Gordon Gano is best known around town as the lead singer of The Violent Femmes, arguably the biggest band ever to come out of Milwaukee. For 20 years, the group has sold out shows worldwide, even though their last hit came a decade ago with "American Music."
Now Gano has stepped out on his own, releasing a solo album called "Hitting the Ground." OMC caught up with the man whose voice has become a soundtrack to thousands of teenagers' angst since 1981, when he could be heard playing outside the East Side's Oriental Theatre.
In this exclusive Milwaukee Talks, Gano updates us on his solo work, the status of the Femmes and what it's like to visit Milwaukee after all these years.
OMC: Your new album is a collection of songs that you wrote, but you only sing on three of the tracks. It's also connected to a movie of the same name. Please explain.
GG: There's a movie called "Hitting the Ground," and the songs were written all around and connected with that project. A lot of the songs are in the film; a couple are not. The movie, as I understand, didn't get a theatrical release, but showed at festivals. It's a collection of songs, but I wrote the songs with the idea that they would stand on their own.
OMC: There's a diverse group of artists on the album, like PJ Harvey, Frank Black, Lou Reed and They Might Be Giants. The song, "Merry Christmas Brother" was performed by your sister. What was it like having her play your music?
GG: Well, I didn't write it for her to sing. I've never even written songs for me to sing, I've just written songs. We figured out later who to have sing. My sister, Cynthia, is great, in a Patsy Cline style. But the first person that I asked to sing the song was a person I had a good relationship with -- Joan Baez. I'm not even sure why, but "thank you, but no thank you" was her response. So then I thought about my sister. And she said, next time you see Joan, thank her for me.
OMC: The first time I heard these songs, I could have sworn I was listening to a new Violent Femmes album. In fact, most of these musicians have always sounded to me like musical relatives to the Femmes. Did you hand-pick these artists?
GG: Oh sure. It's a co-production of myself and Warren Bruleigh, who either engineered or co-produced about half of the Violent Femmes records throughout the years. Some of the people I knew, which was great, and I could just give them a call. Other people, I tracked down through different management companies.
There were some people who were asked -- I won't be giving up names -- that said no. But the people that did it seemed so right. I really am glad that the other people said no thank you. How could anyone else have been considered? At least that's how I feel now.
I do agree, there is a thread there. Some of the people like Lou Reed, John Cale, have inspired me and I continue to be inspired by them. With my music, it would make sense that there would be some kind of a thread there. But then you have someone like Frank Black, who right at the start was a big Violent Femmes fan, and he did his own thing from there. There definitely is some sensibility there that is very complimentary.
OMC: Can we talk for a second about the Femmes? I can honestly say that after more than a dozen concerts, the show at this year's Summerfest was the best Femmes show I've ever seen.
GG: Ah! That's nice to hear! A big thing, which I'm sure you're aware of, is getting back and playing with Victor (DeLorenzo) after over 10 years ... the energy he's bringing. His playing and singing, in my view, is better than it ever was. I guess Brian (Ritchie) and I were kind of tired; I mean, we can still do it, but Victor is really hot. He's got a kind of energy on stage that is refreshing. He's playing these songs that he hasn't played for 10 years. But I'm glad you said it. I think that show and other shows we've been doing have been really good.
OMC: People who know the three of you have hinted that the relationship has been increasingly strained over the years. Are you happy to be back together as the original group?
GG: It's been fun to do the shows. I don't know what else to say about it.
OMC: Is there any new material planned for the Femmes?
GG: No, there's not. Both Brian and I have said this, but through the years, the only plan we ever made which was absolute and definite was in the spring of '81 when we first started playing together. We planned on splitting up in the fall of '81. It was only going to be through the summer. And Brian and Victor were very clear in telling me that they planned on moving to Minneapolis to form a band. It didn't work out. I think something happened out there, and it wasn't coming together. So they decided that the music we were making was sounding pretty good, so let's stay together and keep working on it. I should ask Victor if somebody up there had something happen with their girlfriend or something like that. Because if it wasn't for that, the Violent Femmes would have ceased to exist 20 years ago.
OMC: So I guess it doesn't really matter what the plans are.
GG: Exactly! That's the point.
OMC: In concerts, Brian introduces you as a New Yorker, but you spent a lot of time in Milwaukee ...
GG: Let me jump right in there and say that I did, but I haven't lived in Milwaukee for probably pretty close to 20 years. When my family moved to Wisconsin, I was about 10 years old. We lived in Oak Creek and West Allis. My folks moved out of Wisconsin to Spokane, Washington. So I have no relatives in Wisconsin and haven't had any since my parents moved out about 15 years ago.
OMC: The Femmes have played worldwide and enjoyed much success, but to us, you're Milwaukee's biggest band of all time.
GG: No doubt, it's a Milwaukee group. Absolutely. I wouldn't tell you anything contrary to that. That's where we all lived, where we started playing, and there's always someone living in Milwaukee from the group.
OMC: What's it like when you're back in Milwaukee?
GG: It's strange. It's a whole mixture of things. Because I'm in Milwaukee so seldomly, it's a like a strange time travel experience. Some people aren't around anymore. The people I might see are 20 years older and look a little different. It's like a city full of ghosts.
OMC: Yet you can still hear your influence on other musicians who have played, or still play in Milwaukee like John Kruth, Sigmund Snopek and others.
GG: Cool. I know with Sig it's an interesting thing. When we first played with him, the kind of music we played and the kind of music he played, it would appear that there's no common ground. But it works together, and over the years, it's just gelled more and more.
OMC: Teenagers around the world have come of age to "Add It Up" and "Blister In The Sun." Is it hard to get into playing these songs live after all these years?
GG: It isn't, because of the energy from the crowd. I never think of the songs at all unless I'm playing them at a show. Also, we look for the little things, like playing them a little differently each time. There's always that possibility that every once a while, something very different will happen in a song.
With that being said, I do think the group was getting tired overall, like you mentioned, a year ago. Certainly the excitement wasn't there, but I think we were still doing decent shows and trying our best. But now, we have the feeling of "who knows what's going to happen?" We haven't played with Victor in 10 years, so we're not really sure what he's going to do, and he's not absolutely positive what we're going to do. So that makes it even more so exciting.
OMC: When you play songs like "Hallowed Ground" in Milwaukee, people sing along. Do they in other cities? Is it different to play the lesser-known songs here?
GG: That's an interesting question. Actually, the "Hallowed Ground" record over the years has gained popularity where people do respond to those songs more so than it might seem. Not just in Milwaukee, but in other places. Certainly, there is something special about the Milwaukee response. Something about it is always kind of surprising to me. That last show at Summerfest -- the size and intensity of the crowd. How much all these people loved this music, it's really something. I couldn't think of any place where the band gets such an amazing response, and there are the people who do know all the obscure songs. Of course, we do have the response for the five or six songs that everyone knows. Those would be three or four or five from the first album and also "American Music." For everybody in the group, our personal favorite is the "Hallowed Ground" record. Over the years, we've continued to play songs from that record.
OMC: Are you going to tour for "Hitting the Ground," playing the songs yourself?
GG: Yes. I'm going to see if anyone can make the shows, certainly. They're invited, but my guess would be that there's a greater chance of that in LA or New York rather than any place else. Right now, it's sort of up in the air how much touring I'll do. I want to get out there and make a little noise that the record exists. Anyone that's a fan of these artists will like what they're doing on this record. I also have a hope that it will be a record that will hang around for a long time.
Gordon Gano's solo debut, "Hitting the Ground" is in stores now. Gano plans to hit the road this fall.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
