Home › Eddie Jorgensen › Seminal punk / jazz group VICTIMS FAMILY to headline the opening of the KQED-sponsored ‘Disturbing The Peace’ museum installation on Friday, April 17th.

Seminal punk / jazz group VICTIMS FAMILY to headline the opening of the KQED-sponsored ‘Disturbing The Peace’ museum installation on Friday, April 17th.

By capitalchaostv on April 11, 2026 • ( 0 )

By Eddie Jorgensen

Punk rock has a rich history in Sonoma County. Unlike other genres, shows were staged in the most unlikely places including (but not limited to) backyards, community halls, teen centers, countless dilapidated and sometimes condemned buildings that carried no live music license, and a bevy of homes that doubled as a music venue while the parents were away.

Curated by Gabe Meline (from KQED and former North Bay Bohemian editor), the upcoming punk rock exhibit aptly dubbed ‘Disturbing The Peace’ pays homage to the bands who lived and performed regularly in the area from 1978 to 1999 specifically. Expect photos, flyers, magazines, shirts, music and a whole lot more. Additionally, it encompasses the many touring regional, national, and international bands who partnered up with the aforementioned locals.

Victims Family – Ralph Spight (vocals / guitar), Tim Solyan (drums), and Larry Boothroyd (bass) – is arguably the biggest punk band from these parts who have drawn capacity crowds all over in addition to touring the globe. As luck would have it, they’ll be playing a special set that pays homage to their much heralded debut record, ‘Voltage & Violets.’ We recently caught up with Ralph Spight to hear about all things VF-related.

Capital Chaos TV: Victims Family’s ‘Voltage & Violets’ was released decades ago. How did the eventual signing to Mordam come about? Was there any specific show that sealed the deal?

Ralph Spight: I believe I first met Ruth Schwartz when we were interviewed on the Maximum Rock N Roll radio show. She’d seen some early shows of ours but I couldn’t say what it was that got her interested in signing us to her label other than she had gone to SRJC a couple of years before me and wanted to do something for the Sonoma County scene. The first two bands on Mordam were Faith No More and Rhythm Pigs, both of which weren’t exactly straight punk so we fit right in.

Have you ever played a show to date where you played any VF record cover to cover?

Ralph Spight: I’m not sure, but we might have done the ‘White Bread Bues’ record front to back. My memory’s pretty fuzzy at this point. Our 40th Anniversary show at the Big Easy awhile back featured big chunks of each of our records.

There was a time when punk bands were relegated to kegger parties, VFW halls, and the like. What shows do you recall being overtly dangerous?

Ralph Spight: We ran into a lot of skinhead stuff on our early shows in San Francisco. There was a show at Club Foot that 7 Seconds was supposed to play and we were opening. When 7 Seconds didn’t show, the skins broke up the club and beat some people up. That kind of stuff was pretty routine at that time. You’d go to a show and there would be a bunch of big dudes getting super violent.

Every band seemingly gravitates toward others in any scene. Which punk bands played the most with VF and why?

Ralph Spight: We played most with bands that were also in the Alternative Tentacles/Mordam/Gilman/De Konkurrent axis of underground bands. NoMeansNo and Alice Donut were the bands we played with the most, but we’ve run across just about everyone in the last four decades.

Are you contributing a lot of posters and fliers for this museum installation? Did you save a lot since the band’s formation?

Ralph Spight: Gabe Meline received a massive collection of demo tapes from me several years ago and he’s been digitizing them. I believe those will be represented in some way, but I’m not sure how. I haven’t contributed a lot of material for the show, but I certainly have some stuff I could. Larry (Victims Family bassist) has always been more the collector of things in the band, but I ended up with a lot of ephemera over the years. Victims Family is actually pretty well documented compared to some other bands in the scene, so I’m looking forward to seeing what other bands are represented.

Will this museum ever be a permanent fixture or just for a limited run?

Ralph Spight: This show is running through August, but I don’t think there are any plans for a permanent installation.

Voltage & Violets’ is arguably the most difficult record for a drummer to play. I assume Tim (drummer) is already doing some extra practicing on his own. What songs have not been played recently? Moreover, which ones have been played the least since the record’s release?

Ralph Spight: We have played just about everything on V&V at one time or another in the last few years, I think the songs that haven’t got as much attention are probably “Lock of interest” “Homophobia”,”The Only Way” and a few others. Most of the songs on that record have been regulars in the set list so I think we’ll be able to concentrate on those in our rehearsals

Can we expect more VF shows in 2026 and beyond? Any plans for playing the East Coast or doing another West Coast run?

Ralph Spight: We have no plans for touring at the moment. Once this show is done, we’ll assess what our future plans will be. I am talking to the Bottom of the Hill about us playing there once more before that venue closes at the end of this year, but Victims Family is really only able to play a few shows each year due to work and other commitments. It’s pretty difficult for us to get together for rehearsals and especially writing. VF hasn’t really ever been a band that writes by exchanging recordings. Our sound has a lot to do with what happens with the three of us in the practice room.

Can fans expect new merchandise at the show?

Ralph Spight: I think there will be some custom shirts at the gig. No new tunes are in the works now, but we’ll see what happens.

KQED Live presents Victims Family along with New Trust and New Low at the museum’s official afterparty on Friday, April 17th at Barrel Proof Lounge located at 501 Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa. The show kicks off at 7pm. The ‘Disturbing The Peace’ exhibit precedes the live music with a public opening and reception from 5-7pm at M Museum Of Sonoma County located at 425 Seventh Street. The installation will stay up from April 18th to August 23rd 2026. Cover charge for both is $28 or you can just see the show for $20.