VIOLENT SOHO // Fitting A Monster Sound Into A Tiny Cabinet

After years of toiling away at their grunged-up power pop sound in dingy pubs in Australia and the US, and approaching cult status, Violent Soho are now enjoying an explosion of success. Sparked by relentless touring and back-to-back killer albums, Hungry Ghost (2013) and Waco (2016), they’ve struck right at the sweet spot of a ’90s rock semi-revival. It’s cemented them as festival favourites with the highest of high rotation.

Their reputation is built on being a live band, one that believes in the power of a good tune. They play through some classic gear and hold a middle finger to the polished, backing-track-happy ideals that are becoming the norm in the heavier end of guitar-based music. While they have trashed their fair share of it on stage over the years, Luke Boerdam [lead vocal/guitar], James Tidswell [guitars/vocals], Luke Henery [bass] and Mikey Richards [drums] are all united by a passion for the equipment they use and the sonic possibilities held within.

FALSE STARTS, FAKE-DRUMMING AND THE FORSAKING OF THE HOLY CONSOLE

Occasionally the tale of how a group of musicians came to find their chosen instruments can be so deliciously odd, it’s worth the column space. Violent Soho are that band, with humble beginnings as a one-string wonder, trumpet player, remorseful consumer and teenage gamer turned songwriter.

JAMES TIDSWELL: “My first guitar was a guitar I found in my house. It was my mum’s from when she was young. It only had one string on it. It was acoustic. I used to just play on the one string because we didn’t get new strings. I’m talking about ages, like at least a year, and then we wouldn’t even get new strings, I mean we were pretty poor. I just taught myself like Green Day songs, on the one string, sort of like Nimrod and Insomniac sort of era.

I just taught myself like Green Day songs, on the one string, sort of like Nimrod and Insomniac sort of era.
[ James Tidswell ]

“Then instead of buying a pack of strings I went and bought a pickup that that you clip into the acoustic to make it sort of sound distorted, but I didn’t have an amp so then my mum went and bought me some strings and we eventually set it up and got an amp. It looked better and I used to even jam with the band with the distorted acoustic guitar!”

LUKE HENERY: “Early on, I bought this terrible Ibanez bass that was just horrible. I think I played it for maybe a month and then realised how much I hated it. It was quite an expensive bass. It was like $800 or something. I walked into a music store and they had one of those really cheap Squier P-bass deals with the little tiny amps. I said, ‘I’ll swap you this bass for that.’ They were like, ‘Yeah, no problem,’ because it was worth way more and I just didn’t care. I just wanted a P-bass. I didn’t want something that looked as ugly as that Ibanez thing looked. Give me something really shit that doesn’t look so bad. That’ll do. I then would forever battle to try and pull a good sound from it.”

MIKEY RICHARDS: “I played the trumpet at school. I sort of enjoyed it, not heaps. When I got braces, when I was a bit older, I was so over it and didn’t want to do it anymore because it sort of hurt. Anyway, when I was 12, my school had a competition where you had to do a ‘performance’ of a song. I did this performance with my other 12 year old friends of Nirvana’s Plateau. Everyone thought it was depressing and weird that these kids were doing that song. I was Dave Grohl and so I had to pretend like I was playing the drums. My parents thought it looked like I was actually playing, so they got me a drum kit and some lessons!”

LUKE BOERDAM: “My first instrument was a cheap Yamaha strat copy called a Yamaha ET112. I remember it specifically because I traded it with my older brother who wanted my Super Nintendo. I’d already moved on to the N64 and he really wanted some of the older games. I bought a little Roland practice amp and that’s when I started writing songs and playing guitar.

Continue reading inside Hysteria #45 August 2016 >

VIOLENT SOHO are touring with special guests The Bronx, Luca Brasi and Tired Lion this October and November.

FRIDAY // OCT 28 // RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE
SATURDAY // OCT 29 // HORDERN PAVILLION, SYDNEY
MONDAY // OCT 31 // FESTIVAL HALL, MELBOURNE
FRIDAY // 04 NOV // AEC THEATRE, ADELAIDE
SATURDAY // 05 NOV // RED HILL AUDITORIUM, PERTH
All shows licensed all ages.

TICKETS:  violentsoho.com