VKTMS are probably the hardest rocking, most soulful, most versatile band to have come out of the original punk era in San Francisco. While these descriptions would hardly be unusual for then, these days it isn't so common and is even more rare for a band with such longevity. Inspired by the fire and intensity of the punk explosion, Louis Gwerder (drums) began putting a band together with some friends on bass and guitar. They found Nyna (Napalm) Crawford through a listing on a bulletin board. This was the beginning of the type of serendipity that has always occurred around VKTMS. Not only was the band impressed by her vocal and lyric writing talents but they were also awed by the way she cracked the solid concrete floor with her hyper-active performing style. After working on their sound and songs for awhile, VKTMS brought in Steve Ricablanca to replace the original bass player. Steve's powerful approach gave the band an even more punchy sound. Shortly after this, Steve called an East Bay friend John Binkov (who also plays keyboards) to join up. Using John's background in various styles, as well as his tough attitude, the finishing touch was added to the project. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.