You can always kiss off into the air. Behind my back, I can see them stare. They hurt me bad, and I don’t mind. They hurt me bad, they do it all the time!
Yeah, yeah. You just sang that in your head, didn’t you? I believe it is impossible not to. There’s an alchemy, a secret chord maybe, that makes a song an anthem. A magic that turns a single into a generational statement of mind.
The Violent Femmes have been doing this for nearly half a century and have a good dozen of those bangers. They did it with an unlikely jangly bass and “brush-tip drumsticks on a snare” kinda-punk sound. It was done backing the nasally-delivered poetry of Gordon Gano’s disaffection. It gave Sixties garage rock from Milwaukee mixed with Velvet Underground-inspired art rock straight off St. Marks Street. Like these micro-genres, their music was touched by the grace of blues, folk, and gospel too.
Gordon has been at it for 45 years as the singer of Violent Femmes. Last week, I sat in front of my laptop in the waiting room of a lonely Zoom call. It was about fifteen minutes past the agreed-upon call time, and staring at myself in the little framed camera feed was getting old.
Just as I was about to call it a missed opportunity, my phone rang. I picked up, and the voice on the other end was more recognizable by its attitude than the actual sound coming from it. There was an easy kindness and a promise of a good time in his tone. I’d been looking forward to this conversation.
My comfort immediately shot to “overstuffed recliner in a sunbeam” levels after his greeting. His chill was disarming. Gordon apologized for being late. He couldn’t get into the Zoom, so he gave up and called my cell instead. I hate Zoom calls anyway. Sometimes band interviews feel like a speed-dating interrogation. Sometimes it feels like three drinks in with a good friend. This was the latter. It helped that I was also at least one drink in already.
Christian Detres: Hi! Let me first say I’m a big fan before it gets weird. Also, let me tell you a story. This isn’t really a question as much as it is me taking advantage of having you on the phone.
When I was thirteen years old, my very first girlfriend, Gina T., gave me the very first gift I’ve ever been given from a girl. It was a cassette of your debut self-titled album. We were giant music nerds by virtue of having really cool older siblings. I listened to it and never stopped.
I had been just getting into Television, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Velvet Underground, The Smiths, and other bands like them. The first Violent Femmes album was the birthday candle on top of my coming-of-age cake.
Like I said, there’s no question at the end of this story. I just wanted her to know (wherever she is) that I told you this story.
Gordon Gano: [laughs] I appreciate her taste in music and her taste in boys. I can relate to the older sibling thing. I have several older brothers and sisters, and they were certainly my gateway to new and different music. A couple of them were at the original Woodstock. I got to hear a lot of the old ’60s psychedelic and funky rock and soul of the time.
One of my brothers moved to NYC and got fully into the whole punk thing there. He would send me albums from bands he’d see at shows. When I was 15, I made a trip to go see him there. He took me to a bunch of the clubs.
The one that stood out to me the most was Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers. I saw them at Max’s Kansas City right before they cut a live album from that space. Listening to it now, it’s got the same sound and presence that I remember from being there in person. Very nostalgic for me.
CD: Forgive me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Debbie Harry cocktail waitress there?
GG: I believe that’s true. I heard that somewhere too.
CD: I read it in Richard Hell’s book I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, I think.
GG: [laughs] That’s the second time you mentioned Richard Hell. I’m a big fan. I was thinking about one of his songs that was just running through my head yesterday. I don’t know why… wait, I know why. I was listening to a Tom Waits song about time and remembered Richard Hell had one too.
CD: Shifting gears to actual questions… I have noticed, over the years, that “Blister in the Sun,” “Kiss Off,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “Add It Up”… seriously, the majority of your most seminal hits… have achieved a certain karaoke bar notoriety usually reserved for Neil Diamond and Journey. I cocked my head in wondering about that and realized you kind of have to sing along to your songs. Like a biological imperative. They’re infectious. You can’t not sing them if they’re playing.
It’s fascinating to see how many people who don’t spend much of their listening time inside the genres your music gets slotted into know all the words to “Kiss Off.” The whole “one, one, one ’cause you left me, and two, two, two for my family…” verse is ingrained into everyone’s consciousness. Everyone knows at least a few of the numbered dedications, even if they mumble the rest.
You’ve broken the boundaries of the alt-rock, college-weirdos listening space a long time ago. It’s been 45 years with the band. The staying power of your songs is undeniable. Do you know how much joy it gives people to sing along to those songs?
GG: Oh, absolutely, yeah. I have noticed that. It’s wonderful.
CD: Anecdotally, again, because obviously I just got on this call just to tell you stories, I was in a Kroger recently and heard “Blister in the Sun.” I registered a whole “ha, that’s weird” smirk, but then proceeded to sing along under my breath in the pasta aisle. I’m bopping, having a great time trying to decide on linguini or spaghetti, when I notice another customer walking towards me, scoping noodles, singing to herself as well.
Is that a thing that took decades to emerge, or was that just the reality of it from the beginning?
GG: It’s mostly been like that for a long, long time. There’s always been tremendous audience energy when it comes to those songs. Entire crowds singing together and all.
CD: It’s not even just that they know the lyrics. They’re feeling it. Like everyone has their own little secret pain that these tracks just fit into like a lost puzzle piece. They’re not just fun, they’re personal. Frustrations, angers, disappointments long gone. You can hear it in the voices.
GG: It’s been like that forever. That’s how it always seemed to me. Brian Ritchie (OG Violent Femmes bassist) might have a different take on it, maybe not though.
I can remember the first time I noticed that kind of audience reaction. We were on our first tour. Had to be ’82 or ’83. We were in Oregon. We had never played there before, but the entire audience was singing along. I was confused. Evidently, they had been playing us on college radio, and everyone somehow learned all the words. It’s been like that ever since.
One little story I hope you find interesting. The only time I ever did karaoke was somewhere deep in Tennessee. You can imagine this space in your head. My friend and I went to this bar, and it was karaoke night. He said, “I bet your songs are in the karaoke book.”
CD: Dude, your songs are in every single karaoke book everywhere in the world.
GG: Really? Which one?
CD: All of them. [laughs] There are usually more options to sing your stuff than there are for most bands. But I wanna hear you tell this story.
GG: So I just decided to sign up and sing karaoke to one of my own songs. I think it was “Kiss Off.” One thing I was surprised by was that, as I’m reading the lyrics off the teleprompter TV, I’m like, “Those aren’t the words! That’s not what I sing!” [laughs] But I sang it to some polite applause, and that was it.
CD: Did anyone but your friend know that it was you singing it?
GG: No. That’s the good part. Totally anonymous. It was like, “Good effort, but you’re no Gordon Gano!” Everyone I was with thought it was hysterical.
CD: What’s the weirdest place you’ve heard one of your tracks?
GG: Well, you already mentioned one. I was grocery shopping, and I heard “Gone Daddy Gone.” I was not expecting that. Right before or after was, like, DEVO. That was weird.
CD: What is this super cool grocery store you’re going to?
GG: I don’t go there anymore. I don’t like the vibe.
CD: Hahahahaha.
GG: “Blister in the Sun” gets played at stadiums now, or, like, even just the opening riff. I don’t feel like it gets people going the way they think it’s going to, but it’s cool to hear it.
CD: Switching gears… This is the 45th Anniversary Tour for Violent Femmes. I mean, you’re not eulogizing the band, right? This isn’t like a “farewell tour” or something, right? Please tell me I’m right.
GG: [laughs] This is where you hear a sudden dial tone. No, not at all. It’s a thing, the way we’ve kept this fun for us. If we had spent all these decades playing these same songs the same way, we’d be done with them.
Every concert we play, we do without a setlist. Unless, of course, the whole show is just thematically playing an entire record from beginning to end, which we’ve done a few times. When we’re going on stage, I don’t know even the first song we’re going to play most of the time. The changes don’t always result in a big moment, but, you know, sometimes it does, and it’s fantastic.
Yeah, every show is a product of the moment. Sometimes I’ll play something on the mandolin instead of guitar for the hell of it. There are new things happening with the group. New songs, of course, but sometimes changes in older songs for fun. It changes the color or energy on tracks we’ve played a thousand times. I think the audience picks up on that energy and appreciates it.
I remember one show where we were on our way out of the venue after our set, and there was this really drunk guy who noticed our van creeping through the crowd. There was only one way out of the venue, so we were fighting the foot traffic. This guy sees us and is all, “Yeah!! You guys rock! Yeeeahhh! ‘I Want You to Want Me’! Fuckin’ yeah!!”
That’s when I knew we really made it. [laughs]
GG: We play Richmond every, what, I don’t know, 5 to 8 years? Not too much, but we’re very familiar with the territory.
CD: Well, dude, the energy and anticipation for the show is large. You have not worn out your welcome. I salute you! You can’t see me doing it, but I’m saluting you right now.
GG: Are you saluting with the whiskey in hand?
CD: Nahh, I finished the whiskey already. I mean… Hehe, I can’t wait for the show. Good luck. I’ll be singing along with the rest of ’em.
They’re coming to Richmond Wednesday, September 23rd, playing Kanawha Plaza. Get tickets HERE.
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