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. 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", none of which had much currency in the early 1990s American indie scene. They named themselves after the Mission of Burma album '' Vs.''

Versus has counted at least one, usually two, and sometimes three of the Filipino-American Baluyut brothers as members throughout its existence, and was perhaps the most prominent example of a wave of American indie bands emerging in the early 1990s which featured Asian American members. 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.Magnet Magazine Issue 75 Lost Classics: Versus
Retrieved December 11, 2009

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. 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.AV Club: Versus and Soft Power at the Black Cat Backstage
Retrieved December 11, 2009 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. 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.

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.

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

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

Discography

Studio albums

*''The Stars Are Insane'' dTeenBeat Records 1994
*'' Secret Swingers'' dCaroline Records 1996
*''Two Cents Plus Tax'' dCaroline Records 1998
*''Hurrah'' d/lpMerge Records 2000
*''On the Ones and Threes'' d/lpMerge Records 2010
*''Ex Voto'' d/lpErnest Jenning Record Co. 2019

EPs

*''Let's Electrify'' d-epRemora 1993
*''Deep Red'' d-epTeenBeat Records 1996
*''Afterglow'' d-epMerge Records 1999
*''Shangri-La'' d5Merge Records 2000
*''Drawn and Quartered'' d-ep Insound Tour Support Series 2000
*''Ex Nihilo'' 2-inchErnest Jenning Record Co. 2019

Compilations

*''Dead Leaves'' dTeenBeat Records 1995

Singles

*''Insomnia/Astronaut'' -inchLand Speed 1992Caught in Flux review

*''Bright Light/Forest Fire'' -inchPop Narcotic 1992
*"Tin Foil Star" on ''January Working Holiday'' -inchsplit single with Scrawl Simple Machines 1993
*''Frog/Go Tell It on the Mountain'' -inchK Records 1994
*''Big Head On/N.I.T.A.'' -inchTeenBeat Records 1994
*''Yeah You'' -inch/cd5(UK only) Caroline Records 1996
*''Glitter of Love'' -inch/cd5(UK only) Caroline Records 1996
*''Oriental American'' (TEENBEAT 272 - 1998)

Compilation appearances

*"Another Face" on ''Stars Kill Rock'' compilation LP Kill Rock Stars 1993
*"Tin Foil Star" and "Hacienda" (live) on ''Working Holiday!'' comp. dSimple Machines 1994
*"Crazy" on ''A Day in the Park'' comp. dThe Now Sound 1994
*"Sunburned (Life's a Beach)" on ''Why Do You Think They Call It Pop? - The Pop Narcotic Compilation'' comp. double 0-inchPop Narcotic 1994
*"Know Nothing" on "Wakefield: The TeenBeat Story Vol. 1 / 1992-1994: A TeenBeat Sampler" TeenBeat Records 1994
*"Big Head On" on "Wakefield: The TeenBeat Story Vol. 3 / 1986-1995: Superstars on 45" TeenBeat Records 1995
*"Reveille" on '' Ear of the Dragon: 19 Asian American Bands'' comp. dFortune 5 Records 1995
*"Twenty Four Hours" on ''A Means to an End (The Music of Joy Division)'' comp. dHut Recordings 1996
*"Forest Fires" on More of Our Stupid Noise dSquirtgun Records 1996
*"Frog" on Project Echo dK Records 1996
*"White Power Porch" on "1997 TeenBeat Sampler" dTeenBeat Records 1997
*"Sunlight Flier" on ''Selector Dub Narcotic'' comp. dK Records 1998
*"Forest Fires (live)" on More of Our Stupid Noise '98 dSquirtgun Records 1998
*"Mercury" on "1998 TeenBeat Sampler" dTeenBeat Records 1998
*"We Got The Missiles" on "1999 TeenBeat Sampler" dTeenBeat Records 1999
*"Underground (Gallery Redux)" on "2000 TeenBeat Sampler" dTeenBeat Records 2000
*"Blue Again (F.T.)" and "Blue Again (Ricardo)" on "2002 TeenBeat Sampler" dTeenBeat Records 2002

Soundtrack appearances

* ''The Dhamma Brothers'' One song, "Crazy-maker"
* ''Midas' Son'' Two songs, "Said Too Much" and "Ghost Story". Also original score by Richard Baluyut.Credits for Midas' Son
Retrieved December 11, 2009
* "B-9," ''Half-Cocked (film), Half-Cocked'' soundtrack (CD only)

References

Versus at Merge Records

* Entry for Versus at Allmusic.com
Interviews
Sponiczine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Versus
1990 establishments in New York City
2001 disestablishments in New York (state)
Caroline Records artists
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
Merge Records artists
Musical groups from New York City
Musical groups reestablished in 2009
American musical trios
Sibling musical groups
TeenBeat Records artists