Violent Soho

Tue 18th Aug, 2009 in Features

“It definitely feels sickening. Just sickening”, Violent Soho vocalist Luke Boerdam confesses to FasterLouder. Boerdam doesn’t have that pig virus; he’s got his stomach in a knot over a contract the Brisbane band signed earlier this year with Thurston Moore’s label Ecstatic Peace!.

For a band from humble Mansfield, 4122 beginnings, Violent Soho’s signing to the iconic Massachusetts based label wasn’t as easy as 1, 2, 3. After releasing their self-funded LP We Don’t Belong Here in mid 2008, Violent Soho tirelessly toured the country, catching the attention of management company Speak – œn’ Spell. A deal here and there and suddenly the band had representation.

Thanks to the company’s American connections, _We Don’t Belong Here _ eventually landed on the desk of Sonic Youth front man Thurston Moore. After a few rotations on the home stereo, Moore’s wife and Sonic Youth partner-in-crime Kim Gordon fell in love (even if Love Is A Heavy Word). ”[Moore] rang our manager and said, – œI fucking love it. I want to release it’”, Boerdam recalls gleefully.

With an American release of their reworked debut due out in early 2010 on Ecstatic Peace!, the boys lost no time heading to legendary Rockfield Studios in the Welsh countryside to re-record and add new songs to We Don’t Belong Here. “It was the first time ever when we could completely relax and just think about nothing but music for five weeks straight, which was a God-send”, says Boerdam. “I opened my window in the morning and I’m not joking, there were horses galloping and little bunnies hopping in the fields and I was like oh my God, where the fuck am I? This place is crazy!

“The studio has so much history. There is a piano sitting there in the main room which Queen used to record Bohemian Rhapsody, a dartboard Black Sabbath religiously played every time they recorded there and the wall upon where Oasis wrote half of What’s The Story (Morning Glory). It was insane.”

After five blissful weeks in isolation with nothing but ghosts of musical idols and thoroughbreds, Boderdam and company were sent home for a tour of duty before trying their hand at American domination. “We had six weeks in Australia before we headed back to America so we though, what do we want to do, tour and put out something, or come back and sit on our asses?”.

In a whirlwind of phone calls and recording, Violent Soho threw together an east coast tour with Sydney lads Talons and pressed 300 vinyls of two slightly odd Aussie covers. Included on the wax recording is _My Pal _ by God, which features “one of the greatest guitar lead lines ever written”. Boerdam adds, “It’s the only song that you play and you know if someone thinks you’re not doing it justice – you’ll get spat on.

“That happened in Geelong once. We started playing and this guy launched up and pulled me down and said, – œdon’t fuckin’ ever play that again’ and threw me away. So if we don’t do this justice on vinyl – we’ll get beaten up”.

Also making its way onto the limited edition release, which will be sold only on the Soho/Talons tour, is Taskforce by Brisbane band Razar. “We basically did it because we’re from there, Southside of Brisbane. We can’t align ourselves with the undercover police force beating us up at our own shows, but we can definitely align ourselves with the fact that it was recorded in a garage with barely any arrangement”.

Despite their dream US signing, the boys are still free agents at home and across the Tasman. “The one thing we don’t want to do is sign an Australian contract just because we should”, explains Boerdam. “The music industry is changing and I think the smart thing to do is hold off and see who is out there to work with”.

The recent creation of Useless Art Records seemingly came about purely to put out fellow Brisbane band DZ’s debut EP and Boerdam wouldn’t say no to the same kind of situation. “I spoke with Shane Parsons from DZ because I thought it was really interesting. They were getting a bit of interest but just said – œfuck it, this is what we want to do’ and I thought that was really cool”.

Trudging their way from Brisbane down to Victoria during August, new vinyl and Ecstatic Peace! contract in hand, Violent Soho have come a long way since first auditions where James Tidswell smashed his brand new axe. Boerdam recalls, “He was playing and couldn’t get his first riff, so he turned around and smashed the crap out of it. Luke Henery, bass] and I turned to each other and said, – œthis is awesome – you’re in!
“It’s like…that’s what distortion is for dude, you don’t have to smash up your guitar!
Yeah…but it’s more fun that way”.

Violent Soho hit the road with Talons:

Friday August 21 – The Tote, Melbourne
Saturday August 22 – Missing Link, Melbourne
Thursday August 27 – The Harp, Wollongong
Friday August 28 – Hamilton Station, Newcastle
Saturday August 29 – Spectrum, Sydney
Sunday August 30 – Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Thursday September 3 – Del Plaza, Gold Coast
Friday September 4 – Woombly Pub, Sunshine Coast
Saturday September 5 – The Hive, Brisbane
Saturday September 5 – Step Inn, Brisbane