Known for his energetic and expressive drumming style, Viglione has often aligned himself with groups who incorporate eclectic musical styles and theatrical elements. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays guitar, bass, percussion, and sings in several of his collaborations, and has produced records.
Viglione relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 2019.[2]
Career
Brian Viglione was introduced to the drums by his father on Christmas Day at age five with his interest quickly deepening at age nine when rock music became a primary focus and passion. A pivotal moment occurred in 1990 when his father brought him to see The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine and he witnessed his first up-close exposure to the drummer who would become his principal inspiration on the instrument. At 16 years old, he began playing gigs in clubs with bands around New England before moving from New Hampshire to Boston in 1999. There, he played with several Boston punk bands on both drums and bass guitar.[2]
At a Halloween party in October 2000, Viglione first met Amanda Palmer, and together they formed The Dresden Dolls after their first time playing together. They are a Boston-based keyboard/drum duo.
In addition to playing drums, Viglione also plays guitar and bass on several Dresden Dolls songs including the first single, "Sing", from their 2006 album Yes, Virginia... and sings back-up vocals, most notably on their version of "Pierre" from The Dresden Dolls: Live in Paradise DVD.
After signing with Roadrunner Records in early 2004, the duo re-released their self-titled debut The Dresden Dolls to worldwide acclaim and made their Billboard chart debut with the equally applauded follow-up Yes, Virginia.... In addition, the duo's live audiences continued to grow around the planet as The Dresden Dolls completed sold-out tours on four continents, supported Nine Inch Nails, and performed at prestigious world festivals including Reading, Bonnaroo, Leeds, Coachella, Fuji Rock, Roskilde, Glastonbury, and Download.
Locally, they won numerous awards ranging from multiple Boston Music Awards to topping the Boston Phoenix/FNX Best Music Poll. In 2006, the band recorded their second live DVD chronicling their two sold-out shows at The Roundhouse in London. The concert DVD captures the band with their fan base, many of whom traveled from all over the US, Australia, and Europe to attend in concert at the peak of the band's most active period.
The Dresden Dolls reunited for a tour in the United States in 2010, starting on Halloween in New York City and ending in San Francisco on New Year's Eve.[5] They performed two shows in 2011, in Australia and Mexico, and seven shows, in Australia and New Zealand, in 2012. They performed shows in Kingston, New York, Boston, and Brooklyn in August 2016. In 2017, they performed a Halloween show in Washington, DC and three shows in November at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. They announced (May 2018) two reunion shows for Halloween 2018 in the UK.[6]
The Onion Cellar
In January 2007, Viglione co-starred in the American Repertory Theater's production of The Onion Cellar, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The show was co-written by The Dresden Dolls, cast, and director, Marcus Stern, loosely based on a chapter from Günter Grass's book The Tin Drum. The band's music was often used in unconventional ways to depict the drama and humor in a call and response with the actors on stage, and Viglione was given a featured drum solo following one actor's moving scene recalling childhood abuse. The entire 40-show run sold out and the production garnered rave reviews.[7][8]
World/Inferno Friendship Society
From May 2008 to October 2009, Viglione was the drummer for Brooklyn's punk orchestra World/Inferno Friendship Society, touring 16 countries and recording a new studio album with The Dresden Dolls' production team of Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie, Adam Taylor, and Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts. He also performed in the band's theatrical production, Addicted To Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre's 20th Century, in the US, Canada, Netherlands, and Finland. Viglione's final performance with the group was a sold-out performance at The Grand Ball Room, NYC, for the annual HALLOWMAS 2009 gala, where amidst a sea of balloons and video projections, hundreds of fans rushed the stage during the encore.
Viglione recorded his parts for 12 of the 14 tracks (drums, bass & guitar) in December 2008 and January 2009, at B.C. Studio, owned by Martin Bisi,[10] where the first Dresden Dolls album was recorded.[11] He also co-produced the album.[12] Viglione performed multiple instruments and helped shape the arrangements and sonic direction of the album.
They released the EP Happy New Year for Record Store Day on April 18, 2015. It was the first recording of original songs by the band in 15 years. The EP was released on 12-inch, 180-gram, champagne-colored vinyl, and later made available for digital download on June 2, 2015.[16]
Viglione went on to record the album We Can Do Anything with Violent Femmes before leaving the band in December 2015.[17]
Solo career
In addition to his various recording and touring work, he gives drumming workshops to help participants develop personal creativity on the instrument and has lectured at Harvard University, RISD, The Boston Day and Evening Academy,[18] and other schools around the northeastern US.
Viglione played drums on Fighting Naked, the debut album from his childhood friend Holly Brewer's band, HUMANWINE,[19] released through Warner Music Group's Cordless Recordings. Through March and April 2007, he went on a US national tour to support this release.
Shortly thereafter, he performed drums for the Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts I–IV on a drum kit he built on site out of scrap metal and found objects. "Collaborating with Trent on 'Ghosts' was a great experience and he really allowed it to be a truly creative atmosphere, in having me build a drum kit and allowing me to improvise my drum parts."[20] Around that time, he also wrote, toured, and recorded with various artists including the likes of Jules Shear, Jesse Malin, Martin Bisi, and Franz Nicolay/Major General.
Since January 2009, when not on the road, Viglione has performed with a number of artists and musicians at Dances Of Vice, a monthly Victorian and Jazz Age-themed cabaret in New York City. Past collaborators at Dances of Vice have included Nicki Jaine, Fern Knight, and The Ragwater Review.
On November 8, 2009, an official press release was issued, announcing that Viglione would join up with Toronto-based rock outfit The Cliks for a handful of shows around New England in the fall and winter of 2009.[21] These shows consisted of Viglione on drums, founder Lucas Silveira on guitar and vocals, and bassist Tobi Parks.
In 2010, he recorded with Franz Nicolay and NYC folk singer Anthony da Costa.[22]
On January 29, 2011, he collaborated with pianist Viktoriya Yermolyeva on a live concert (VIGGIE & VIKA: Live in Iceland), where they performed heavy metal covers.[23]
From 2014 through 2016 Viglione collaborated with the German Wave Cabaret act Feline&Strange (female vocals, piano, cello, synths) on three records, LIES, TRUTHS, and OUT.[24]
In March 2015, Brian formed the band Scarlet Sails with Olya Fomina. Scarlet Sails recorded their debut album, Future From The Past, in December 2016, and after a successful Kickstarter campaign, it was released on April 10, 2017.[25]
In 2017, Brian appeared on Radiator King's album A Hollow Triumph After All. In 2019, he appeared on Radiator King's next album, Unborn Ghosts. He has been on several tours as Radiator King's drummer.[26][27]
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza, and drummer John Sparrow. Former members of the band include drummers Victor DeLorenzo, Guy Hoffman (1993–2002), and Brian Viglione (2013–2016). Violent Femmes are considered to be an integral part of the then-underground folk punk and alternative rock scenes of the 1980s, and remain influential or inspirational to the subsequent movements, particularly on folk rock, indie rock, grunge, pop punk, emo, and the late 1980s and 1990s alternative rock scene.
Brian Ritchie is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes. Ritchie was born and raised in the United States and is currently a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, with his full-time residence in Australia.
A Is for Accident is the debut live album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, a collection of live and studio recordings from 2001 to 2003, which was released on May 27, 2003, by Important Records. Future pressings were handled by 8 ft. Records and didn't include the bootleg recording of the band covering "Stand by Your Man" by Tammy Wynette. On October 20, 2009, the band released the album at Bandcamp.com, with two unlisted bonus tracks available to those who purchase the entire album.
The Dresden Dolls is the debut studio album by American dark cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls. It was recorded by Brooklyn producer Martin Bisi and released on September 26, 2003 on 8 ft. Records, the band's personal label. Upon signing with Roadrunner Records, the album was re-released on April 27, 2004. The enhanced CD included a video for "Girl Anachronism". The album artwork was also modified to mask which record sleeves had been used in the album artwork.
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a member of the duo Evelyn Evelyn and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. She has gained a cult fanbase throughout her career, and was one of the first musical artists to popularize the use of crowdfunding websites.
Victor DeLorenzo is an American musician, actor and filmmaker who was the founding drummer for the folk-punk band Violent Femmes.
Dark cabaret has come to define a particular musical genre that draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret, with live performances that borrow from the stylings of goth and punk.
Yes, Virginia... is the second studio album by American dark cabaret band the Dresden Dolls, released on April 18, 2006, by Roadrunner Records. The album was recorded in September 2005, with some extra vocal work and the mixing done the following November.
Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter. He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, The Dresden Dolls, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light, J.G. Thirlwell, and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song "Rockit".
The Onion Cellar is a play that premiered at the American Repertory Theater's venue, the Zero Arrow Theater, in Cambridge, Massachusetts from December 9, 2006 to January 13, 2007. It is a cross between a musical, cabaret show, rock concert and drama. It was the brain child of Amanda Palmer who based the title of the production on a chapter from Günter Grass's The Tin Drum. In the novel, The Onion Cellar is a bar in post-war Germany where people go to share painful memories and cry. While drinking and talking, the clients peel onions, both to make crying easier and to lessen the shame for those afraid to express their feelings openly.
"Shores of California" is the third single by The Dresden Dolls duo, taken from the second studio album Yes, Virginia....
The Dresden Dolls is the self-titled debut EP by American dark cabaret band The Dresden Dolls, released in 2001. It is a completely separate release from the band's 2003 debut studio album, also titled The Dresden Dolls.
No, Virginia... is the first compilation album by American dark cabaret band The Dresden Dolls. It was released in Europe on May 19, 2008 and North America on May 20, 2008. A special edition was released in the US via the iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 service on June 10, 2008. The compilation is a companion piece to the band's second studio album, 2006's Yes, Virginia..., and contains tracks left over from recording sessions dating back to 2003, along with B-sides and tracks released on compilations. Singer Amanda Palmer has emphasized that the unreleased tracks from Yes, Virginia... were left off the album due to issues with the flow of the album, and not with the tracks themselves. Five tracks from No, Virginia... were recorded with Sean Slade in January 2008 at Mad Oak Studios. The songs themselves were written years ago but had not been recorded until the session with Slade. One song from the album, "The Kill", has been made available for streaming on the band's MySpace profile.
The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. The two describe their style as "Brechtian punk cabaret", a phrase invented by Palmer because she was "terrified" that the press would invent a name that "would involve the word gothic". The Dresden Dolls aesthetic exemplifies dark cabaret.
To the Bottom of the Sea is the sixth studio album by Cuban American dark cabaret singer Voltaire. It was released in 2008, and would be the first album by Voltaire to be released through his then-newly-founded label Mars Needs Music. It is a loose concept album, set in the fictional country of Vorutania.
Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children is the eighth studio album by dark cabaret singer Aurelio Voltaire, released on September 2, 2011. Beginning with this album, Voltaire would start releasing his material under the moniker "Aurelio Voltaire", in order to avoid confusion with other acts also called "Voltaire".
Chris Eskola is musician from Boston, Massachusetts, locally known as a bassist who has performed with a number of hard rock, metal, punk, and experimental bands in the Boston area. Chris briefly attended Berklee in the late 1990s, and plays trombone in addition to the bass. He is currently the bassist for Matalon and Face of the Sun
Gentlemen & Assassins was a New York-based music project, whose members were: composer and guitarist Elyas Khan of Berlin, Sxip Shirey of New York, and Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls. They toured in Europe, including a show at Theater Dortmund with Sonic Youth and Dresden Dolls producer Martin Bisi After releasing their first album Mother Says We're Innocent, the group disbanded in 2012.
We Can Do Anything is the ninth studio album by U.S. band Violent Femmes, released March 4, 2016. It is the band's first studio album since 2000's Freak Magnet. “We Can Do Anything” features Boston-based drummer, Brian Viglione, best known for his work with The Dresden Dolls.
Scarlet Sails is an indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2015 by founding members Olya Fomina and Brian Viglione.
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