Hailing from Chicago, Violet Crime is a pop rock band that is inspired by retro soul and pop music. They have an EP titled, “Paper Queen” which was co produced by Derek DiScanio of State champs and will be released through Play Together Records. This record label helps make a social impact and builds collaborations between visual artists and musicians to create an immersive experience for its listeners. To add to this, a portion of all project merchandise sales goes towards to support Chicago after-school music programs. The band hopes to empower those in their community and the next generations of artists.
"Heard You Like The Rolling Stones” gives a nostalgic feel and the band’s stands out with its twangy and unique sound. It is an interesting blend of what sounds like country and Americana Music with the acoustic guitar and short guitar ornamentals and vocals while it also gives off a soft rock vibe as well. The lo-fi piano also gives it an indie sound, but somehow the band manages to put it all together into a cohesive sound that is their own. A pop culture reference to the infamous Rolling Stones is the basis of the song, giving somewhat of a story line for us to follow. Chill vibes are felt all the way on this song with the smooth vocals, especially in the verses where the singer has his runs down the scale. By the end of the song, not only will you love the Rolling Stones, you will be loving Violet Crime too.
Check out "Heard You Like The Rolling Stones" here and read more in out exclusive interview below!
Hey guys! Great to chat with you. When was Violet Crime formed?
Hi!! Thanks so much for having us, we're excited! Violet Crime's roots go all the way back to early 2017. It probably wasn't until about a year after that that we started really taking things seriously though.
Who are the members of the band? Tell us a bit about yourselves
You've got Jeff on vocals, Selina on rhythm guitar and vocals, Tom Goier on the lead guitar, Kasey on bass, and Kevin on the drums! We formed when Jeff and Kevin played a couple of songs they had been writing at an open mic that Kasey's tech startup hosts once per month. Once we realized we wanted to try starting a band for real, Jeff called up his old high school jazz band buddy Tom to join on lead guitar. It probably wasn't until 7 or 8 months after that that Selina was brought on to do some singing and cover Jeff's rhythm guitar duties so he could focus solely on singing. We all come from differing musical backgrounds (punk, hardcore, jazz, bluegrass, pop), but take a lot of pride in the fact that we all have careers in business and technology aside from what we do with music. We also care a lot about social impact - through our label Play Together, a portion of all our merch sales go toward supporting after-school music programs in the city of Chicago.
What was the inspiration behind, “Heard You Like the Rolling Stones”?
This was one of those songs that took a long time to develop. We jammed on it and tweaked it for close to a year before it really took form. We wanted to write an energetic pop rock song that was catchy the whole way through, like the music we enjoy listening to. When jamming on the song one day, Jeff just randomly sang "I heard you like the rolling Stones" over the melody... We don't know where it came from haha. But we thought it was catchy, and just wrote the rest of the song around that idea!
Who are your biggest musical influences and why?
Some bigger artists that come to mind are Hozier, Vulfpeck, Houndmouth, Hippo Campus, John Mayer. But when it comes to songwriting, we're just as much inspired by peer bands from the scene here in Chicago. Flora, Marina City, Red Scarves, and Manwolves just to name a few.
What is your favorite lyrics in “I heard you like the Rolling Stones”?
Probably "just keep it cool; I'll dance if you want me to, even if I'm too drunk" - it's kind of silly, but one of the more vulnerable parts of the song. Jeff is clearly out of his league and ready to humiliate himself on the dance floor to keep a lady's attention!
What's next for you?
Our EP "Paper Queen" comes out on June 14th! We'll be playing our biggest show of the year at Bottom Lounge with some amazing Chicago artists. We've also already started writing new songs, so may drop a couple more singles later this year. Stay tuned! Thanks again so much for having us!
Stay connected to Violet Crime on social media!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/violetcrimeband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/violetcrime