2020 has been one hell of a year, but true to form, Violent Soho have not let it dampen their community spirit. In what is believed to be a first for junior sports in Australia, Mansfield’s favourite sons have partnered with their local junior rugby league club Easts Mt Gravatt, to produce an exclusive piece of merchandise with all profits going to the club.
This limited edition jersey features the famous Violent Soho blazing skull logo, embellished with rugby league headgear and a mouthguard on the front, while the reverse is emblazoned with the number 4122, the South Brisbane postcode Violent Soho fans have come to recognise so well.
Since 1978, Easts Mt Gravatt JRLFC have called Allan Innes Field in Mansfield their home ground, after having called nearby Mt Gravatt Showgrounds home for the 20 years prior. Both sites are within a stone’s throw of Mansfield Tavern, the venue Violent Soho hail as their own home ground, a venue they spent a lot of time at, building the foundation of the Violent Soho we know today, one of Australia’s most successful and most loved rock bands.
Following the release of their ARIA #1 fifth studio album Everything Is A-OK, and with touring off the table due to the current global pandemic, Violent Soho wanted to give back in some way to a community who’ve always supported them. And with the whole band being big Rugby fans, supporting a grassroots junior sports team within the postcode 4122 seemed like a no brainer.
For fans looking for an Easter egg, Guitarist James Tidswell and drummer Mikey Richards visited Allan Innes Field in February on the eve of their shoot for ‘Pick It Up Again’. Filmed around Mansfield, Wishart and Mt Gravatt, the video clip includes one of Easts Mt Gravatt’s families as well as Tidswell wearing a pair of the club’s playing shorts.
Easts Mt Gravatt vice-president Daniel Giuffrida said the club are thrilled with the exclusive jersey, and the fact all four band members have registering as club volunteers. And that the profits from the Violent Soho jerseys would be a welcome source of income amidst the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everything Is A-OK is a tremendous testament to both Violent Soho’s undeniable talent and the Australian indie-music community. Despite the global crisis hindering physical sales and ceasing live performances, the Mansfield four-piece took out the coveted #1 spot with their latest record, uniting a community and proving (yet again) that there is an undeniable thirst for great Australian music.
Everything Is A-OK
Violent Soho
Album out now through I OH YOU
Available to buy/stream here
Everything Is A-OK tracklisting:
1. Sleep Year
2. Vacation Forever
3. Pick It Up Again
4. Canada
5. Shelf Life
6. Slow Down Sonic
7. Lying On The Floor
8. Easy
9. Pity Jar
10. A-OK
