Brian Ritchie

Brian Ritchie (21 November, 1960) is the bass guitarist from Violent Femmes. When the Femmes did an acoustic show at Warner Bros. Records to celebrate the release of "Why Do Birds Sing?" WB Pr

Brian Ritchie (21 November, 1960) is the bass guitarist from Violent Femmes. When the Femmes did an acoustic show at Warner Bros. Records to celebrate the release of "Why Do Birds Sing?" WB President Lenny Waronker called Brian Ritchie aside and told him,"That was excellent, Gordon." Another time Ritchie went to a sushi bar, but when he sat down they started playing the Femmes on the stereo. Brian summoned the waitress and requested to hear something else. She said,"What's wrong, don't you like the Femmes?" Ritchie told the confused waitress,"No, i love the Femmes, in fact I've been to every one of their shows!"

In addition to his bass playing, Ritchie is also proficient at the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute. He acquired a Jun Shihan (shakuhachi teaching license) in March 2003 and his professional name is "Tairaku" ("big music" in Japanese).