New Group from Midnight Oil, Violent Femmes Members

MUSIC NEWS - Brian Ritchie, bassist of the Violent Femmes and former Midnight Oil (Beds Are Burning fame ) guys; Rob Hirst, Martin Rotsey & Jim Moginie have formed a new group, according to reports. Ritchie recently told Undercover: "I was always a fan of the Oils, especially live. Rob Hirst is one of the most powerful drummers anywhere. Just to be playing with those guys is a buzz. I really class them very highly amongst rock bands as being one of the most classic bands". Ritchie, who moved to Australia two years ago, added "I thought I should play with some local musicians so why not the best?" The members haven't decided on a name yet, but Ritchie says won't be " Midnight Oil with...". Added Ritchie: "It's not called Midnight Oil. We aren't sure what we are going to call it but it is all the musicians from Midnight Oil". They've already played some live gigs and plan to record for a 2009 release!

In other Ritchie news, he keeps busy as curator for the Tasmanian music and arts festival Mona Foma , which runs January 9-12, 2009 and this year features performances from a wide international selection of artists, like- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Fuck Buttons (UK), The Zen Circus (Italy), Ansgar Wallenhorst (Germany) and James Blood Ulmer, among others.