Playing for teens and mothers

By MIKE HOULAHAN

Violent Femmes' lead singer Gordon Gano laughs good-naturedly when it's suggested there is something strange about a band which have been around for 20-plus years still being best known for their anthems to teen angst.

"There's not much which is constant about this band, but one thing is that there are always teenagers at our shows," Gano says.

No doubt there will be another generation at the Milwaukee three-piece's upcoming New Zealand shows screaming out "And 10 is for everything" as the band plays Kiss Off, a song still as powerful an anti-everything rant as it was when the band recorded it in the early 80s.

The song and other classic tracks off the Violent Femmes' self-titled debut album sealed their reputation, but it's a reputation the band had to earn through slogging it out on the live scene. Violent Femmes is the only record to sell platinum in the United States without ever making the Billboard Hot 100.

A devoted fan base means Violent Femmes can continue to make a living making music despite never even threatening to top the charts.

Gano is perfectly happy with this state of affairs, but says the downside is that unless the band visit places regularly, people believe they have split up.

"We have always had a low-profile because we can't get enough attention," Gano laughs. "In the past two to three years I decided I didn't want to keep touring as much.

"We haven't had a new studio album to go out and promote for longer than that, it would be maybe five years since [last studio album] Freak Magnet was out, so there has been less going on.

"We've had this problem all our lives though. There were times when we were touring non-stop and people would always say things like, 'I had no idea you guys were still together'.

"If we didn't happen to play in your town, then you didn't know we were still playing."

One of the reasons Violent Femmes have stepped more into the spotlight in recent times is the re-release of their debut album on famed roots music and reissue label, Rhino Records.

The 10 songs on that classic album - including Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up, Prove My Love and Gone Daddy Gone - are there, and it also features 26 bonus tracks, 22 of which are previously unreleased.

The album, demos, live tracks and rarities are augmented by a history of the band.

Gano is pleased and proud of the package. "We have arrived at a certain point in our career where we qualify for Rhino, which is great," Gano says.

A factor of being in a long-lived band is an equally veteran fan base.

"It's three generations we've been going now, and I almost saw the three generations a couple of years ago," Gano says.

"There was a woman at the show who had become a grandmother just beforehand.

"She had known us for years, she knew us before we had any records out. Her daughter was raised on it, and her daughter had just had a baby.

"This was, like, over five years ago, and they were backstage after a show.

"They were both promising the next generation, the third generation would also be a true fan. I'm sure that's the way it's turned out."

Performance

* Who: The Violent Femmes

* Where and When: Parthenon Wellington, tomorrow; St James Auckland, Sunday.

- NZPA