Getting to Know: Hydration enthusiasts, The Victim Party
In today’s Getting to Know, we meet The Victim Party, a Toronto punk act that requires copious amounts water to survive, and may have stolen part of their album title from Riffyou.com. But, we’ll let it slide – they seem nice. If you are in an up and coming band that would like to partake in a Getting to Know feature, contact editor@riffyou.com to receive the questionnaire and instructions. Thanks!
Band Name: The Victim Party
Band Members: Colin Lichti (vocals), Tabi Irani (vocals), Kyle Cook (drums), Pat Mathers, (guitar, vocals) Dean Richards (guitar, vocals), and Matt Woo (bass).
Years Active: 4
City of Origin: Toronto, ON.
Who are you and what do you do?
“My name is Colin and I share lead vocal duties with Tabi. I’m also the main lyricist, and drew the interior artwork for our latest release, which is a comic book/album hybrid entitled Getting To Know The Victim Party.”
In 100 words or less, tell us how your band has gotten to this point.
“Hydration! Every member of this band suffers from hyperhidrosis (an excessive amount of sweating). We started as a beer league weekend band but after Patrick fainted during a practice, we all realized that we needed to take hydration seriously, so alcohol and anything else that can dehydrate a person is banned from our rehearsal space. Often during shows I’ll be perspiring so much that I get dizzy and see stars. It’s kind of cool and trippy, but I have to remember that this isn’t a high, it’s a medical condition, so I give a nod to Tabi and she takes over so I can grab a drink of water. It’s the main reason we have so many vocalists in our band. Without water, we’d be nowhere.”
What is your latest release and how would you best describe it to someone who hasn’t heard your band?
“I don’t know if we’re getting too meta here, but our newest release is called Getting To Know The Victim Party. I’m actually wondering if this is a real interview, or some elaborate prank designed to make us look conceded. Which would be fair since no one loves The Victim Party as much as The Victim Party loves The Victim Party. Anyway, our new release is a graphic novel that tells the story of a bear and a chimp in a toxic relationship. The book contains a bookmark which is also a download card. So, it’s a digital and print release (all respect due to Egon Spengler, but print is not dead). Every song on GTKTVP is about a member of the band, even the guy who quit. The bear and the chimp in the book are an amalgamation of all our personalities. All of the songs were consciously written to appeal to all forms of mammals. It is simultaneously the most idiotic and brilliant release in the history of popular music.”
When making an album, which aspect of the process do you put the most time into and why?
“Drawing the fucking thing took the longest time. It took about 18 months. My hand is still cramped. Ever draw a graphic novel? That shit takes forever. You have to move your hand a lot, and make sure your drawing surface is sound. If you make a mistake you need an eraser, or worse, whiteout…or even worse, white paint. Musically, we are fucking machines. We fart songs out like it’s nothing. We’re already working on our follow up.”
What is the best part about your band and why?
“If I can get mushy for a second, the best part is that we’re all friends. When one of us in crisis, EVERYONE is there to help. The Victim Party always has The Victim Party’s back. Even when we’re disagreeing, we’re still agreeing that we’re awesome…it’s just the level of awesomeness that becomes a point of contention.”
What makes your band unique from the rest?
“I hate to keep bringing it up, because no one wants to be defined by their handicap, but what sets us apart is hyperhidrosis. When it comes to consuming H2O, we can drink anyone under the table. You hear about marathon runners drinking too much water and suffering from water intoxication, or water poisoning, well, that would never happen to us. We’re fucking champs.”
How does your band survive the challenges of touring/gigging?
“Simple, we avoid touring. I’m 38, so I’m not bunking in some teenager’s basement in Dayton, OH. That would be too weird. I wouldn’t be 
able to sleep a wink.”
Would you rather be critically-acclaimed; rich and famous; or an under-the-radar band with a dedicated fan base?
“NONE! We’re a stealth band. You don’t know we’re there until it’s too late….and BAM….we fucked up your earholes.”
If you’d have to compare your band to another one out there, living or dead, who would it be and why?
“That’s a tough one. I’d like to say D4, but they play too fast. I’d love to say N.W.A., but the first word of that acronym eliminates me from being able to make a valid comparison. So let’s go with D.W.A.”
Which band/musician would you like to share many drinks with? What would you talk about?
“I would have liked to hang out with Elvis in the latter part of his career. He probably needed to talk to a fellow musician that perspires as much as he did. Plus, the dude had some sick martial arts moves that he could have taught me. I took karate in grade 9 to deal with bullies, so I would want hang out with Elvis when he was old and fat, and I was 14. It’d be a rock n’ roll Karate Kid. It might work if I met him at my current age though, because I do have a bit of a Ralph Macchio baby face thing going on.”
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