Music is an important piece of my life. Only my family takes priority over music. Sometimes it means that working to support my family comes before music. But in my mind, there is always music playing. It can be a song I started to write, the brand new song from fill-in-name-here or an old album from my collection.
Music is a language and full of stories. Last weekend I was blessed to share some of these stories with someone who was involved in making the music of those particular stories. As I probably pointed out one too many times already, the early 90s were a very active musical period for me, playing as well as listening. The rock music scene was alive with bands that were blending all kinds of different styles. Those were challenging and interesting times. While the industry was busy finding labels like crossover, funk-metal or rap-rock to categorize (and market) these bands and there music the bands were busy finding their own way to earn money and spread their music.
One of these bands was Victim's Family. It was a three-piece band with a sound so unique there was no label for them. The music was groovy and punky, it was slow and fast and full of dynamics. I saw them live in 91 and 94 and was mesmerized by the quality of their playing. There was a high level of energy in the air. Three individuals that merged their instrumental skills into a finished product. Bass player Larry Boothroyd played more than just bass, he played melody lines, slapped frantic rhythms and always grooved. Drummer Tim Solyan had the smallest kit I had ever seen, a kick, snare, tom, floor tom, hi-hat and one crash. But the limited amount of equipment wouldn't keep him from expanding the sound capabilities he had. The hi-hat bell would substitute for a ride cymbal and every groove sounded fresh. He would tread lightly but never shy away from hitting hard using the full range of dynamics available. Guitar player and singer Ralph Spight brought licks to the guitar that could be called unconventional at best. Power chords were often missing completely. It is a mystery to me to this day how he could sing or speak endless sentences over rhythmic passages.
In the beginning, they were called hardcore. But since there were so many elements present in their music that were not hardcore and other typical elements missing the phrase jazzcore was invented for them. Yet there really wasn't any jazz in the music. When I met Tim this weekend we talked about the style for a little bit. I learned that after the category was coined the band would actually work short jazzy pieces into their music just for fun. It was interesting to hear him talk about the band. They considered themselves punk rock not so much as a musical style but as an attitude of doing everything themselves. They had a small label for distribution purposes and that was it. They played the music they wanted to play. They took care of the recordings and the touring. Driving around in a van, sleeping on the floor if they had to.
All three members of Victim's Family are still playing music today. Everyone has their own projects and none of these sound anything like Victim's Family. It is refreshing to see people hone their skills and continue to develop.
Check them out at their website or myspace page and listen to the examples.
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