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 American
hardcore band that formed in March 1981 at
Western Michigan University in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, and sparked the Kalamazoo hardcore scene. The original band was three high school friends from
Jackson, Michigan (Kenny Knott, Richard "Dick" Bowser, and Jim Forgey) along with Eliot Rachman, another
WMU student who hailed from
East Lansing. Rachman had worked on the 1980
United States Census in
Lansing, MI with members of
The Fix and the original publishers (Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson) of Touch and Go magazine. He introduced the other members of the band to the then very new music of
the Fix, the
Necros, and
Negative Approach, and all three bands provided a great deal of support and encouragement to VA.[1][2][3]
Violent Apathy, through many lineup changes,[4] played numerous shows throughout
Michigan, particularly in
Detroit,
Lansing,
Grand Rapids, and
Kalamazoo. The band played outside of
Michigan only twice, both in 1983, once in
Indianapolis and once in
Chicago. The
Chicago appearance, however, was supposedly attended by a young
Dave Grohl of the
Foo Fighters and described as a formative experience for him in the book
Come as You Are by
Michael Azerrad. The band's sound also evolved considerably during its three and a half year life, moving from primitive
thrash to a slower, more
rock-oriented sound.[5]
Students for Progressive Action
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 to
Kalamazoo between 1982 and 1986. Some of the bands that played at SPA shows included
Black Flag,
Circle Jerks,
Saccharine Trust,
The Minutemen,
Butthole Surfers,
Naked Raygun,
Discharge,
Misfits,
Samhain,
Minor Threat, and many others. Violent Apathy and many other southwest
Michigan bands typically provided opening support at SPA shows.[6]
Legacy
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 in
Spite from 1984 to 1985,[9][10] and in Black Spring[11][12] during the 1990s and currently runs a brewery in
Lawton, Michigan.
Rachman and Forgey were part of the original
Meatmen.[13] Rachman played with the Virelles, a group that eventually mutated into the
God Bullies,[14][15][16] another
Kalamazoo legend. Also, Bowser and Rachman were part of a band called Dick and the Balls. Rachman also played with the Memphis Pilgrims after moving to
New 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]
Resurrection
In June 2007, Violent Apathy reunited for a twenty fifth anniversary reunion tour. Their first public appearance in twenty five years was in
Detroit,
Michigan at the 2500 Club.[20] This was followed by appearances in
Kalamazoo,[21]Chicago, and
Lansing.[2]