Violent Soho

Violent Soho are an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 2004 in the Brisbane suburb of Mansfield, Queensland, originally under the name of Showroom. For the majority of the band's existence, the line-up was composed of Luke Boerdam (lead vocals, guitar), James Tidswell (guitar, backing vocals), Luke Henery (bass, backing vocals) and Michael Richards (drums, backing vocals). Their sound has been compared to that of 1980s and 1990s alternative rock bands such as the Pixies, Mudhoney, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana. Although being largely described as grunge, the band self described themselves as a "stoner pop" band. The band's third studio album, Hungry Ghost, was certified Gold in Australia in September 2014. Their fourth album, Waco, debuted at number 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in 2016. The band's fifth album, Everything Is A-OK, was released on 3 April 2020 and also debuted at number 1 on the ARIA charts. The band members all attended Citipointe Christian College in Mansfield together, and as of 2008 continued to reside there. The postcode of the suburb, "4122", appears in the band's merchandise artwork and frequently appears in band-related images. In an interview with Tidswell and Boerdam at the 2013 Push Over event in Melbourne, Victoria, both members explained that they attended a religious youth group as children, while Boerdam was in a chapel band with drummer Richards. Tidswell revealed in 2014 that he is originally from New Zealand, explaining: "In New Zealand I had to ride a bike to school in the rain every morning when I was four years old, and now I live in Queensland and I never wear a raincoat". The band named themselves after the Rancid song "Ruby Soho" and Tidswell's wishes to be named "Violent"; the two names were "married". Their debut EP, Pigs & T.V., was released in 2006. Consisting of songs written by Boerdam at 14 years of age, the recording was funded by the sale of Tidswell's car. The EP was produced by Bryce Moorhead, a Brisbane-based producer and sound engineer who the band discovered through early shows they performed with Brisbane punk bands Eat Laser Scumbag! and Gazoonga Attack. The EP received a positive review in Blunt Magazine—the reviewer gave it an "8" rating (out of 10), writing: "Sounding like The Vines fed on raw meat and produced on a fraction of the budget, Violent Soho are a boisterous pop rock combo from Brissyland reviving the spirit of the grunge era." Writing for the Mess+Noise music website, Jo Nilson described the EP as "both tuneful and snottily defiant", and "an amazing effort, considering their [the band] bawdy pop sensibilities". Liam McGinniss, a reviewer for the Faster Louder website, wrote a positive review of the EP, concluding: While Violent Soho occasionally reflect their obvious influences (Nirvana, The Vines, et al.) a little too closely, it's refreshing to see a band with such a clear vision, as well as deft skill and power with their instruments. A slick and polished effort in a time when many debuts are too rough around the edges to take seriously, Pigs And TV is an excellent snapshot of a band with unlimited potential, and the skill and ambition to fulfill it. Following the release of their debut EP, the band continued to play shows in and around Brisbane as well as several shows in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere on the east coast of Australia. During this period, Magic Dirt's Dean Turner—who died in April 2009—commenced managing the band. Violent Soho toured with fellow Queensland band The Grates in 2007 and were included in the lineup of the 2008 St Jerome's Laneway Festival, playing with the event in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney of that year. Violent Soho toured with Faker and Grafton Primary in May 2008, playing songs from their first full-length album, We Don't Belong Here. The album was released on 7 June 2008 on the Emergency Music label, an independent imprint run by Turmer's band Magic Dirt, who were also friends at the time. Following the release of the inaugural studio album, the band toured throughout Australia, followed by shows during November 2008 in New York, Los Angeles and London. Upon their return home, Violent Soho played more shows and festivals held during the southern summer—late 2008/early 2009—including Homebake, Meredith Music Festival, Falls Festival and Southbound Festival. On 20 February 2009, Violent Soho announced on their MySpace page that they had signed an "overwhelmingly exciting" deal with Ecstatic Peace! Records, a record company headed by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, a hero of the band. They also signaled their intention to spend much of 2009 touring Australia, touring and recording in the US, and mentioned that a new album that "elaborated" on the material recorded for We Don't Belong Here was due for worldwide release in the third quarter of 2009. In mid-2009, the band recorded their self-titled second album with producer Gil Norton at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Moore presented the band with several options, including Butch Vig and John Agnello, but the band selected Norton as they wanted someone who would be "a bit pushy". After a conversation between Moore and Norton, the producer rearranged his schedule to accommodate the band, as he liked the demo recordings he was sent. Violent Soho worked with Norton for five weeks at the Rockfield complex, where the band lived in an on-site apartment for the entire duration of recording, and Boerdam described the experience following their return to Brisbane afterwards: We all got to stay together in the same spot for five weeks. I think that was great for the band. It wasn't like tour, where everyday you're going somewhere, you're worried about how you're going to pay for petrol. It was the opposite. It was in the middle of the countryside, really quiet, 30 minutes walk from the nearest town. So really we got to focus on just doing the album, putting the songs to rest ... Gil [Norton] has the whole Lovetone [analog] pedal range. They're pedals from the UK that aren't made anymore … I spent hours with them, experimenting with sounds. When we recorded the first album, there was no experimentation. The band relocated to the US prior to the early 2010 release of Violent Soho and shared an apartment in the "poorer parts of Brooklyn" in New York City. However, due to a hectic touring schedule, the band was rarely at home and played five-to-six nights each week. While in the US, the band released a limited-edition, vinyl 7-inch EP—consisting of re-recorded versions of "Bombs Over Broadway" and "Son of Sam"—in 2009 that was only sold during a 2010 US tour. On 9 March 2010, Violent Soho released their second, self-titled album on Ecstatic Peace! that consisted of some reworked selections from We Don't Belong Here. "Jesus Stole My Girlfriend" was the first single release from the album. The single was also re-recorded with new vocals by Boerdam in Simlish for The Sims 3: Ambitions soundtrack. The band would part ways with Moore's label following the album's release and returned to Australia in 2011 after more than a year in the US. In 2013 Boerdam stated: Being on Thurston Moore's label doesn't happen that often for an Australian band. It gave us a great sense of validation as a band. Just being able to quit your day job and tour for 18 months made us better. Whether it results in Facebook likes or record sales I don't care, the real impact was more personal. Violent Soho performed at the 2011 Laneway Festival, followed by an Australian tour supporting Australian alternative rock band Jebediah in mid-2011. The band was then chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that the latter co-curated—together with Caribou and Battles—in December 2011 in Minehead, England, UK. The band toured Australia with English band Arctic Monkeys in early 2012. Violent Soho was nominated for an ARIA Award in 2012 and Tidswell revealed in an October 2013 interview that he