New Violent Femmes/Midnight Oil Group

• 16th Dec 2008

Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie and former Midnight Oil bandmates Rob Hirst. Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie are set to form a new group, according to reports.

Ritchie told Undercover: “I was always a fan of the Oils, especially live. Rob Hirst is one of the most powerful drummers anywhere. Just to be playing with those guys is a buzz. I really class them very highly amongst rock bands as being one of the most classic bands”. The Violent Femmes man, who moved to Australia two years ago, added “I thought I should play with some local musicians so why not the best?”

There's no name for the outfit as yet, but Ritchie insists it won't just be Midnight Oil with added Ritchie: “It's not called Midnight Oil. We aren't sure what we are going to call it but it is all the musicians from Midnight Oil”.

Elsewhere in Ritchie news, he is also curator for the Tasmanian music and arts festival Mona Foma, which takes place in January and will feature performances from the likes of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fuck Buttons.