Versus (band)

Versus is an American indie rock band formed in 1990 by Richard Baluyut, Fontaine Toups, and Edward Baluyut in New York City, United States. Richard and Fontaine were to remain the two core members throughout the band's history.[1] The band was noted for their marriage of indie pop songwriting and vocal harmonies to the "loud-soft" dynamics of grunge and alternative rock. They were also noted for their proficient and disciplined musicianship and for their credo of "meat, sports, and rock",[1] none of which had much currency in the early 1990s American indie scene. They named themselves after the Mission of Burma album Vs.

Versus
OriginNew York City, U.S.
GenresIndie rock, noise rock
Years active1990–2001, 2009–present
LabelsTeenBeat, Caroline, Merge
Associated acts+/-, TFT, Whysall Lane, The Pacific Ocean, Flower, Containe
MembersRichard Baluyut
Fontaine Toups
Edward Baluyut
Past membersRobert Hale
James Baluyut
Patrick Ramos

Versus has counted at least one, usually two, and sometimes three of the Filipino-American Baluyut brothers as members throughout its existence,[2] and was perhaps the most prominent example of a wave of American indie bands emerging in the early 1990s which featured Asian American members.[3] Merge Records is Versus' most recent record label, although they have maintained a long involvement with TeenBeat Records, and released two CDs through Caroline Records in the mid-1990s.[4][5]

The band makes an appearance in the 1994 cult road movie Half-cocked.

Breakup and other projects

The band still continued to tour occasionally but began a recording hiatus in 2001 after it broke up for a short period and Richard Baluyut relocated to San Francisco.[4] The members afterwards moved on to other bands - James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos formed +/-, Fontaine Toups formed The Fontaine Toups and Richard Baluyut converted his solo acoustic project Whysall Lane into a full band.[6] Former member Edward Baluyut formed and played in The Pacific Ocean from 1996 to 2003.

Reunion and current status

After a prolonged period of inactivity (the band had only played one show in the preceding 3 years) Versus played a private warm-up show in November 2007 and opened for Yo La Tengo at a Hanukkah show on December 4, 2007. At that point Richard Baluyut had recently returned to live in New York City, both TFT and Whysall Lane had broken up, and +/- was temporarily on hold while member Chris Deaner was touring as part of Kelly Clarkson's live band. Versus opened for Love Is All at the Bowery Ballroom in June 2008 as a three-piece with Ed Baluyut on drums. The band played as a four-piece with James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos when they toured Japan with +/- in late 2008, but in June 2009 the Versus MySpace page announced that Edward Baluyut had rejoined as a longtime member and that James and Patrick had left the group. The group began recording a new album that month, and started performing as a four-piece band with Margaret White on violin and keyboards.[6] The band released "On the Ones and Threes" (on Merge Records) - the first Versus LP in ten years - in August 2010.

The band's Facebook page shows the band recording a new album as of August 2014.[7]

Members
  • Richard Baluyut – guitar, vocals (1990–present)
  • Fontaine Toups – bass guitar, guitar, vocals (1990–present)
  • Edward Baluyut – guitar (1990–1991); drums (1992–1996, 2008–present)
  • Margaret White – violin, keyboards (2009–present)
  • Robert Hale – drums (1991–1992)
  • James Baluyut – guitar, keyboards (1995–2008)
  • Patrick Ramos – drums (1996–2008)

Touring

Versus scheduled shows in 2010 with Polvo and Superchunk.

Versus drummer Edward Baluyut missed the August 13, 2010 show in Toronto at Lee's Palace because he had to return home for the birth of his child. Paul Boddum of the opening band, Soft Copy, played drums for the set.

The band have been chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he will curate in March 2012 in Minehead, England.[8]

They played the third annual Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, which took place September 6–8, 2012.[9] They were joined onstage by Mac McCaughan of Superchunk for several Neutral Milk Hotel songs and by Kurt Wagner for a Lambchop song.[10]

Versus appeared at the Riot Fest music festival in Chicago in September 2017.

Discography

Singles
  • Insomnia/Astronaut [7"] Land Speed 1992[11]
  • Bright Light/Forest Fire [7"] Pop Narcotic 1992[11]
  • "Tin Foil Star" on January Working Holiday [7"] split single with Scrawl Simple Machines 1993
  • Frog/Go Tell It on the Mountain [7"] K Records 1994
  • Big Head On/N.I.T.A. [7"] TeenBeat Records 1994
  • Yeah You [7"/cd5] (UK only) Caroline Records 1996
  • Glitter of Love [7"/cd5] (UK only) Caroline Records 1996
  • Oriental American (TEENBEAT 272 - 1998)

EPs

Studio albums
  • The Stars Are Insane [cd] TeenBeat Records 1994
  • Secret Swingers [cd] Caroline Records 1996
  • Two Cents Plus Tax [cd] Caroline Records 1998
  • Hurrah [cd/lp] Merge Records 2000
  • On the Ones and Threes [cd/lp] Merge Records 2010
  • Ex Voto [cd/lp] Ernest Jenning Record Co. 2019

Compilations

Compilation appearances

Soundtrack appearances
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References
  1. "Four-lane suburban highway". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  2. AsianWeek.com Retrieved December 11, 2009 Archived September 4, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. NY Times - Asian-Americans Stake a Claim on Rock Retrieved December 11, 2009
  4. Magnet Magazine Issue 75 Lost Classics: Versus Retrieved December 11, 2009
  5. Philadelphia Citypaper:Free Versus Archived 2005-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 11, 2009
  6. AV Club: Versus and Soft Power at the Black Cat Backstage Retrieved December 11, 2009
  7. "Versus NYC". Facebook.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  8. "ATP curated by Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)". All Tomorrow's Parties. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  9. Versus at Hopscotch Archived April 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Mac McCaughan plays solo (kinda) -Hopscotch highlight " Fake Fake Eyes". Archive.is. December 10, 2012. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  11. Caught in Flux review Archived 2009-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Credits for The Dhamma Brothers Archived December 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 11, 2009
  13. Credits for Midas' Son Archived 2008-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 11, 2009

Interviews


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