The Violent Femmes' Brian Ritchie may be a native Milwaukeean, but he's about to become an Australian citizen.
According to The Age, an Australian newspaper, Ritchie will pledge his loyalty to the Land Down Under at an Australian Day ceremony in Hobart. He's lived in the Tasmanian capital with his wife since 2008, and his mother-in-law is already a permanent resident.
"After five years here, I just want to become a citizen as quickly as possible," he said. "I love Australia and want to make that commitment."
The Violent Femmes have always been extremely popular in Australia, perhaps second only to their reception in Milwaukee. I've met Ritchie several times, and when I interviewed him at his East Side apartment in 2005, he said, "They really have a warm spot in their hearts for us, and we've been pretty devoted to going to Australia and New Zealand. In fact, New Zealand was where we got our first gold record. We love them, and they love us."
I'm not sure exactly what it means to renounce your American citizenship, but Ritchie will certainly keep his Milwaukee accent ... even if he'll need a passport to travel back to Wisconsin.
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.
