Violent Soho

Violent Soho were an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 2004 in the Brisbane suburb of Mansfield, Queensland, originally under the name of "showroom".

"[20] Writing for the Mess+Noise music website, Jo Nilson described the EP as "both tuneful and snottily defiant", and "an amazing effort, considering their [the band] bawdy pop sensibilities".

While Violent Soho occasionally reflect their obvious influences (Nirvana, The Vines, et al.) a little too closely, it's refreshing to see a band with such a clear vision, as well as deft skill and power with their instruments.

A slick and polished effort in a time when many debuts are too rough around the edges to take seriously, Pigs And TV is an excellent snapshot of a band with unlimited potential, and the skill and ambition to fulfill it.

[22] Violent Soho toured with fellow Queensland band The Grates in 2007[19] and were included in the lineup of the 2008 St Jerome's Laneway Festival, playing with the event in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney of that year.

[23] Violent Soho toured with Faker and Grafton Primary in May 2008,[24] playing songs from their first full-length album, We Don't Belong Here.

The album was released on 7 June 2008 on the Emergency Music label, an independent imprint run by Turmer's band Magic Dirt, who were also friends at the time.

[25] Following the release of the inaugural studio album, the band toured throughout Australia, followed by shows during November 2008 in New York, Los Angeles and London.

[30] On 20 February 2009, Violent Soho announced on their MySpace page that they had signed an "overwhelmingly exciting" deal with Ecstatic Peace!

Violent Soho worked with Norton for five weeks at the Rockfield complex, where the band lived in an on-site apartment for the entire duration of recording, and Boerdam described the experience following their return to Brisbane afterwards:

[32]The band relocated to the US prior to the early 2010 release of Violent Soho and shared an apartment in the "poorer parts of Brooklyn" in New York City.

[38] The band was then chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that the latter co-curated—together with Caribou and Battles—in December 2011 in Minehead, England, UK.

[40] Violent Soho was nominated for an ARIA Award in 2012 and Tidswell revealed in an October 2013 interview that he received congratulations from friends while on his way to seek employment at a local McDonald's store, as the band was no longer signed to a label and was without any financial support at the time.

[5] Boerdam stated that the band was judicious with the songs that they agreed to record for the album and did not hesitate to discard substandard material: "It was just about being willing to throw away things that didn't make the cut ... You have to be willing to do that.

Regarding the sound of the album, Boerdam asserted in an October 2013 interview: "There's no reason to lock the band down to that grunge label which we were constantly given, despite us never using that word.

[45] A video for the song "Covered in Chrome", filmed in Henery's house, was released on 16 October 2013 and concludes with a person setting fire to items on a clothesline in the backyard.

In a few songs I try and focus on outsider suburban characters that are usually hidden and outcast by society, reenacting tapping into their reality and what they view as normal".

[48] The band toured with the Australian Big Day Out festival in January 2014 and during a backstage interview at the Sydney leg, Tidswell explained:

In March 2014, the band was selected by triple J for its annual "One Night Stand" event, a free regional festival that celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2013.

[52] The "Saramona Said" music video, in which a group of four young friends drive to a Violent Soho performance, was uploaded to the I OH YOU YouTube channel on 8 April 2014.

The band collaborated with director Dan Graetz on the video, and the cast consists of Mikey Wulff, Hannah Wagner, Tom Butler and Cole Orr.

Violent Soho announced the "No Sleep Til Mansfield" national Australian tour, scheduled for November–December 2014, to commemorate the achievement.

[64] Tidswell served as producer on Dune Rats' third studio album, Hurry Up and Wait,[65] while Richards played sets as a fill-in drummer for WAAX[66] and Tired Lion.

On 14 November 2019, the band released a new song called "A-OK," following a series of teaser posters and billboards being posted around Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

[71] In early February 2020, the band subtly announced that they would be playing three intimate headlining shows the following week in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

[76] On 14 April 2016, Modern Baseball performed a faithful rendition of the Violent Soho track "Dope Calypso" for the "Like a Version" program.

People, you know, they put the big deal on, you know, "selling out" and that sort of thing, and, in all honesty, there is not much difference between taking money from, you know, some brand and some record label.

[81] In January 2014, Tidswell explained that he treats every night like a New Year's Eve party, while the rest of the band adopt a similar approach when they are together.

However, Tidswell and Boerdam admitted that close friends the DZ Deathrays have a greater capacity in terms of a party lifestyle, and consistently outlast the members of Violent Soho, who are typically unable to continue beyond midnight.

In the same interview, Boerdam revealed that he had recently become a husband, with a European honeymoon scheduled for September 2014, while both Henery and Tidswell are fathers.

Violent Soho lead guitarist
James Tidswell performing at Summerfest