Brian Ritchie

Who is Brian Ritchie?

Brian Ritchie is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes.

In addition to his bass playing, Ritchie is proficient at the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute. He acquired a Jun Shihan in March 2003 from James Nyoraku Schlefer, and his professional name is "Tairaku".

Since 1998, he has collaborated with American shakuhachi maker Ken LaCosse developing a wide bore style of shakuhachi called Taimu.

In 2007 Ritchie produced and toured with the Italian punk/folk band The Zen Circus, which subsequently changed its name to The Zen Circus And Brian Ritchie. The first international album of the band, Villa Inferno was released in 2008 for the Italian record label Unhip Records.

In 2008, Ritchie and his wife, Dr Varuni Kulasekera, moved to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, where he has guested in a band called The Green Mist. Brian Ritchie does most of his work in DV Studios. On Australia Day 2012, Ritchie and his wife were naturalised as Australian citizens.

In 2009 he curated the first Mona Foma festival in Hobart, Tasmania. Since 2009 he has curated Mona Foma every year. At the 2012 MoFo, he organised an impromptu performance of the entire Violent Femmes first album by a 'super band' consisting of musicians playing at MoFo: the Dresden Dolls, two musicians touring with PJ Harvey's band and with Brian Ritchie himself on bass guitar, vibraphone.