Bryan J. Howard Newsblog

My recent trip with the Violent Femmes was a big success. I had a great time. We did three shows. Started off in Kansas City, MO and then moved on to Council Bluffs, IA and ended with a sold-out show at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO. I really did have a good time hanging out with everyone. It was nice to meet their fans as well. The Violent Femmes were very influential to me (though you may not necessarily hear it in my playing). I discovered that record right after receiving my first electric bass (a white "P-Bass" copy made by a company called Bradley but more about that in a future blog) in 1986. My first band, The Morrish Idylls, which eventually became Slackdaddy, used to play a number of tunes by the Femmes; in fact, I heard a cassette recording of the Moorish Idylls playing some Femmes tunes at a house party (must have been recorded around 1989 or 1990). It was a great surprise to me that on mour way to my first show with Kevn that he told me Brian Ritchie was a friend of his from high school. So this was yet another opportunity for which I have Mr. Kinney to thank.