Talking to: Violent Vickie

If you think Los Angeles and everything to come out of it is sun-drenched and candy-saturated, you need to think again. Therapist by day and Dark Synth-Riot artist by night, LA-based Violent Vickie proves this and she is on the up; making dark, soulful, electro-punk with the ethos and message to match.

Violent Vickie’s music is nothing if it isn’t multi-faceted. Citing influences ranging from goth, La Tigra and the Riot Grrl scene to Crystal Castles and EDM, her dreamy, lilting vocals invite you to pick away the layers beyond the electro-clash and experience something completely different and layered. We spoke to Violent Vickie via the magic of Zoom recently, about the music she is making, where she is coming from, her last release and what is coming next.

Tell us firstly a bit more about you and the music you are making

I am in Long Beach, California. I am from the San Gabriel Valley, which is kind of close to here, so Southern California.

Can you tell us a bit more about your music? Where you are coming from with it, why that kind of music is your thing?

I was influenced in the late 90s/early 2000s by a lot of riot grrl music, then electro, that kind of came with La Tigra, then electro clash, all that stuff, got me into making music. I took an electronic music class at UCC Santa Cruz, my college; I ended up getting a drum machine off ebay that was really cheap and started recording with my mum’s four track and keyboard. So, I was a little bit lower-fi at first; I was using visuals similar to La Tigra did, like an analogue kind of set up, with projector slides and stuff. I then started using more digital software and the vocals got more soulful and the music got more goth.

Were you a goth in your teens?

I watched The Craft with my girlfriends every day in high school and I was wearing all black then! But then in college I was kind of trying to decide between hippy and punk, and I ended up choosing more punk. I think I was exposed to goth music but listening to punk more; I have just delved into a variety of subcultures.

Have you always been into music and performing?

I was in church choir when I was a kid, and musicals, and in show band and orchestra. Then I was going to be a voice major when I went to college but I ended up switching to politics, but I did take a couple of electronic music courses. I was in an opera when I was in college too, a weird opera about opium. It was like an avant garde opera with a gay couple who were addicted to opium!

You mentioned you were using your mum's music equipment, do you come from quite a musical family?

I do. My parents were both in church choir, my mom was in marching bands, she played a glockenspiel in the marching band, she plays piano and sings. My dad has guitars and stuff, he always had guitars lying around. He had a guitar which had a Playboy bunny sticker on it and I scratched it off when I was a teenager!

I like that! So you have kept with the music, but kind of moved away from the church, glockenspiel and Playboy influences?

Yeah! Exactly!

The sort of music that you play, and the scene you are involved with, is more alternative than the mainstream. Is there much of that going on in LA?

Oh yeah, so there are big goth and punk scenes here.

So who are your heroes and influences? I know you mentioned the Riot Grrl scene and La Tigra.

So, like Bikini Kill, Sleater Kinney, then I was into Peaches and I guess more recently Crystal Castles, Skinny Puppy, Daft Punk, music that is kind of all over the board.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

That's always a hard question to answer, I will have to look at my Spotify! Digitalism is one of the ones I have been enjoying for a while, but I have been playing a lot lately. There’s a track by Dismantle, La Femme, Tones on Tail, FM Attack; my friends were playing that at an event I went to recently and that was really happy.

That’s good! You’ve got events at the moment? You lucky thing!

Yeah! It’s not illegal, it was just like an outdoor get-together.

It's pretty miserable here in the UK at the moment; it's getting dark early, it's too cold to hang out outside. As soon as someone says ‘event’ nowadays my ears prick up!

There was a generator show recently, do you know what a generator show is? They use a power generator and bring that to the middle of an industrial area. There was one of those in LA a couple of weeks ago, with gothy music. There weren't many people but when I heard there was a show I was like “I HAVE TO GO!”

How have you been getting through the pandemic as an artist and musician?

It's been pretty good for me because it has given me the time to finish my album and put it out and market it. Then also my job, my main job, I can work from home with. I did have some shows cancelled though, I was supposed to play in Mexico and that kept getting postponed.

How is it being a female in the music business? Is it all about scratching off those playboy stickers still or is it a bit better now?

I think it's been okay mainly. Sometimes I will get these guys giving a compliment then a criticism if I send them my music, or a guy saying something nasty about my appearance. That is really interesting because it rarely happen with non-cis guys.

Let’s talk about your latest single, Under the Gun. You say it's about the pressure to perform and produce in a capitalist society. I know now you told me you studied politics as well as music, so tell me what drove you to write a song about that.

I wrote it just from having a bad experience with a boss, and I wrote it in the car on the way home from dealing with that boss. He wanted more and more and more and was really mean and critical.

What other themes do you visit a lot in your music?

I have written about addiction, consumerism, then my last album had a lot about sex and love; bad situations that have happened, setting boundaries with people and learning about what I want and don’t want out of relationships.

That is very universal isn't it? Do you find that easier to write about? Because you know that people are going to be expecting to hear about that?

I find it easier to write about because I am so passionate about it. My best work is when I have really strong feelings about something.

What's coming up next?

I am doing a remix album, I will probably put it out in early 2021. I have a Johnny Cash cover on Youtube so I am thinking about releasing that as well.

Which track?

Ring of Fire

What a classic! Are you looking forward to gigging at some point?

Hopefully! I just don’t know. But maybe one of these generator shows.

Are we ever going to see you in the UK or Europe?

I have played over that way before, I played in Brighton, London, Manchester and Glasgow. I was playing with a band called Ill, an all girl punk band and they are really good. I played with Petrol Bastard as well, kind of punky electronic music. I played a Riot Grrl event in Brighton. So hopefully I will be back! It would be great, hopefully that will work out.

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