Violent Femmes / Picture: Holly Andres / Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Australia. And they say: “Violent Femmes are ecstatic to perform in our beloved Tassie for MONA FOMA,” said Violent Femmes drummer Brian Viglione (Dresden Dolls). “We are quite at home in a multitude of ways with this audience, we expect a lot from them and we’re prepared to dish it right back.”
VIOLENT FEMMES
+ AUGIE MARCH
+ BEN SALTER
> NEW YEAR’S DAY 2015 AT MONA
MOFO 2015 (Museum of Old and New Art Festival of Music and Art) unleashes its menagerie of artists in January, but for now, MONA has announced a tasty sideshow to whet your festive appetite good and proper.
Blister in the New Year’s Day sun (or nurse your well-earned hangover from the night before on a beanbag), as original acoustic punk rockers, Violent Femmes, add it up on MONA’s lawn stage. They’re touring in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of their first album and age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
The Femmes will share the outdoor stage with two gems of the Australian music scene: angelic folk singer and MOFO repeat offender, Ben Salter (The Gin Club, The Wilson Pickers), and much-adored Melbourne alt-rock-folk quintet, Augie March, hitting Hobart with a much-anticipated new album. Start the New Year in MOFO style at MONA.
MOFO SIDESHOW
Violent Femmes + Augie March + Ben Salter
WHEN: New Year’s Day, Thursday Jan 1, 2015, gates open 3pm
WHERE: MONA, 655 Main Rd, Berriedale, Hobart 7011
ENTRY: $70/$60 +BF, free entry for 12 years and under (must be accompanied by an adult)
TICKETS: on sale 10am Thursday October 2 from www.mona.net.au
MOFO 2015 (JAN 15-18) LINEUP ANNOUNCED OCTOBER 24, 2014 www.mofo.net.au
SOCIAL HANDLES:
Twitter: @MONAFOMA
Facebook: @MONAFOMA
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Violent Femmes formed in 1981 as an acoustic punk band playing on the streets of Milwaukee. Their main influences at that time were Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, and The Velvet Underground. Their goal was to rock harder than any other acoustic act on the planet.
They were rejected for an audition by a local nightclub and set up outside a Pretenders gig. Chrissie Hynde asked them to open that night’s show. This gave the early Femmes a publicity boost which led to them being invited to play in NYC supporting Richard Hell. A rave review in the New York Times led eventually to a record deal, which in turn spawned worldwide touring.
Their eponymous first album became the first and only album in Billboard history to enter the charts as a platinum album, eight years after its release. The Femmes became a mainstay of festivals, clubs and theatres in over 30 countries worldwide in the ensuing three decades.
MTV’s “Unplugged” show was inspired by the Femmes, although they never actually appeared on it. Their raw sound and honest lyrical perspective has been cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Pink, Keith Urban, The Smiths, Nirvana, Lou Reed, John Cusack, Mark Morris, and Wim Wenders. Violent Femmes are currently touring in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of their first album.
Official video link: http://www.highroadtouring.com/watch-violent-femmes-set-at-coachella/
Official website: http://www.vfemmes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialviolentfemmes
Augie March formed in Melbourne in 1995 as a pub band featuring Adam Donovan, Dave Williams, Glenn Richards and Edmondo Ammendola. Over the next 13 years they were taken on an eventful journey across the world from Darwin to Brixton to Greenville and back, with a fair share of triumph and tragedy along the way.
The band recorded their debut EP, Thanks for the Memes with Victor Van Vugt (Beth Orton, Nick Cave) and released it in January 1998 followed by a mini-album, Waltz, in October 1998, featuring the hit song ‘Asleep in Perfection’, and finally a debut full-length album, Sunset Studies was released in 2000, reaching gold status some 14 years later, in early 2014.
After a hiatus, the band re-grouped and recruited pianist and multi-instrumentalist Kiernan Box to record the next album, Strange Bird won wider international acclaim, including 8.2 on Pitchfork and a place in the players of literate pop fans all over the world. The band’s next album, the platinum-selling, AMP Award-winning Moo, You Bloody Choir features in many ‘Australia’s greatest albums’ lists, was nominated for multiple ARIAs, and features ‘One Crowded Hour’ which was #1 in the Triple Hottest 100 (and #24 on Hottest 100 of All-time). It won the APRA Song of the Year, is still played on many radio formats and is a bona fide Australian classic. It was released internationally by Jive/Zomba, and the band toured overseas several times, winning ardent fans who remain loyal to this day. After another regeneration, the creation of the new album, Havens Dumb, is out now. Official website: http://www.augiemarch.com.au/
Ben Salter is one of Australia’s most highly regarded performers and songwriters. As well as being a founding member of Giants of Science, The Gin Club and the two-time ARIA-nominated Wilson Pickers, he is an accomplished artist in his own right.
His debut solo album The Cat, co-produced by Gareth Liddiard (The Drones) and Robert F. Cranny (Sarah Blasko, 78 Saab, Gersey) established his penchant for the melodic mixed with the esoteric, whilst follow up EP European Vacation was a diverse collection of collaborations that Salter undertook whilst on a five month overseas writing mission.
He has collaborated, written and performed with artists as diverse as Mick Thomas (Weddings, Parties, Anything), Tim Rogers (You Am I, The Temperance Union), Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger) and the aforementioned Gareth Liddiard (The Drones), to name a few. His second full length album is due for release early 2015. Official website: http://www.bensalter.com.au/
ABOUT MONA FOMA
Hobart’s MONA FOMA (Museum of Old and New Art Festival of Music and Art) in Tasmania, Australia, has announced its summer festival dates for the New Year.
Curated by Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes, The Break), MOFO 2015 will be leaping back across the Port of Hobart to Princes Wharf 1 (PW1 festival hub, on the Salamanca side) and surrounding venues for the period of January 15-18 2015, plus a few surprise events either side.
MONA FOMA is an initiative of the Museum of Old & New Art (MONA), supported by the State Government, through Events Tasmania. MOFO takes place in Hobart from January 15-18, 2015. The lineup will be announced October 24, 2014. www.mofo.net.au
Rebecca Fitzgibbon | MONA Events Media Manager
