source of alternative music like the Violent Femmes in the 1980s. I remember playing "Gone Daddy Gone" every show for a couple of months and they caught on with other deejays. Great stuff.
Their first album made it to #34 in the Australian charts, they were always extremely well-received here (Brian Ritchie lives in Tasmania these days and is an Aussie citizen). That record hasn't dated at all, unlike so many other 80s albums, basically because it has zero production on it, it's completely organic and sounds as if they're all in the room with you.
Hey prof. I know you are constantly busy with making these great videos, but with your knowledge and insight, I've always wished that you would do episodes on more underground bands from the 80s. Such as The Minutemen/Firehose, The Dead Kennedys, The Dead Milkmen, Black Flag, The Pixies, etc. Anyway, thank you for continually putting out great content.🤘👍
Silverfish!
I just saw them in concert earlier this month in Eugene, Oregon. It was raining buckets at an amphitheater and the majority of us stayed, dancing and singing in the rain with the Violent Femmes!! I'm turning 50 this year and they transported me back to 20 - it was amazing and magical. And I am so thankful that the final song was American Music - Gen X rules!!!
I first heard about the Violent Femmes & fell in love with their debut album at summer camp, in 1987. That was 5 years after it's release--- but still, as a struggling, somewhat unhappy teenager I felt like every song on that album fit with my life and how I felt most of the time. But the weirdest part--- a generation later, when I was in my 30's I saw the Violent Femmes play at a music festival.. playing all those old songs, and while there were a few of us "older' fans there, most of the people in the crowd were teenagers-- and every one of them was singing word-for-word along with those same songs that moved me as a teenager. This album has captured some kind of perfect representation of just how it feels to grow up. Genius!
You NAILED it. So very true.
I totally agree! Violent Femmes had some truly great songs.
Although things were pretty wide open In my household most of my friends had to keep this tape stashed away with their weed or other libations. The record was definitely a form of contraband in my 8th grade class and I was lucky enough that a cute little punk rock girl I knew made me a copy.
This tape was circulating among the cool kids in high school. I was kind of an outcast, not exactly in that clique. One day in the gym the most popular girl in school approached me and said "I heard you wanted to listen to this." She loaned it to me for 2 weeks and I was hooked.
Awesome! I was hooked on this song too the first time!
@John Cortez And then he gave it back. The End.
@John Cortez Wish I had a better ending. We're still friends. Some of my bullies left me alone after that becaus if she was around she would vouche for me. "He's cool!" goes a long way when the head cheerleader stands up for you.
@@KahnShawnery She sounds like she may have been a nice girl.
Kinda like Reese Witherspoon in the movie "Legally Blond".
Or like Alice Eve in the movie "She's Out of My League".
@@im1who84u she was and is.
I loved the Violent Femmes. Got the album in the mid-80s. I remember my dad not being happy with my listening to "Blister in the Sun" outside with a friend. He turned it off & mumbled something about me listening to garbage. He didn't take it away from me though, surprisingly. I still have it.
Yeah man that album is epic. That cassette was in my car getting regular rotation for like 8 years. No other album stuck with me even close to that long. Thanks Femmes for one of the greatest albums ever made. For me, I think it is my favorite album of all time.
i played it in my car until it broke... then got it on cd. my sister and i would not go anywhere without this cassette playing with us singing every line of every song ad infinitum. i love the femmes.
I was lucky enough to be in Los Angeles at the time where KROQ was the best radio on the planet and the 'Femmes' were in regular rotation. Blister made it into the top 96.7 songs of the year along with American Music. Ah, those were the days, my friend...
Awesome! So glad people are recognizing the Femmes!
@Dave Doeppel It's totally hip, it's the only thing happening.
@Dave Doeppel I grew up in OC so we all listened to KROQ but it was too far to go to the studio or ever run into the staff. I don't live in SoCal anymore so I don't even know if people listen to KROQ anymore. Radio is kind of dead I think. The alt rock radio station where I live is awful so I never listen to it. Just stream or buy albums.
I found a case-less cassette of this album under the couch of my dorm when I moved in for my freshman year in ‘87 and was blown away. I still have it and I still think it’s one of the best debut album of the decade!
I haven't even watched this yet, and know 100% you are talking about The Violent Femmes. I have such a visceral memory of sitting on the floor against the wall of my first period class, playing it loud on my Walkman, and adjusting) the volume depending who walked by. I missed out on the chance to see them play at my high school. I grew up in Highland Park (yes, where the July 4th shooting happened) and we had a huge arts program every other year. The Femmes played in what would have been my second semester of senior year (class of 86), but I graduated early so I could move out of state with my parents. It was probably the only reason I regretted getting out early. Still love them,
Great interview!!! They seem like such down to earth guys & thankfully *Blister in the Sun* wasn't given to that girl! I love that song.
Thank you Adam, PoR, for having me as an honorary producer for this video!!! Always enjoyable! 🤙🤘🏼✌️
The Femmes, the Gufs and the Bo Deans. Early 90s Milwaukee was a great place to be. My neighbor had this album and would play it while we were playing video games. I never knew it so rare.. I thought everyone heard it as much as I did. Great video
A GREAT band that everyone felt they discovered. That first album was so unique and fresh from the rest of the scene. I was at a summer camp in Appleton, WI when I first heard their music-
I was born in 1956 so I'm what you would call a boomer, more precisely a junior Boomer, but the 80s was one of my favorite times of that I lived, even though there were a lot of storm and grown in that time period, but my mom was still alive and I was still living with her😊😮
Just watched this episode a couple of days ago. You sent me down a rabbit hole of nonstop Violent Femmes music.
This interview was really great! From one of the original fans who was lucky enough to find the first album when it came out.. thanks!
Love this! And I never realized how much until recently, the Violent Femmes were a big part of the soundtrack of my youth. Thank you for this great intereview of the Violent Femmes.
Great Interview! You can tell everyone enjoyed themselves and enjoyed each other's company.
My memory of Blister in the Sun - Back in the early 90s in Sacramento, when the Deftones were still “just” a local band, they asked me to take picture of them for publicity. So Chi, Chino, Stephen, and John (their drummer at the time) piled in my car and we drove around town looking for locations. I had the song on a mix CD and they all sang along with it. They all got quieter and quieter during the quiet part, down to a low whisper, and then, when it kicked in again, they went bananas in my car, bouncing around and singing at the top of their lungs. I just cracked up laughing. I think of that every time I hear the song.
That is awesome lol
Great interview!!! I was introduced to these guys in high school back in the mid 90’s. I got the debut CD at the local Mall. I remember on a Boy Scouts High Adventure Camping Trip, my Troop took an Amtrak Train from Houston, Texas up to Ely, Minnesota to go on a Canoe Expedition in Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park. Along the way we stopped at Mall of America and I bought ALL the Violent Femmes CDs at the Music Store & jammed them out on my buddy’s Discman all the way back home on the train. By the time I got back to Houston, I had taken such a deep dive into the Femmes incredible discography. It was a glorious musical journey with Gordon, Ritchie, and the various drummers!
The only band from the 80s I didn’t want my parents to listen to was “2 live crew”. The Femmes were a mainstay on my car stereo system. Add it up was the first song I would throw on after starting the car in the parking lot at Kennedy hs in burien, wa. My buddy Carolyn would jump in, and we’d crank that song all the way to her house. Life was simple. Life was good.
Lol that’s who I thought of when I saw the title of the video
My family was visiting Milwaukee and we saw them playing on the street. We didn't know who they were at the time. But my mom took a picture of them because she thought the name was ridiculous. Fast forward years later my friend gives me a bootleg copy of their bands first album. I was like "I saw these guys live on the street in Milwaukee". Best album ever. I wish I could post the picture on here. You'd laugh. It's the band in the background and my sister and I facing the camera. Oh my god.. I've gotten old!
Saw them live , backstage passes, got the band to sign a t-shirt , all nice guys, great musical memory and fantastic show!! Thanks for the episode
I wore a Violent Femmes t-shirt with worn out blue jeans on my first day of high school in '89. At my Bar Mitzvah I had the DJ play VF, The Cure and The Dead Milkmen for the few friends that were still there after everyone else had left. Their self-titled album is in my top 10 favorite albums of all time... and "nothing I can say when I'm in your thighs" is one of my favorite song lyrics.
I was 11 when I heard my older cousins playing this album. This album shaped my love for music more than any other album ever written.
Unique and wonderful. Still listen to their music. Wonderful interview.
One of my fondest memories is early in college in Vermont, when a bunch of buddies in our department piled into a friend's car. As he drove way too fast through the hilly countryside, sunroof open and windows down in the middle of the winter, we blasted this album and screamed (definitely not "sang") along at the top of our lungs, bumping elbows as we jammed on air guitar and air drums in the close quarters of the back seat. To me that's a picture of youth.
I truly discovered the Femmes because a cooler girl than me played the cassette for me and let me make a copy. I have loved them ever since. I was lucky enough to see them live with X back in 2019. They’re still as energetic and tight as ever!
This is one of my favourite albums of the 80's. I listened to it daily for months after buying it. It's definitely a classic, and I still listen to it regularly.
It's so good. All the way through!
Perfect album.
I was in Melbourne in the late 80's to see a Yngwie Malmsteen concert. Being a bit early I was strolling through the city centre and heard blister in the sun being played by street musicians, so I went over for s closer look and actually was the Femmes drumming up a bit support for their concert the next night. Being an apprentice I couldn't afford another ticket and extra nights accommodation but at least I got to see the "live". A funny side note is I actually walked past the same spot 3 weeks ago and was telling people the same story.
Now that's a real gem of an interview! Thank you thank you thank you
I finally got to see them about 4 years ago …. In college this album was played a gazallion times … and when it came on at a party everyone there was singing this song as loud as they could … hey are the best
their debut is phenomenal. there really isn't a song worth skipping. my son and just saw them ('24) and they still sound great!
Such a influential band on me in my teen years and definitely falls in that list of greatest underrated bands of all time very cool to see you interview them always appreciate your videos bro
Great Interview! 😁
This interview had me smiling all the way through. Thanks a lot PoF :)
OMG!!!!!!!!! I was one of those early fans who never heard them on the radio before getting the album. I was 18 and me and a buddy had a job installing fireplaces. We had long drives between jobs. We played this cassette tape over and over again and we both sand loudly, unashamedly. I know every lyrics, every beat and every weird sound. I've tried to get my kid to become a fan. I've highlighted the fact that there's a great xylophone solo. The lyrics are so personal, it was like The Femmes were living my life and feeling my teen angst. This album is in my top five. ABSOLUTELY. A great, unique album. It's art. And so subversive. The lyrics are pornographic yet utterly beautiful. Grotesque eloquence.
Great interview. I lof the classification of folk punk as it suits their style very well. So many great tracks off their debut album. I love that they still ring true today
Great interview, loved seeing them. It was Brian Ritchie who made me want to be a bass player in 1982. Lucky enough to see them twice, State Theatre in Kalamazoo MI, with the Horns of Dilemma backing them up.
Love the Femmes! Thanks for this
Been watching you for at least a couple years maybe more but tonight you actually fully replaced flipping thru Netflix, Hulu, & all the TV stations. I watched a bunch back to back and they're ALL good Adam 👍 I've been saying it for a while- you're REALLY onto something spectacular! Especially now when we're all so burned out on the BS NEWS & POLITICS! It's great to have something great to watch, entertaining, nostalgic, informative! You are BLESSED! I'm truly happy for you. If I had $ I'd be doing whatever I could to help you out
One of my prized possessions in high school was a mix tape with two Violent Femmes songs on it plus my first intro the darker songs coming out in the new wave era. People who died was one song. So dark, but exactly what I needed at the time. So glad you mentioned the movie Grosse Point Blank. By that time the original mix tape had died and the soundtrack was a great replacement. As always a fabulous episode
"Color me Once" is my fave VF song. Listened to it over and over.
Adam thank you thank you thank you
I saw the violent films in person in an intimate setting during the Alex Bennett morning show on live105 in San Francisco at the Saint Francis hotel. I remember beaming. I could not take the smile off my face. I love love their music and appreciate that you you brought them back out to the spotlight because their music is still just as contemporary today as it was when I 1st heard it kudos to you and them and they're hysterical. what a hysterical interview thank you I'm gonna go buy their CD right now.
They played them on 106.7 KROQ in Los Angeles. They played alot of Indy Rock, especially in the mornings.
I am so greatful to have KROQ as a teen in the 80's to help my developing mind. Haha and making my Playlist on my cassettes. In my 50's and I love the fact my adult children love them!
@@chairk4119 i'm now an expat in Mexico, but miss the city. I do return for the holidays every year. Might visit alot earlier this year to catch a Dodger game.
@@jimmyramone7396 Angel's all the way! Yup left So. Cal and never looked back. But I miss Del Taco.
Don't forget Naugles...
Thanks the heavens above for KROQ
Joined the Navy in 84 and went to Norfolk and found the Local college bars near ODU rocking this song and post punk rock music
I think we saw them play at summer Fest grounds, but do not remember the year. Dead Milkmen did Blister in the Sun and had radio play in Madison Wisconsin with it.
Los Angeles’ KROQ Regularly played Blister in the sun and Gone Daddy Gone. I bought the album and saw them live soon after the album was released. The first of many times I saw the band live was in the cafeteria of UC Irvine. I was about 10 feet from the band.
My memory of the band was driving to the legendary night club in Trenton called “ City Gardens” to see them. A full crowd was in anticipation for band to take the stage when a tall man bumped into me from behind. That man was Brian Richie who excused himself for that followed by Gordon. They were fantastic on stage and had an amazing night. I saw the Femmes at City Gardens. I’ll always remember that night
Loved them since highschool and I will be 49 In July. I honestly didn’t think I would ever get to see them! Im going to see them tonight at The Palace Theater! I am beyond stoked! ❤My mother still can’t stand them and I LOVE THE FACT I GOT TO TELL HER… “Guess who I get to go see in concert??” “THE VIOLENT FEMMES!!!” LOLOL😂! She said…. “Who?” 😂and then said “NM”. “I remember”…. Then chuckled and rolled her eyes! Lmao!
Mid-eighties, friends’ college dorm room, playing the Femmes cranked to 11. A really good memory of friends and music. Thanks for the discussion!
This was so cool - someone had it on the bus and copied it for me - I wore it out, I loved it all so much and it spoke to me at that time so deeply. I probably bought at least 1 cassette and 2 cds since then. Still a happy album for me, though no one would say the subject matter was perky! ❤️. About time you talked about them ;)
That's how it was back then, as I've been explaining to my 14 year old. Music was still a mystery!
It would have been tattered, torn, worn, about a month after in my house!
I saw the Violent Femmes in SLC in the early 80's at the fairgrounds. I had heard a couple of their songs and my friends and I were hooked. We didn't drive yet and bummed a ride from Logan, Utah down to SLC. It was a great concert and I've been a fan ever since. When I was in Drivers Ed in school our teacher told us that we could bring whatever music we wanted to listen to while we did our last drive with him and he wouldn't complain. Add it up played first on my mix tape I brought with me. Mr. Hoyt didn't bat and eye. The other kid in the back seat who was up next looked horrified. Just what my teenage angst was hoping for. :)
I was a college DJ in Wisconsin and we played the hell out of that album. Still sounds fresh 40 years on.
I remember Blister In The Sun - cool classic song 🎵! - this is a funny and informative video ! Cool 😎
The band members have a cool sense of humor
Femmes will always be one of the best "take me back to high-school " memory bands.
Their unpopularity is what made them SO popular. This band is just, PERFECT.
Oh my goodness! What a great and fun interview! I always wondered what happened to these guys. My boyfriend at the time was a DJ on the local college radio station. He lost his position because of these guys. The Dean was not happy. LOL!
Great episode!
I'd go to a friend's house after school and we'd crank up the Violent Femmes as loud as we could. Being in San Francisco right outside the Haight Ashbury, we felt very cool and counterculture with their fresh sound. It was so different from the old hippie music that still dominated the Haight. Saw them in concert some time later and Gordon performed in a bathrobe.
My buddies and I got the tape from an add in the back of a Transworld Skate mag. That’s how a ton of great music reached the sticks in the middle of nowhere western NC. Love your channel
my sister introduced the violent femmes to me when she drove me to high school my freshman year ('97). she was always more of a rebel than I was and I thought she was so cool. still one of my favorite memories with her. love you, Joyce.
Great video!
Picture this: Greensboro, NC - 2006. My daughter was out of school due to poison ivy in her eye, but I found out that Violent Femmes were playing under the railroad trestle in downtown that night. By gods, I was not missing that and my kid was going to be dragged along with me! She was so worried about someone from her school seeing her out and about after not being in school. I had to convince her she HAD to rebel against authority for once! It was an awesome show until a train goes over the bridge, blowing its horn. Violent Femmes just went with the flow and started playing Johnny Cash's song "Folsom Prison Blues" ... "I hear the train a comin' ..." The crowd roared! GREAT SHOW and a GREAT TIME was had by all... including my daughter.
Nothing but warm fuzzies for the Femmes❤❤ thanks for making this South Sider have a memorable childhood
When I was in high school my dad was working with a guy who listened to this music and got him into it too. A while later I started working at the same place and listening to it completely brought me out of my boy band phase. I’ve never looked back! Any time I hear this music I think of my dad who passed away a couple years ago. Violent Femmes brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it.
Love your shirt SO MUCH in this interview! Where did you get that ?
One of songs my band plays that never fails to get people dancing is Blister In The Sun. Such a fun song to perform!
I remember seeing the Femmes, Garbage and Jack White playing in corner bars for $3. I still have signed tape cases! I sure miss the 80's and 90's!
This album takes me back to my senior year in high school - 1983/84. I heard it early on because in Detroit for a brief time span there was a great "new wave" radio station, WLBS, that played the Violent Femmes on heavy rotation.
Thank you for this post and fr the great interview! I don't know how old you are, but in 1983/84 (I was 14/15), the album wasn't hard to find if you had a non-corporate based or non-chain record store in your area.
Glad to see the Femmes featured!
I discovered Violent Femmes on my first ever date. She was so super cool and brought a tape of their first album to listen to on our way to Des Moines, where we would have what I thought was a fancy dinner at Spaghetti Works and a baseball game. We never went on another date, but I will always remember her because she introduced me to the Femmes. I've been a fan ever since. If you love them as much as I do, check out "Viva Wisconsin". It's a definitive live album. Thanks for the great content, Adam.
Still one of my favorites one of my first cassette tape I have seen them 3x in concert my kids love them I can't wait to take my kids to see them
Adam, I like you calling the album contraband. Exactly my experience! Passed around and discussed behind the scenes, not loudly out in public. Sort of like sharing a secret. Really brings back strong memories of that time.
I remember seeing the band in Ottawa soon after the release of the first album. Gano's mic stopped working and he did the rest of the show without a mic! Amazingly, I could hear him just as well without the PA. It was a pretty small venue but it was loud. I was quite amazed at the power of his voice and his ability to successfully compete with the drums and electric guitar. I do wonder if he was hoarse afterward.
So simple and straightforward, but their music was catchy as all get out... just another fab flavor from the 80s... great show PoR!
Thanks! It was indeed those two things!
They are super fun!
I found this album from a friend I made 1st day of my freshman year in band class in 1984. He duped me a cassette copy, and I duped it for my friends. It really was an underground thing, for most of my high school years.
Had a suzuki santana jeep, once loaded it up with 6 of us and had no seat belts in the back as I had removed them lol
This tape was when I fell in love with punk and alt music!
I adore the Femmes!! You talk about being lucky to have a tape and it's true! My introduction to the femmes was entirely word of mouth in fact it was probably '89 before I actually heard the actual femmes, but I knew so many of their songs by heart from just hanging out singing the lyrics with friends.. for a long time I didn't even know these were all the same band. I literally grew up singing the femmes having never heard them until I was 18.
I loved the TV show The 100 and in one of the seasons they were singing and playing Add It Up. How cool it is to think that their music still lived on in the year 2150!!!
Love your channel. I love that coffee table! Did you make it yourself? I have a ton of old cassette tapes and want to make one. Anyway I could get some close up pictures of the table?