Violent Femmes Albums for song lyrics and biography.

Violent Femmes are a rock band from in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Gordon Gano, Brian Ritchie, and Victor DeLorenzo founded the group and were discovered by James Honeyman-Scott of The Pretenders when the band was playing on a street corner in front of the venue that The Pretenders would be playing later that night. The band signed to Slash Records and released The Violent Femmes album in 1982. The music was an innovative combination of American folk music and indie rock. The group quickly had a small cult following that never burgeoned into widespread popularity, although a few songs from this album did get some recognition. "Add It Up", "Blister in the Sun", and "Kiss Off" became moderatly well-known. The album went platinum ten years after its release.

The following year, the Violent Femmes released Hallowed Ground, which moved the group to a more country music sound. Their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, was more mainstream, resulting in a minor hit with "Children of the Revolution", originally a T Rex song. The group then disbanded, and Gordon Gano released an album in 1987, the result of a gospel side project Mercy Seat. Brian Ritchie also released several solo LPs. The group came back together in 1989, releasing 3 and Why Do Birds Sing. Victor DeLorenzo left the group in 1993 to pursue a solo career. Guy Hoffman, from the Oil Tasters and BoDeans, replaced him. The Violent Femmes then released New Times and Rock. Viva Wisconsin, a live album, was released in the United States on the independent label Beyond, and was followed by Freak Magnet. Something's Wrong was an album of covers, alternate versions of old songs, demos, and acoustic live performances and was released as an MP3-only album on the internet. In the summer of 2002, Victor Delorenzo rejoined the Violent Femmes and thus the original lineup was restored.