Genres:
Covers, Experimental, Garage Rock, Indie, Other, Punk, Rock, Rockabilly, Surf

Hometown:
Spearfish, South Dakota, United States

Bio:
In its two short years of inception,Violent Hippie has opened up and shared stages with the Donnas, Pert Near Sandstone, Trampled by Turtles,the Clumsy Lovers, Papa Mali, and many others. They released their debut LP "smokethisbaby" this January '09 and have been recieving great reviews. A minimalist pyschedelic rock powerhouse, Violent Hippie is primarily influenced by classic punk and surf rock. Their live showcase is sure to melt your face, and get you bouncing. You would never know they do not have a bass until you see them live and notice only guitar,keyboards and drums are the only instruments on stage. Thier "Doorsish" setup with bass keys is not the only thing retro of Violent Hippie- surf guitar tones, vintage rhodes and moog synth keys sounds abound throughout and tantatlise the ear and torso. This is a rock band- influenced by the likes of Spinal Tap, Ween, the Ramones, the Dead Milkmen, and Morphine to name a few... In the fall of '06, Violent Hippie became a band. Only dancing around as a concept in the brains of Chris Cady and Tommy the Silent for quite sometime, they were joined by longtime friend and drummer, Shawn Funk, and thus Violent Hippie was born. After a year of live shows, Violent Hippie recorded its first studio effort in April/May of 2008. Intentions were to release the LP in late October and campaign this fall with live support tours. Shawn Funk passed away on September 11th unexpectedly and tragically striking a horse with his car late at night on his way home. Many questions have been wrestled with in continuing with the band, its name, the finished album, and Shawn's spirit. Violent Hippie's first album "smokethisbaby" was released in January of '09, and live support tours throughout the spring and summer are scheduled with Jeff Ringle as the new drummer. Violent Hippie started having rehearsals again at the beginning of October, and are now on tour.

We honor Shawn and his spirit- for he will always be a part of the spirit of this band- and to anyone who has a criticism of that, Violent Hippie says "Please have an open heart, and let those who were close to Shawn be the barometer of what is honoring to Shawn, and the answers that feel right after a difficult,contemplative season. Shawn was all about the music, and would not want us to quit."