November 21

Today's the birthday of Brian Ritchie, the undercelebrated Violent Femme. He started the band with Victor DeLorenzo, before Gordon Gano made the Femmes a trio. Over the years (and several drummers), the Femmes persisted, although classic songs became soundtrack fillers and jingles for sticoms and hamburgers. No wonder the Femmes finally called it quits in 2009.
Of course, he's recorded several solo albums over the years, and jammed with other bands, waiting for Gordon to get through his writer's block. Here's a song he did with an Italian punk band called the Zen Circus:

And let's listen to a Violent Femmes song with some new ears. Just listen to the rumbling, looping bassline that threads together "Blister in the Sun", and tell me that's not your favorite part of the song now: