Good Gig Chats: The Violets
Local rockers The Violets are reuniting for their first live show in two decades to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Leased Regret. Ahead of their show at The Gov, The Note spoke with vocalist, guitarist and percussionist Matt Cahill about the making of the album, playing the very first Big Day Out and why the band broke up when on the cusp of stardom.
Interview Tobias Handke // Image Dorian Vitto
It’s been 30 years since the release of The Violet’s debut album, Leased Regret. What memories do you have of that time and the making of the record?
It was kind of a whirlwind to be honest… We had only been playing around the clubs for just over a year or so and as a result, the album itself was pretty much made up of all the songs we had at the time. The experience of making the album was totally surreal, especially since we’d exhausted all of our financial resources by the time we got signed. It was a real luxury to be able to spend a month in a professional studio with amazing technicians and take our time to get the songs right.
Leased Regret received high praise from critics and went on to win Music SA’s coveted Album of the Year award in 1995. Were you surprised by the success of the album?
Well, at the time I was super hopeful, although you tend to feel imposter syndrome in a big way at that age. We told ourselves that it was just an honour to be nominated. I sincerely couldn’t believe it when they announced that we had won. The real [positive] critique of the album came about recently when we remastered it for its 30th anniversary, although I do feel that it holds up as a body of songs quite well after all this time.
The record is very much of its time, yet still sounds fresh and vibrant today. Why do you think it still holds up today?
When a band comes together, they bring all their personal influences into one arena and that alchemy is what causes the individual style of a band. If you looked at our individual influences on paper, you’d be forgiven for thinking it probably wouldn’t have worked musically, but strangely, it did.
The single ‘Mary Who?’, which received airplay on triple j, was mixed by Tony Cohen (Nick Cave, The Go-Betweens, The Cruel Sea). How did you get him involved and what impact did he have on the release?
We were touring with Died Pretty and their vocalist, Ron Peno, became quite enamoured with the song. On one occasion after a show, Ron came backstage and started to sing the chorus loudly to us and asked if he could sing backing vocals on the song when we recorded it. He was friends with Tony, [so] it was Ron who organised it. Tony had a huge impact on both the sound and how it was received. It was a real honour to have worked with him.
The Violets played the very first Big Day Out in Adelaide. What memories do you have of the festival and did you ever think it would end up becoming as big as it did?
The first thing that springs to mind was the incredible heat. We opened the festival at around 11am and from memory it was 43 degrees! At one point during the Sonic Youth performance, I was watching them perform from a very close vantage point and then looked behind me and [saw] there was a fire hose being used to cool people down. In the end, I gave in and ran towards the water!
The big, potent memory is seeing all these incredible rock legends on the day in one venue. Because we had backstage access, we were able to meet our heroes. I can’t help but feel like it instantly became the blueprint for every festival that followed.
The band toured extensively throughout the early and mid-90s, playing alongside the likes of Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Dire Straits, Spiderbait and more. It must have been a wild time to be a musician. Any memorable stories from this period?
Looking back now, I’m extremely glad that we were able to enjoy the ‘90s scene. It really was a kind of ‘heyday’ in retrospect. Getting signed was such a thrill and we honestly had so much fun and played such genuinely rewarding gigs that it’s difficult to pick one particular time.
I have one stand-out funny memory of playing at the Espy in St Kilda on a Saturday night. We co-hosted triple j the Friday [night] prior and they brought out some champagne after the radio show. Unfortunately that kicked us off into full drinking mode and we ended up partying too hard all night long. By the time we played the next night, we were so hungover that we sounded like our own bad cover band!
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You followed up your debut with the EP Asphyxia in 1998. Tell us a bit about that release and how it came about.
Originally, we were going to get that record produced by Tim Friese-Greene from Talk Talk, but then some pricing issues arose and the costings blew out. The next person on the list was UK producer Chris Dickie (Depeche Mode, Waifs, Augie March). He was extremely enthusiastic about working with us, and looking back, I’m very glad the cards fell that way in the end. He was such a pleasure to work with and I learned a lot from him.
After Asphyxia, The Violets began working on their second album, Unwelcome Digital Visitor, with a planned 2000 release. But personal and contractual issues halted the band’s momentum. Can you expand on what happened and why the band ended up going on hiatus?
To be honest, at the end of the day there was a kind of disenchantment creeping through the band at that time. We had been together for almost 13 years at that point and everyone was kind of itching to spread their wings musically. The whole label debacle was just a tipping point for us to take some time off. It was supposed to be only six months, but then hilariously, that casually ended up being around 20 years.
Despite everyone in the band going their own way, you finally managed to release Unwelcome Digital Visitor in 2017. What went on during those years apart and how did you get the rights to release the album after so many years?
Everyone splintered into their own solo work or other bands and projects. Everyone stayed busy musically. Over time, we all learned how to navigate the new musical landscape for ourselves. We had always lamented the fact that UDV was never officially released and we’d spent so much time and money to make what we believed was a killer follow-up. Eventually, we just sat down with our previous label’s owner and had a very pleasant conversation, in which he generously released us and we were finally able to put out the album.
2022 saw the release of The Violets’ third album, Smoke, Mirrors & other half-truths. Why did you all decide to get the band back together and record a new album? What was that experience like, reconnecting and making music together again?
Following the eventual release of UDV, we all got reinterested in the thought of what a new Violets album might sound like. When the pandemic abruptly halted everyone’s live playing, the emails started to go back and forth and the next thing we were in the studio again.
There was just this weird curiosity about what the music would sound like after so many years of us all creating divergent styles. Strangely, when we started playing, we wrote ‘Sideways’ in about 20 minutes. By the end of week one, we had about seven songs. Personally, it’s my favourite Violets record as everyone had matured musically and emotionally.
This month sees The Violets take to the stage for the first time in 20 years to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Leased Regret. Is it a little nerve-racking to take to the stage after so many years away?
It’s a strange mix of quiet confidence and the old nerve-racking feeling. As an artist, you’re constantly putting yourself out there and people will either like or dislike what you create. We have reimagined some of the songs and others feel like we only played them just the other day. We want our fans to enjoy the music, and so in that light, we aim to deliver that same energy that we used to.
What can fans expect from the performance?
To us, the whole night is a genuine celebration of the Adelaide ‘90s music scene. We reunited with our old friends from the scene, way back when we were all doing the circuit, so it’s kind of like a reunion party. We have been long-time fans of The Jaynes, who back in the ‘90s, we often shared the billing with, so we can’t wait to listen to them again. Batteries Not Included have reformed especially for this show, which is unbelievable! We asked them to be a part of this because back in ‘91, they graciously had us open for them, so this whole evening is very special to us! There’s a smorgasbord of sounds on the night and we will be playing a mix of older songs and also some new ones that have never been heard, so it’s quite exciting for us!
What does the future hold for The Violets?
As far as the future of The Violets goes, I think it’s fair to say that we’re not really interested in chart domination, but we’ll all definitely settle for making great music together for as long as we can. We’re quite excited to say that we’ve just recorded another new album and the hope is to finish it off after The Gov show, and with a bit of luck, release it in the new year.
Catch The Violets at The Gov on Friday 29 August. Tickets on sale now via oztix.com.au.
