Guitar Ninja: Ralph Spight
Dan Sauter
Ralph Spight is a master guitarist, singer-songwriter, and best known for his work in the band’s Victim’s Family, The Freak Accident, and Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. After taking a guitar lesson from Ralph, Erik Core interviews him about his bands, approach to music, working with Jello Biafra, stories from the road, the secrets of great bands, and the what music means to him.
Victims Family is a hardcore punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Rosa, California by bassist Larry Boothroyd and guitarist and vocalist Ralph Spight. Drummer Devon VrMeer completed the trio. 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, California underground music scene. Over the years, Victims Family went through four drummers and two breakups. Their name was taken by a piece by cartoonist B. Kliban.
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine is a punk rock band led by Jello Biafra. Catch Ralph on facebook.