Victims Family | |
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Ralph Spight
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Background information | |
Origin | Santa Rosa, California |
Genres | hardcore punk |
Years active | 1984–2001 2004 2009 2011 2012 |
Labels | Mordam Records, Alternative Tentacles, Saint Rose Records |
Associated acts | Saturn's Flea Collar, Hellworms, The Freak Accident, Meowmeow and the Meowmeows, Triclops! |
Members |
Ralph Spight Larry Boothroyd Tim Solyan |
Past members |
Devon VrMeer Eric Strand David Gleza |
Victims Family is a hardcore punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Rosa, California, by the bass guitarist Larry Boothroyd and the guitarist and vocalist Ralph Spight. Devon VrMeer completed the trio as drummer. Their sound blended punk, heavy metal and jazz, making them difficult to categorize into a single genre. Allmusic says, "Since its inception, the trio has refused to be pigeonholed to any single musical style — incorporating elements of hardcore punk, jazz, funk, hard rock, and noise into its challenging sound". They were known as one of the most musically diverse bands in the San Francisco underground music scene. Over the years, Victims Family went through four drummers and two break-ups. Their name was taken from a piece by the cartoonist B. Kliban.
In 1984, Victims Family played their first show at the Kennilworth Recreation Center in Petaluma, California, where they later opened for Faith No More and Suicidal Tendencies. In summer 1985, the band made their first U.S. tour, which they booked themselves by mailing out a cassette demo. They played with NOFX in Albuquerque and challenged Tales of Terror to a drinking contest in Dallas. Also that year, they opened for the Dead Kennedys, Descendents and Social Unrest at the Novato Theater, where they first caught the attention of Jello Biafra. In 1986, they opened for the Butthole Surfers and Camper Van Beethoven at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, and recorded their first album, Voltage and Violets, for Ruth Schwartz's Mordam Records, and regularly played The Farm and Club Foot in San Francisco. 1986 was also the year they played at a pizza parlor in Oakland with Nomeansno, beginning a long friendship between the two bands.