Q&A: Violent Soho Feed on Honesty with “Hungry Ghost”

Posted by RiffYou On October 29, 2014 0 Comment

If you were to blindly throw the latest Violent Soho album, Hungry Ghost, into your eardrums, you’d initially think that you were listening to an astounding ‘90s rock album that somehow crashed beneath your radar for nearly two decades.

Eventually you’d figure out that it came out in 2013, and is already the third release by an Australian rock quartet that first started banging it out in 2004.

With this effort, Violent Soho – a collective of school mates that consists of Luke Boerdam (vocals, guitars), James Tidswell (guitar, vocals), Luke Henery (bass) and Michael Richards (drums) – us Hungry Ghost to thoughtfully tackle the concept of living up to your own standards, all the while zoning in on an imbalanced society.

Shortly after the band released Hungry Ghost in Canada through Dine Alone Records, Riffyou.com spent some time with drummer Michael Richards to discuss said album, the influence of ‘90s rock, living honestly, breaking out of Brisbane, and toking with Canadians.

RY: Congratulations on Hungry Ghost! It’s a real killer album. How does it feel to you at this point?

Michael: “We’re just so stoked with how this record turned out. The most satisfying thing is that we’ve stayed honest with ourselves throughout the entire process of this record from the start. The reception of HG has been overwhelming for us, and I feel like the genuine flavour of the songs is what people gravitate towards. It’s the sense of something honest and uncompromising that has properly set it apart. We’re really proud of that.”

RY: I mean it in the best way possible when I say that this album sounds like a throwback to no-bullshit ‘90s hard rock. If that was in fact a time/genre of music that inspired you, can you tell me why?

Michael: “We definitely grew up with that style being very popular. We started this band in the early 2000s when all that was referred to as ‘punk’ at the time, even though it was anything but. It was natural for us to play music that had the flavour of what we had always loved as kids, but also spoke against the vapid bullshit of what we had felt was being force-fed to us. As lovers of good music, we felt that it only made sense to play what we knew was good.”

RY: Luke’s previously stated that this album – at least in part – deals with the stress that comes from worrying about living up to other peoples’ standards. When did you first realize that the only standards you have to live up to are your own?

Michael: “Growing up in such a society of trends and cliques, I guess it’s pretty easy to fall in line and conform. You only live once, though, so why bother? This is just something that people need to accept. It’s not about setting your own standards, but accepting that your life is yours. That’s when honesty becomes the most important thing.”

RY: How has growing up in the suburbs of Brisbane influenced what you’re trying to say as a band?

Michael: “We feel we are a product of Brisbane in that our music has always been produced as a resolve to the environment in which we were raised. People in Brisbane can often seem very afraid to be different, which is surprising considering that these people live with one of the most liberal governments on earth. People have so many freedoms here, yet they often choose to remain within the status quo. It’s just weird and probably has to do with all the fluoride in the water. We don’t have any songs about that though.”

RY: I’ve spoken to a few other bands from your region and they’ve told me how tough it is there to emerge. Have you experienced such difficulties? If so, how’d you combat them?

Michael: “I think if you want to join the legion of musicians out there who are trying to ‘emerge,’ somehow then it’s always going to be tough. I don’t feel like it’s anymore difficult doing that here than anywhere else I’ve been to.”

RY: You’ve signed a Canadian deal with Dine Alone Records. How important is it for Violent Soho to get a stranglehold on North America?

Michael: “We would hate to use the term ‘stranglehold’ when referring to getting our music out there and allowing people the opportunity to get switched on to what we do. We hope you all enjoy our music and hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to travel out there soon.

RY: Now that you’re crossing into Canada, what would you like the citizens to know about you?

Michael: “We love to smoke weed and we know you all do as well. Please remember to get high.”

RY: Lastly, many have had opinions of your album since its release. But what I’d like to know is: what does this album mean to you?

Michael: “In so many ways this album has been the most important thing we have ever achieved as a band. Creatively, we simply allowed ourselves all the freedoms we would want just to make something unique and rad. It’s a very meaningful thing for us and we hope you all like it.”

-Adam Grant