Five Reasons Why Violent Soho Have Australian Crowds Hooked
Having just wrapped up a huge year at Festival of the Sun, these Brisbane lads have Aussie audiences in the palm of their hand.
What a year it's been for Violent Soho. The Brisbane lads' sold-out national tours in July and December went gangbusters, and they've stolen the show at many of Australia’s leading festivals including Splendour in the Grass, Groovin' the Moo and triple j's One Night Stand. They've dominated the Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards, with four nominations — more than any other artist nominated — and two awards for their critically-acclaimed album, Hungry Ghost: Best Independent Album and Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavy or Punk Album. Just this weekend, they've slayed their final festival before Christmas; the foursome headlined Festival of the Sun on Saturday.
When we called guitarist James Tidswell to catch up on this year thus far, he's sitting in his backyard eating strewed apple and quinoa, and hanging out with his baby girl who was born in May this year. Bless. But back to the rock and roll stuff — here are five reasons why Violent Soho are a top bunch of blokes for the Australian market.
THEY'RE GREAT MATES WITH OTHER BANDS
During their Hungry Ghost national tour this past July, Violent Soho played to massive crowds all over the country. While there was plenty of fun to be had on stage, Tidswell was at his happiest watching the support bands do their thing. "I watched every band every night," says Tidswell. "Highlights were Sounds Like Sunset — they opened the Friday Sydney show. Every night Luca Brasi and Smith Street Band ruled. White Walls were awesome. Ceres were awesome. A whole bunch of bands really, they were the highlights." On a side note, the band also loved how rowdy their fans got, even on a school night. "The show in Sydney on the Tuesday night was surprisingly good, I guess that's only because it was a Tuesday and I didn't expect it to go off quite like that, but that was awesome."
THEY'RE A DEMOCRACY
Violent Soho had the great honour of programming RAGE in August, and the show was inevitably what can only described as rad. The lads included the likes of Frenzal Rhomb, Sandpit, The Drones and Dune Rats on their video playlist. Anyone who has ever tried to compile a party playlist with your mates knows that you can't always get what you want. But it doesn't have to be that way, at least not for the Violent Soho guys. "We got 16 songs each, we just went up and did our own thing," explains Tidswell. "We all chose things for different reasons. I know that Mikey went for videos that you'd want to see late at night, so he chose The Ramones' Pet Cemetery, which has a rad video, and stuff like that. Everyone went for different things." Tidswell chose songs he loves, and thinks you should love too. "I went for songs that I really like and wanted other people to like, or at least hear. I think it was heaps of friend's bands."
THEY WOULD RIP A GUMBOOT BONG GIVEN THE CHANCE
A couple of truly awesome things happened during Violent Soho's set at Splendour this year. Firstly, bassist Luke Henery's three-year-old son Oscar came out on stage with the band and won the hearts of thousands. Secondly, a dude ripped a gumboot bong. When asked if he would do the same thing if the opportunity ever arose, Tidswell didn’t hesitate with a response. "Ha! Yeah I would! When I saw it I thought it was so cool. I didn't see it happening, I saw the photo later on. What a legend. I'd definitely do that, I think it’s the smartest move." If it's good enough for their fans, it's good enough for Violent Soho. FACT.
THEY TAKE IT ALL IN THEIR STRIDE
Hungry Ghost was released in the States at the end of September and while the record itself wasn't be harmed, their single 'Covered In Chrome' had to undergo a radio edit for the famous catch cry "Hell Fuck Yeah". Instead of this being a major bummer, Tidswell shrugs it off with ease. "It's just for the radio release. We knew we had to do that anyway. We released a song there in 2010 called 'Muscle Junkie' and the lyrics go 'fuck you fuck you I hate your face' over and over again. We knew you couldn't just put fuck on a song on the radio over there." In other band news, Violent Soho have also completed their second vinyl pressing for Hungry Ghost, which sold out in less than 24 hours. When asked if the widespread appreciation for their third record felt overwhelming, his response is simple. "Yeah. That's the only way to describe it, for sure."
THEY JUST NAILED FESTIVAL OF THE SUN
The final stop for this year’s festival circuit for Violent Soho was Festival Of The Sun’s 10th anniversary in Port Macquarie. Joined by the Jezabels, Shihad, Dune Rats and Jackie Onassis for the two-day festival, the guys were, true to form, keen to see some music as well as playing it. "There's tons of good bands playing, so that will be good." There's plenty to be happy about playing at Festival Of The Sun according to Tidswell, as he explains, "It’s just in a good area, a real good spot... Good bands, good people in that area, I like it."
What's next then? For the rest of the year, Tidswell will continue to enjoy his downtime of hangouts in Brissy, skating, having breakfast in the backyard at 1pm, and hanging out with his little lady. Delightful.
Image credits: AP Photography, Stephen Booth.
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