Violent Reaction are a 5 piece unit out of the UK who have been making some noise for not too long but have done a lot in their short time together as a band. Their latest album “Marching On” which came out earlier this year was the first album ever released on Revelation Records by a non U.S. band. They really get after that old-school sound which to me isn’t too far off from what bands like Negative Approach or The Abused were doing in their heyday. We caught up with their singer and founder Tom Pimlott in this June 2015 interview. 

IE: What's up Tom? I read that when VR was first started by yourself that you played all the instruments for the first couple of recordings. What year did you start this up and can you tell us about those earliest of early days when you got the idea in your head to start a band by yourself?

Tom: Yo! Yeah that was a long time ago now, back in 2011. I wanted to finally start a straight edge band and didn't wanna wait around for other people haha. That's all history now though as we are a solid unit these days!

IE: Were you playing by yourself because you could not find other people into what you wanted to play or were you just trying to do it all alone?

Tom: A bit of both really. Not a lot of musically-adept straight edge people in Liverpool, and I always wondered if I could record something where I played all the instruments. Worked out ok!

IE: How did things progress from being a one man show to playing out with a band behind you?

Tom: I never really wanted to play gigs at first, but after a bit of encouragement from friends we managed to put a lineup together. After a couple of false starts, Charlie joined on bass, Nick on drums and Jimmy Wizard on guitar. Nick is still on drums, Charlie is now on guitar, Jimmy left us to play funk metal, Razor from Shrapnel/Obstruct plays guitar and Callum also from Shrapnel/Obstruct is on bass.

PHOTO BY: TODD POLLOCK

IE: Did you know how to play all 3 instruments before or did you just pick up how to play each as you went along? How would you rate your playing on all 3?

Tom: It was the first time I played the bass, but I have played the guitar and drums for a few years. I was a late starter with everything really, didn't start playing music at all until I was 18. I can't play guitar solos, walking basslines or crazy drum fills, I'm definitely just “ok” at all three. Story of my life… haha.

IE: In a time where most Euro hardcore bands don't tour in the US you have managed to have Violent Reaction come over here to the US on full DIY tours now what like 3 or 4 times? How many is it now?

Tom: We like to think of ourselves as separate from Europe and the USA haha. I think things are changing though, especially with so many UK bands heading over there. VR has done three U.S. tours now, one with Hounds Of Hate, one with The Flex and one with Arms Race. We've played more shows in America than in England!

IE: What has been your secret or formula up until now with putting together these tours and have you been booking them yourselves?

Tom: Our main man Nicktape from Coke Bust in Washington, D.C. is our dirty little secret. He always hooks us UK bands up over there and does a really good job of it too. 

STREAM SONGS OFF OF "MARCHING ON" BY CLICKING BELOW

IE: How much of a role does Facebook and social media have in planning these tours?

Tom: A little bit, but it's mostly from Nicktape knowing everyone from Coke Bust's endless touring regime.

IE: How many shows on U.S. soil would you guess you have played up till this point?

Tom: At least 75 by now!

IE: What other bands have you toured with on these U.S. runs and what cities here in the US consistently give you a great response?

Tom: Sectarian Violence was the first U.S. tour I ever did and it was sick. The Flex and Arms Race are our other bands that have toured over there. DC, Boston, NYC, Richmond, Savannah, Miami, Austin, Seattle and Los Angeles are always good to us.

IE: Let me get a couple of questions out there on your US tour experiences and give me the answers that first pop into your head please… What is a US city you have already played in that you could see yourself move to?

Tom: Probably DC, it feels like a second home to me. We have made so many friends there and it's like being back home… haha. Plus all the current bands there are sick. Boston is sick also for the same reasons.

IE: City that kind of scares you or makes you feel uncomfortable when you visit?

Tom: Detroit, cause after I had an operation on my leg a few years ago I had weird vivid fever dreams where I thought I was Robocop and Clarence Bodicker was going to kill me. 

VIOLENT REACTION IN BROOKLYN, NY MAY 24, 2014. PHOTO BY: CARL GUNHOUSE

IE: Best city when you are thinking of what to eat?

Tom: I'd say maybe Greens in Phoenix or the veg soul food place in Oakland, but in reality I just get hyped on Chipotle every day.

IE: Do you not have Chipotle in the UK?

Tom: There is only Chipotle in London and that's a 5 hour bus ride away, plus they don't have sofritas there.

IE: LOVE Chipotle here. What do you usually get?

Tom: My go-to is a bowl with brown rice, lots of both beans, peppers, sofritas, hot salsa, sweet corn, cheese and lettuce. One of the only places to get any kind of nutrition on the road!

IE: And a city that when you first played in that you might not have been expecting a whole lot from but you've come now to embrace it the most?

Tom: Savannah in Georgia definitely! Expected nothing when we played there last year on the VR/Flex tour, and had one of the wildest shows of the tour in this crazy bar that was like something off From Dusk Till Dawn. The Flex played Savannah again this year and it was still crazy, then afterwards this guy took us alligator hunting in the backwoods swamps, it was nuts.

IE: Can you give us a rundown of all the side bands that your current members are a part of? With so much time being put into VR these days can any of these side projects expect to gain much traction or are they more or less to do something a little different from the norm?

Tom: Since we finished the LP we have actually been giving VR a bit of a rest, apart from that tour with Arms Race. We all have a few other bands, even sharing the same VR members. I'll try and list everyone's other bands...

Charlie: Crown Court, Arms Race, Nick: Crown Court, Arms Race. Razor: Shrapnel, Obstruct, True Vision, Regiment, Fade, Hotline. Callum: Shrapnel, Obstruct, True Vision, Regiment, Fracturum. Me: The Flex, Obstruct, Arms Race, True Vision, Regiment, Sectarian Violence, The Zipcodes, Hotline, Fracturum. We all have a few unnamed projects kicking around too.

VR @ 1919 HEMPHILL, FT. WORTH, TX. APRIL, 2014. PHOTO BY: GRAY MUNCY

IE: You are definitely keeping busy with the side bands and all the touring. Can you take a guess how many months of the year you are out on the road and does anyone in the band hold down a regular job?

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Tom: Ahh, not too much these days, I've done four months out of the year before but this year it's been more like two. Razor works nights at a supermarket, Callum is a support worker, Nick studies full time and me and Charlie hustle whatever we can in between music stuff. 

STREAM VIOLENT REACTION'S 2012 EP BY CLICKING BELOW