Violent Apathy at St. Andrews Hall on July 31, 2010. Left to right: J.C. Graves, Tommy Fuller, Eliot Rachman, and Kenny Knott. (Richard (Dick) Bowser present, not shown)
Violent Apathy is an Americanhardcore band that formed in March 1981 atWestern Michigan University inKalamazoo, Michigan, United States, and sparked the Kalamazoo hardcore scene. The original band was three high school friends fromJackson, Michigan (Kenny Knott, Richard "Dick" Bowser, and Jim Forgey) along with Eliot Rachman, anotherWMU student who hailed fromEast Lansing. Rachman had worked on the 1980United States Census inLansing, MI with members ofThe Fix and the original publishers (Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson) ofTouch and Go magazine. He introduced the other members of the band to the then very new music ofthe Fix, theNecros, andNegative Approach, and all three bands provided a great deal of support and encouragement toVA.[1][2][3]
Violent Apathy, through many lineup changes,[4] played numerous shows throughoutMichigan, particularly inDetroit,Lansing,Grand Rapids, andKalamazoo. The band played outside ofMichigan only twice, both in 1983, once inIndianapolis and once inChicago. TheChicago appearance, however, was supposedly attended by a youngDave Grohl of theFoo Fighters and described as a formative experience for him in the bookCome as You Are byMichael Azerrad. The band's sound also evolved considerably during its three-and-a-half-year life, moving from primitivethrash to a slower, morerock-oriented sound.[5]
Logo based on stylized abbreviation of the band's name.
Another significant contribution of singer Kenny Knott and Eliot Rachman was the formation in 1982 of Students for Progressive Action (SPA). Originally started as a scheme for local musicians to get paying gigs from the university. SPA grew quickly and brought many shows toKalamazoo between 1982 and 1986. Some of the bands that played at SPA shows includedBlack Flag,Circle Jerks,Saccharine Trust,The Minutemen,Butthole Surfers,Naked Raygun,Discharge,Misfits,Samhain,Minor Threat, and many others. Violent Apathy and many other southwestMichigan bands typically provided opening support at SPA shows.[6]
Members of Violent Apathy have also been involved in a myriad of other musical endeavors.
Kenny Knott was part of the band Just Say No, who recorded three albums on the Go Ahead Records label,[7] in the late 1980s and went on to front The Monokulators[8] in Lansing, MI.
Tommy Fuller played inSpite from 1984 to 1985,[9][10] and in Black Spring[11][12] during the 1990s and currently runs a brewery inLawton, Michigan.
Rachman and Forgey were part of the originalMeatmen.[13] Rachman played with the Virelles, a group that eventually mutated into theGod Bullies,[14][15][16] anotherKalamazoo legend. Also, Bowser and Rachman were part of a band called Dick and the Balls. Rachman also played with the Memphis Pilgrims after moving toNew York City.
Knott and Bowser are currently two thirds of the space/noise rock outfit Dr Xeron and the Moogulators.[2][14][17][18][19]
In June 2007, Violent Apathy reunited for a twenty fifth anniversary reunion tour. Their first public appearance in twenty five years was inDetroit,Michigan at the 2500 Club.[20] This was followed by appearances inKalamazoo,[21]Chicago, andLansing.[2]
