Venus in Furs
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Venus in Furs

Madison, Wisconsin, United States | SELF

Madison, Wisconsin, United States | SELF
Band Rock Punk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Venus in Furs: Part rock show, part dance party"

Venus in Furs is an all-female trio, but at one point at a recent show at the Inferno, the drummer was all by herself onstage.

Both bassist Nat Hinckley and the guitarist who goes by Victoria had waded deep into the dancing, surging crowd, as swept up in the moment as their fans.
"People seem to really like that," Hinckley said. "We played with (Madison band) The Type, the drummer Tim was like, ‘I don't dance, but I was dancing to you guys.' That was a big compliment."

Mission accomplished. Hinckley said she wants Venus in Furs, which debuted in Madison in the spring, to get people out dancing and having a good time. The band is playing a show on Friday, Aug. 13, at The Frequency, opening for another equally high-energy but stylistically very different local band, Droids Attack.
For years, Hinckley has been playing bass with the grungy Madison punk trio Damidol, and was looking for another project to indulge her love of dance-rock bands like Gang of Four, LCD Soundsystem and Alien Sex Fiend ("It has a ridiculous name, so that's another reason to like them.")

She said that Venus in Furs's fast, hard-driving instrumental rock isn't necessarily influenced by the sound of those bands, but more the energy and the idea you can have a rock show with the energy of a dance party.

"Some of the best shows I've seen is when it's really high-energy and you're dancing, but there's also a big performance too," she said. "I like the idea that that's what shows are like. They're really fun and people are really getting into it. It's not so much like ‘We're a band and you need to stand there and watch us.'"

Hinckley cheerfully admitted that she's "a big ham," and enjoys the showman aspect of performing live in a band. After hitting on the idea for Venus in Furs (named after a famous Velvet Underground song), she set about looking for bandmates.

Hinckley met the drummer, known as Marlo, through a mutual friend. "When you meet people who are also musicians, and you're like ‘Oh yeah, we should jam sometimes,' a lot of times nobody's serious. But I was like ‘No, I'm really serious.' And she was like, ‘No, I'm really serious too.'"

After working up a few songs together, Hinckley put the word out that the band was looking for a third member, and wasn't sure whether that would be a keyboardist or a guitar player. She met Victoria through a completely different connection; Hinckley shoots film of the local roller-derby team Mad Rollin' Dolls, and Victoria skates for one of the teams.

"She just started practicing with us and she was the only one we ever tried out, because we clicked right away," Hinckley said.

Venus in Furs has played shows at the Wisco and the Project Lodge, and Hinckley said she's pleased to see relatively large crowds turning out for such a new band. She said she sees a lot of crossover potential between the Furs' fan base and the Droids' at this weekend's show.

"We're pretty excited for the show," she said. "I think the Droids fans will dig us because we're just hard enough, and people who are getting into us will just be enamored with Droids Attack because they're just such sexy men." - 77 Square


"Venus in Furs seeking dance dance revolution"

Bassist Nat Hinckley is on a mission: to get Madison concertgoers to stop slouching and start dancing. To achieve this goal, she's bred dance-punk and surf rock to create Venus in Furs, a party of sound in the vein of !!!, Death From Above 1979 and the Rapture.

"I didn't want it to sound just like [those bands] but be something that's very rock and very dance at the same time, full of energy, and that no one else in town was doing," Hinckley says.

Finding a good, dancey drummer took time, but when she discovered a former Jazzercise instructor who goes simply by Marlo, everything began falling into place. Just as they'd established a tight-and-punky rhythm section, they heard that Vic (just Vic), who used to play in Connecticut ska-punk band Golgo 13 and currently doubles as Elle Machete of the Unholy Rollers roller derby team, was looking for a new guitar gig. The three joined forces, adopted a saucy name and hit the Willy Street venues running this spring.

Reaching outside their collective comfort zone is part of the mission, too. Though Venus in Furs are probably best known among fans of derby parties and the Madison punk trio Damidol, Hinckley's band is playing the indie-pop-loving Project Lodge on July 20, hoping to gain inspiration and new fans.

But can the cool kids shed their inhibitions? The only way to know for sure is to check out the show and egg them on. - The Isthmus


Discography

Venus in Furs (self-titled) 3-song EP

Photos

Bio

Gritty, dance-able surf punk. This all-girl trio creates a fast tempo, mostly instrumental party of sound that is influenced both by post-punk and classic surf rock music. The three serve up this sound with a highly energenic stage show, that will get you dancing. Venus in Furs teamed up just over a year ago - hitting the Madison rock scene full tilt, opening up for the likes of The Red Elvises, MEN, Bitch, and Knuckel Drager. The group continues to grow musically and in their diverse following.

Venus in Furs features Vic on guitar, Marlo on drums, and Nat on bass. Vic began playing guitar when she was five years old. She made the rounds on the ska/hardcore scene in Hartford, Conn. from 1995 through 2000 with Golgo 13, opening for bands such as Mustard Plug, Spring Heeled Jack, Reel Big Fish and The Skatelites.

Marlo has been banging on drum kits since she was a youth. She has been in several Chicago based bands in the past, and is excited about Venus in Furs' momentum.

In addition to having played bass and guitar with punk-metal groups Damidol and The New Original Chosen Evil, Nat also directs video, with notable projects including "Drown Out the Daylights", a documentary highlighting artists on the Madison-based label Crustacean Records.