An Unofficial Femmes FAQ

• Title: An Unofficial Femmes FAQ
• Author: Mike Merryman
• Publication: Mike Merryman's Unofficial Website
• Date: 01-01-1995

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article was originally sourced from an unofficial fan website from the 1990s. Its accuracy cannot be verified and it should be considered historical fan content provided for entertainment and archival purposes only.

Something about the group.

Knowledge of what the band was like before 1980 is unknown. In 1980, they put out their first album "Violent Femmes" (self-titled) which was a big hit and is recognized as their most famous album. The band was made up of Gordon Gano (lead vocals & guitar), Brian Ritchie (vocals & bass), and Victor DeLorenzo (percussion). In 1993, DeLorenzo left the band, why? I don't know why, but Guy Hoffman, drummer for the Bodeans took his place and performs first on the album New Times.

Where are the Violent Femmes from?

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Where did they go to school?

Gordon Gano and Victor De Lorenzo both went to Oak Creek Senior High school in (obviously) Oak Creek, WI, which happens to be a suburb of Milwaukee. I know this cuz I go to school there, and in the cover of "The Blind Leading the Naked" he has fish things on his arms and he is wearing an Oak Creek SR. High gym shirt. Michael Kuick

Where does name Violent Femmes come from?

The name Violent Femmes is a turnaround on "femme", the Milwaukee slang word for wimp. David Watson

Band Members

1. Gordon Gano

Do you have any background info on Gordon Gano?

I do know his father was a baptist minister, but not much of anything else. William Flemming

What was Gordon's childhood like?

Someone told me she went to college with a lady who went to high school with Gordon Gano. She said he always wore a blue bathrobe to school on Monday's. Only Gordon knows if this is true. According to a Brave New Waves (CBC Stereo alternative music show) profile, this is indeed true. David Watson

What does Gordon do in his spare time?

I don't really know. I remember reading something in a Rolling Stone issue that Gordon had done some acting. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

He put on some sort of production which was an adaptation of a previous well known work. I have to sift through my collection of Rolling Stone to get the exact details (it was a Random Notes feature). David Watson

David's probably referring to the "Carmen" derivative Gordon did with Lou Reed in New York at "The Knitting Factory" about 2 years ago (i'm pretty sure it was August of '93). there was a small blurb about it and a photo in "Rolling Stone" shortly after the performance.

Does Gordon have a family?

Gordon, I believe, has been married in the past though I don't think he is now. He definitely has a brother who lives in Alaska...I know this because I met him last night...he has been joining them on Stage the past couple of nights to play guitar on "Jesus Walking On The Water" while Gordon played the Electric Fiddle. Gordon's brother said that he gets to play with them every 5 years or so. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

His sister is an actress and lives in Toronto, Canada. Can't think of any of her work. I should try to dredge up that phone number. David Watson

When I saw the Femmes for the first time in Seattle (I'll have to check my ticket stub for the date), they dedicated "Jesus Walking on the Water" to Gordon's parents, who he said were in the audience, for their anniversary and his sister joined them on stage. I can't remember whether or not she played an instrument. Luann Vodder

Gordon told me that his sister lives in Boston...I'm not sure how true this is but that is what he told me. (Perhaps he has two sisters, one in Toronto and one in Boston? I'm not sure.) Marci Barnes

Gordon & religion, is there a connection?

Gordon Gano is quite devout (he was kicked out of a Baptist organization in Milwaukee for performing "Gimme the Car" at a function, and the "I hope you know this will go down on your permenant record" bit in "Kiss Off" comes from that instance. Dave Watson

Personal story, from one of the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, Why Do Birds Sing Tour shows (probably spring 1992, though I can't find the ticket.) Through a friend of mine I managed to get an all access pass so I was back stage, after the show, and I happened to be wearing a VERY old Violent Femmes T-Shirt (Black with kind of a checkered floor pattern with the band standing on it) So old that Gordon Gano asked me "Hey where did you get that shirt?" I told him that I got it at this record store a couple years back...and he said "It's a collectors item...how much do you want for it?" (Gordon Gano asking ME how much I want for a Violent Femmes shirt!!) I responded "How much do you have?" and he said "Not a lot, you'd be surprised..." and then showing off my incredible wittiness amidst, meeting a great big idol of mine I said "Well, I thought you would have 'Made More Money Tonight Than I'd Ever Dreamed Of." Which (of course) is a quote from his song More Money Tonight on Why Do Birds Sing. He laughed. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

When is Gordon's birthday?

June 7, 1963, according to the 1995 WHFS Calender

Does Gordon smoke?

At the start of the last Violent Femmes concert in Australia, Gordon came out on to the stage puffing on a cigarette. Has he allways smoked, of was this just a 'once off' type thing. Just curious. Daniel

2. Brian Ritchie

Does Brian have a family?

In the song "Religion Ruined My Life" off of Brian Ritchie's Solo album 'I see a Noise', he talks about how his wife took all the money that he had made touring with the Violent Femmes and there young son away to join some kind of religious cult. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

Brian & religion, is there a connection?

Brian Ritchie is a hardcore cynic, and the Femmes song "Love and Me Make Three" and his solo songs "No Resistin' a Christian" and "Religion Ruined My Life" will testify. Dave Watson

Personal story: Thursday at the Santa Barbara Show (2/2/95) I was explaining to Brian that I had seen then 12 times and by the end of the weekend it would be 15...though I added the disclaimer that I'm sure he (Brian) had seen them many more times and he shared this: (paraphrasing Brian Ritchie) "Yeah a while back I was eating at a Sushi Restaurant and they started playing the Femmes. I asked them to put on some other music and the waitress (oblivious to who she was talking to) said 'What's the matter, don't you like the Femmes?' and I responded 'yeah, I like there music . . . in fact I've been to every one of their shows.'" Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

3. Victor DeLorenzo

Why did Victor DeLorenzo leave the band?

He wanted to get into something else. the Femmes were becoming boring to him. We've always been free in the band, everyone of us has had the possibility of doing one or more solo albums, but the main concern had to be the band. For a while, it was becoming heavy for Victor. Not much to add: there is no rational answer to his departure. Today, we speak about a friendly seperation, but there have been -I don't hide it- quite a lot of problems with Victor towards the end: personnal, professional and musical problems. He's gone, but I'm not saying that we have not pushed him a little bit too. Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

When is Victor's birthday?

October 24. I don't know what year he was born, but on the bootleg tape i have, which is dated 10-24-84, they say it's victor's (& sigmund snopek's, too!) birthday, & sing "happy birthday" to them.

4. Guy Hoffman

How do the Femmes know Guy Hoffman?

Well, Guy was previously the drummer for the BoDeans. David Watson

Guy Hoffman...last night he told me that he had known all the guys in the Femmes since before they were in the Femmes...so he had a long standing relationship with them (probably grew up in Milwaukee and did the local band circuit as did the Femmes which is how lots of band members from particular areas know each other.) Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

Gordon and Brian never had to wonder who could take Victor's place, Guy came all naturally, since, apparently, he was part of the Milwaukee Femmes posse from the very beginning. This means that the original lineup could very well also have been Gano-Ritchie-Hoffman. I dont remember exactly why it's Victor that was to be in the band. More, Guy already knew all the songs, probably he rehearsed from times to times with them. Denis Dubuisson

Check out some quotes from Hoffman in the group section of the home page.

We've known him for quite a while, 1979 may be, well before the formation of the VF. At the time, Guy was in the most popular band in Milwaukee: the Oil Tasters. And that's the main reason why he has not been our original drummer. Had the things be a little different, he very well could have been in the original lineup. I remember that Brian and I were saying : "the drummer: it's either Victor or Guy" they were the only two to play our kind of music. Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

How was Guy asked to join the band?

It's Brian who did it. In Milwaukee, we're local stars. It's the only place where we're on the front page of newspapers besides the president. So, we didn't want to put an ad in the classifieds... We just asked Guy to do a test, without talking to anyone about it. We wanted it all to be settled legally with Victor. We already had had a legal battle with Slash, one was enough. Guy fitted the band directly. He's from the same generation, grew up at the same time as we did, we were from the same scene, directly after punk, we somehow had followed the same road. We had a lot of things in common. More, he knows the story of the Femmes, most of our old songs. He had already played with us at some occasions. We don't waste time in explanations during rehearsals. Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

5. Violent Femmes

What are the Violent Femmes position on religion?

Whilst Gordon Gano is quite devout (he was kicked out of a Baptist organization in Milwaukee for performing "Gimme the Car" at a function, and the "I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record" bit in "Kiss Off" comes from that instance), Brian Ritchie is a hardcore cynic, and the Femmes song "Love and Me Make Three" and his solo songs "No Resistin' a Christian" and "Religion Ruined My Life" will testify. Dave Watson

Who calls out the songs for the Femmes?

Generally the Femmes don't work off of set lists...it's Brian who calls out the songs to Gordon and Victo...err...Guy during the show. Obviously they always do certain songs and for each tour they prepare special versions of some songs (usually newer ones) but outside of that there is no prepared set list...Gordon and Guy just look at Brian and he tells them what they are going to play. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

C. Albums & Songs

Have any members of the Violent Femmes produced any solo albums?

Yes, Gordon Gano has helped produce the self-titled album "Mercy Seat." Brian Ritchie has at least 5 solo albums. DeLorenzo made an album called "Peter Corey Sent Me." Ritchie & Delorenzo produced an album together too. To see these albums, look in the "Album/Solo Album" section of this home page.

What is the Femmes "New Times" about?

New times of course is a reference to all these changes, but, say, the title is simple, two syllables, no hesitation. In the past, we sometimes chose complicated titles like "The Blind Leading the Naked" or "Why Do Birds Sing?". It was more colorful, but was it necessarily a better title? Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

Why did the Femmes switch labels from Slash to Elektra? Did slash not want them anymore?

It's a little more complex. Not only, they didn't like us anymore, but also, they were forbidding us to put out records on other labels. Thus, at one point, it became a timeless legal dispute. This has of course put our musical carrier between parenthesis. In fact, I think that Slash records never really liked our music. Proof: They constantly asked for more covers, constantly wanted us to sound like another band, always wanted us to copy more popular bands. In the last minute, they wanted us to become REM clones...

So did the Femmes not sell enough records for Slash or what?

In fact, we were selling too many records and they could not do away with us that easily but not enough for them to be happy... Very strange. Today, we signed a much better contract with Elektra. The solution is clear: we give them a finished product. It's written black on white. Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

Have the Violent Femmes ever played any holiday music?

Holiday Music...the Femmes definitely performed Holly Jolly Christmas at the 4th annual KROQ Acoustic Christmas show in December of 1993. (KROQ is the major "alternative" or "modern rock" station in Los Angeles and is arguably the biggest in the nation as they have strong ties to MTV etc...blah blah blah...the Femmes also played at the 3rd Acoustic Christmas in 1992 where they didn't do any particular Holiday music though they did play "Jesus Walkin On The Water." Which is fairly holiday oriented as Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus' birthday and all (though what do I know I'm a Jew). The song Holly Jolly Christmas (as performed by the Femmes) appears on a cassette release of the Kevin and Bean Christmas Cassette for 1994. Kevin and Bean do the Morning show on KROQ and they put out this cassette of Christmas related songs and comedy bits every year as a benefit. It was a Los Angeles only release as why would the rest of the country really care about Kevin and Bean...though the cassette content is very cool. Regarding their affiliate with KROQ, they also played at the 3rd annual KROQ Weenie Roast and sing-along (which is a long ass concert with like 12 bands every year...) They headlined this past summer. Rick Lupert, California State Univ.

On Halloween 1993, they played the boathouse in Norfolk and Gordon sang something - he said it was an old folk song - about a werewolf. it was a beautiful, eerie song -- wish i had a clue about the name or where it came from.

On valentine's day 1992, he sang a valentine's day song, which he said he had written that day, with the final verse something like "you wouldn't be my valentine/so i will end this life of mine." i've never heard them do it since.

Why did the Femmes release the greatest hits album "Add It Up [1981-1993]"?

A very good thing for us. We had been absent from the scene for contractual reasons for a while when the record was released and they let us choose the titles included. Among others, we included this answering machine message that I left to Victor and Brian. That was just before the recording of our first demo: my parents had locked me in, but it was more of a mistake, no bad intention. Oh well. The compilation is pretty cool and put an end to the first part of the story of the band. Gordon Gano quoted by Mofo magazine, Dennis Dubuisson

Who is the little girl on the cover of the self-titled (1st) Violent Femmes album?

This is the daughter of Lowell George. So who is he? Lowell George was the rhythm guitarist of Frank Zapps's Mothers of Invention around 1968 or 1969. He tried to convince Frank Zappa to perform some of his songs and was told by him that they were not suitable for his band and that he should form his own band. So he did. He called the band "Little Feat." George had an artistic relationship with the then world-famous Robert Palmer. George died in the early eighties. Francesco Benvenuto

Now why is his daughter on the cover of the album? I don't know.

(NOTE FROM AUTHOR OF THE ARCHIVE; THIS STATEMENT IS COMPLETE B.S. FACT: The girl on the cover of the Violent Femmes' iconic 1983 self-titled debut album is Billie Jo Campbell. She was discovered at age 3 walking down a street in Los Angeles with her mother when a photographer approached them for a spontaneous photo shoot, However 'Inara George' (George's Daughter) performs covers of Femmes Tracks

What is T-shirt Gordon Gano is wearing on the inside sleeve of the self- titled Violent Femmes album?

It is from the University of Louvain La Neuve in Belgium, at which he did not study. He received it from a Belgian exchange student who stayed at his home in the early eighties. Denis Dubuisson

Why does the album "Add It Up [1981-1993]" have the sticker that says:

Features an all-new recording of "I Held Her In My Arms" plus a 34-track potpourri of unreleased demos, THE STORY OF VIOLENT FEMMES AS TOLD BY ITS PARTICIPANTS. Album tracks, answering machine messages, alternative takes, live performances, import only B-sides and a readio spot. Whew. 2-45403

The CD only has 23 tracks, what is this "34-track" thing? "Answering machine messages" - I though there's only one message. Do I have a different CD from everyone else?

Does anyone know this answer? Do you have only 23 tracks too?

Possible explanation: "34" is a typo. "23" can easily be mistyped on a keyboard as "34". [email protected]

D. Fan Club Information

Did you know that TV's Blossom likes the Violent Femmes? (Quote From Interview) : Amy: What kind of music do you listen to? Mayim: Some people would call it alternative. My absolute favorite group is the Violent Femmes. I like the lyrics, the music is cool and the lead singer is really cute. If I could have a dream date, it would be the lead singer of the Violent Femmes.

I've written to the Violent Femmes Fan club and have never gotten any response, so whats the deal here?

I asked Gordon about the Fan Clubs on the IN-COVER the albums and he said that they don't actually exist.. He said they just never actually happened.. I told him how I'd had written over 5 times to them and he smiled and told me I was a victim of bad organization! contributed by Chris Mcee