Perceptions (EP)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Versa (stylized as VERSA) was an American rock duo formed in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in 2006, as VersaEmerge. The group consisted of
Blake Harnage Blake Preston Harnage (born November 26, 1988) is an American songwriter, music producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He has written, produced, engineered, mixed or performed on songs for Versa (band), Versa, PVRIS, Hands Like Houses, All ...
(guitar, vocals, and programming) and
Sierra Kay Sierra Kay Kusterbeck (born December 18, 1990), better known as Sierra Kay, is an American singer-songwriter and model. She rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the rock band VersaEmerge. Early life Kusterbeck was born and raised in St. P ...
(lead vocals). They had a revolving line-up, their most prolific being with bassist Devin Ingelido, who was a member from 2007 until 2011. Following self-releases, the band signed with record label Fueled by Ramen in late 2008 and released the '' VersaEmerge EP'' and their full-length debut '' Fixed at Zero'' (2010), which met with positive reviews from alternative critics. The album didn't enter the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, but it ranked third on the
Billboard Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
. After changing their name to Versa, the duo self-released the EP ''
Neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...
'' on January 21, 2014. Although the band was considered part of the
emo pop Emo pop (alternatively typeset with a hyphen, also known as emo pop-punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with pop-punk, pop music, or both. Emo pop features a musical style with more concise composition and Hook (music), hook-filled ...
scene and compared to other emo female-fronted bands, Versa's music style included
experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...
,
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
and
electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
, as being influenced by artist
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
and band
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
. In a 2015 podcast, Sierra Kay announced that she and Blake were working on a new project under a new moniker, leaving Versa behind to not create confusion. The project between the two never materialized. Kay instead went on to form the
shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
band Neaux.


History


2006-2009: Beginnings and early releases

Florida band VersaEmerge was formed in 2006 by
Blake Harnage Blake Preston Harnage (born November 26, 1988) is an American songwriter, music producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He has written, produced, engineered, mixed or performed on songs for Versa (band), Versa, PVRIS, Hands Like Houses, All ...
(guitar, backing vocals), Anthony Martone (drums), Anthony Doan (backing vocals, programming and keys), Josh Center (rhythm guitar), and Nick Osborne (bass), after the departure of the vocalist of their previous band My Fair Verona. Harnage chose the name "VersaEmerge" from the terms " vice versa", meaning opposite, and "emerge" meaning to rise up. The band recorded their first EP, '' Cities Built On Sand'', in 2007, with new vocalist Spencer Pearson. With the departure of the four members, the band recruited Devin Ingelido from Bury the Ashes in bass. Sierra Kusterbeck auditioned for the vocal position by sending a tape online. While the other members were not too sure about Kusterbeck, Harnage convinced them she was right for the job and she soon joined the band in 2007. Little did they know that Kusterbeck lied about her age saying she was 18 years old, when she was really 16, so she could get an audition. However, Kusterbeck later cleared this misunderstanding and explained that it was more of a mix up; she was turning 17 a week from the audition, and she said to Harnage on the phone, "I'm 17, my birthday is in a week". This was misconstrued to mean she was already 17, and was turning 18, however she actually meant she would be 17 in a week. After the recruit of Kusterbeck, VersaEmerge played local home shows and went on tour with bands such as Kiros, Our Last Night, There for Tomorrow, and Craig Owens. The band worked hard and released their first EP with Kusterbeck, ''
Perceptions Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...
'', in May 2008. They then parted with rhythm guitarist James Lano, who was then replaced by Jerry Pierce. VersaEmerge later signed to Fueled by Ramen. They began to write their self-titled EP, recording with producer James Paul Wisner. The EP was released February 3, 2009. Rumors stirred of music videos for in Pursuing Design and The Authors, two songs on the EP. In late 2011, the video for in Pursuing Design was leaked. A month after the leak, VersaEmerge still has not commented on its unplanned release. After the release of the self-titled EP, VersaEmerge went on "The Secret Valentine Tour" with headlining bands
We the Kings We the Kings is an American rock band formed in Bradenton, Florida, in 2005. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single " Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. T ...
, The Maine,
The Cab The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band consists of lead vocalist Alexander DeLeon, keyboardist Alex T. Marshall and bassist Joey Thunder. Their debut studio album, '' Whisper War'', was released on April 29, 2008. T ...
, and
There for Tomorrow There for Tomorrow was an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in February 2003. The original group consisted of vocalist Maika Maile, drummer Chris Kamrada, guitarist James Flaherty and bassist Jay Enriquez. Christian Climer joined ...
. After the Secret Valentine Tour, VersaEmerge grew a larger fan base and got picked to play 2 of 4 dates of the
Give It a Name Give it a Name, also known as GIAN (and Give It a Name Incoming in 2009), named after an At the Drive-In song, was an annual British rock music festival, normally held on the weekend nearest to the end of April. The first festival took place o ...
2009 festival in the United Kingdom with bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Thursday, Escape the Fate, and Innerpartysystem. They returned to the United States and almost immediately left for Bamboozle in New Jersey. When they returned to their homes in Florida, they began writing for their LP for a few months before leaving for Warped Tour '09. After The Warped Tour, they headed to Malibu to record and write for their LP, then packed up for the OP tour featuring headliner
Boys Like Girls Boys Like Girls (stylized in all caps since 2023) is an American rock band formed in Andover, Massachusetts, in 2005. The group gained mainstream recognition with their self-titled debut album (2006), which went on to sell over 700,000 albu ...
, and co-headliners
Cobra Starship Cobra Starship is an American dance-rock band from New York City, New York, formed in 2005 by Gabe Saporta. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enlisted guitarist Ryland Bl ...
, The Maine, and A Rocket to the Moon. On September 19, 2009, drummer and co-founding member, Anthony Martone, announced his split with the band through his Twitter saying "I'm no longer in VersaEmerge. Thanks for all your support. I am currently a drummer for hire, thanks everyone..." After about a week of fan speculation in regards to Martone's sudden departure, bassist Devin Ingelido and the band posted blogs about their parting with Martone, stating the split was for personal reasons that will not be elaborated on. The band hired musician and friend Spencer Peterson (not to be confused with the band's former vocalist, Spencer Pearson) to fill in as a temporary replacement on drums for the OP tour Joined in latter portions of the tour by Ian Brown who came by recommendation by the Fueled by Ramen label after demonstrating his competency on the drum kit during his work on the street team for bands like Rocket to the Moon, This Providence, and Anti-Flag. On November 22, 2009, guitarist Jerry Pierce announced on Twitter that he will be leaving the band for personal reasons concerning his family. He cleared up that he remains friends with the other members, however he "just can't keep touring as much as ersaEmergedoes." Jerry played his last show with the band on November 28, 2009. They released their debut album right before the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. Pierce was not a part of the recording process.


2010-2011: ''Fixed at Zero''

In March 2010, VersaEmerge was named one of American music website Shred News' "10 Artists to Watch in 2010". At the SXSW Purevolume house, VersaEmerge played four new songs; "Fixed at Zero," "Mind Reader," "Figure it Out", and "You'll Never Know", all from the upcoming album. Sierra Kusterbeck was also featured in the "Front and Center: The New Class of 2010" article of the May issue of Alternative Press. According to a couple of tweets, Chris Pollock, formerly of Maryland-based band Oh, The Story! is currently filling in as the drummer for the band. It has not been announced whether this is permanent or temporary. The band was featured on the compilation album '' Punk Goes Classic Rock'' with a cover of
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
' "
Paint it Black "Paint It Black" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences and lyrics ...
". On April 26, 2010, the band posted that the name of their debut album would be called '' Fixed at Zero''. A clip of "Fixed at Zero" was also posted on the website www.fixedatzero.com. On April 28, 2010, fixedatzero.com posted the album cover, and pre-order information, with a release date of June 22, 2010, for the album. VersaEmerge went out to support the release of the album by playing
The Bamboozle The Bamboozle was an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and was scheduled for a 2023 revival in Atlantic City by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event ...
on May 1, 2010, playing alongside such bands as label-mates
Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...
as well as
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
. They also co-headlined a tour with
I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...
in the mid spring. VersaEmerge completed their second full run on the
Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...
that began June 25, 2010, in California. They played the Glamour Kills Stage the entire tour. Kusterbeck also played a game called ''Where the Fuck is Sierra?'' with fans on every date of the tour. The game was similar to hide and seek and the first ten fans to find her received a winning card which was also a cut the line pass for their signing. On July 27, 2010, the band released the music video for the title track and first single from '' Fixed at Zero'' on their Myspace page. It was later made available on YouTube. On September 13, 2010, VersaEmerge announced that they would be headlining a tour in Fall '10 called the Vultures Unite Tour. They were joined by Anarbor,
The Dangerous Summer ''The Dangerous Summer'' is a nonfiction book by Ernest Hemingway published posthumously in 1985 and written in 1959 and 1960. The book describes the rivalry between Spanish-style bullfighting, bullfighters Luis Miguel Gonzalez Lucas, Luis Miguel ...
and Conditions. The tour hit small venues across the US and also had two Canadian dates. It was claimed to be a "cinematic experience".
The Dangerous Summer ''The Dangerous Summer'' is a nonfiction book by Ernest Hemingway published posthumously in 1985 and written in 1959 and 1960. The book describes the rivalry between Spanish-style bullfighting, bullfighters Luis Miguel Gonzalez Lucas, Luis Miguel ...
left the tour due to an altercation between Ingelido and members of
The Dangerous Summer ''The Dangerous Summer'' is a nonfiction book by Ernest Hemingway published posthumously in 1985 and written in 1959 and 1960. The book describes the rivalry between Spanish-style bullfighting, bullfighters Luis Miguel Gonzalez Lucas, Luis Miguel ...
, as well as previous issues disclosed on Kusterbeck's Tumblr page. The band appeared on the MTV documentary show '' World of Jenks'' on October 18, 2010. After the episode aired, VersaEmerge's fan base had grown substantially. On December 10, 2010,
Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
announced that VersaEmerge would be one of five bands on the 2011 Spring
Alternative Press Tour ''Alternative Press'' is an American entertainment magazine primarily focused on music and culture. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, and relevant news. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea in Cleveland, OH. The compan ...
. Joined by VersaEmerge are
Black Veil Brides Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is currently composed of lead vocalist Andy Biersack, multi instrumentalist Jinxx, lead guitarist Jake Pitts, dru ...
, Conditions, D.R.U.G.S. and
I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...
. In December 2010, former drummer Anthony Martone posted a personal account explaining his departure from the band, revealing that his tendencies to butt heads with Kusterbeck prompted his dismissal. This departure lead to Ian Brown's increased involvement in the band including recording and touring. On April 26, 2011, band member Devin Ingelido announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his wife and newborn son. His last show was on May 7, 2011. Nick Osborne (2005–2006) will be replacing him on bass for the UK/Euro Invasion tour. Later on it was announced that Nick Osborne will be coming back to the band as the bass player for VersaEmerge. On August 23, 2011, they released '' Live Acoustic''. VersaEmerge was the opening act at the Fueled By Ramen 15th Anniversary show on September 9, 2011. It was also their last scheduled show for the year 2011. On November 29, the band streamed their cover of " Santa Baby" on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. It would be made available on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on December 20. The music video for the song premiered on PureVolume on December 6, 2011. The band performed at the Soundwave Festival from February 25, 2012 - March 5, 2012.


2011-2015: Departure from Fueled By Ramen, name change and ''Neon''

Once they returned to the U.S. they entered the studio to record with producer Shaun Lopez. VersaEmerge were officially done recording the album early in the morning on May 5, 2012. The band included a preview of a song that will be on the second album titled ''Another Atmosphere'' on the Fueled By Ramen Bamboozle sampler. On July 16 VersaEmerge streamed a new song on SoundCloud called "No Consequences." On the 25th of July a clip of the song "Bones" from the new album was streamed on SoundCloud. A clip of the song "Domesticated" was also released on the 28th of July via SoundCloud. However, the band delayed the release to early 2013. On September 25, a track titled "Burn" was uploaded onto SoundCloud, and was made available to iTunes on September 27. The video of "Bones" was released on YouTube December 20. In July 2013, the band was released from their record label, Fueled By Ramen. On October 29, 2013, the band posted on their
Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...
the video for their song "No Consequences", and said that the song was to be the band's last release under the name VersaEmerge. They also stated that new music was to be released before the end of 2013 under the band's new name, Versa. In November 2013, Versa announced that a new EP entitled ''
Neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...
'' would be released on January 21, 2014. The three-song EP includes otherwise unreleased songs from ''Another Atmosphere''. The first single as Versa, "Neon," was released on November 22, 2013. In June 2015, Sierra confirmed that the duo were ready to begin working on a new release following ''Neon'' in a new studio that Blake would be building in Brooklyn, New York, but that they would go under a new moniker and completely abolish the name VERSA. In the same interview, she also confirmed the band had created a second full-length album titled ''Another Atmosphere'' whilst they were under the name of VersaEmerge, but that their label at the time, Fueled By Ramen, never signed it off and it is unlikely they will ever release it.


Influences

The band has cited
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
,
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
,
Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap ( ; born 9 December 1977) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology. While attending the ...
and
Guy Sigsworth Allan Arthur Guy Sigsworth (born May 1960) is an English record producer and songwriter. He has worked with many artists, including Seal, Björk, Goldie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kate Havnevik, Imogen Heap, Bebel Gilberto, Mozez, David Sylvian ...
as their favorite artists, the last of which got interested in the band and contributed on the song "Up There" from '' Fixed at Zero''. Blake stated that he's also "into movie soundtracks, film scoring, so I try and incorporate that as much as possible (...) But we have different influences from different things, not just bands."


Band members

Final lineup *
Sierra Kay Sierra Kay Kusterbeck (born December 18, 1990), better known as Sierra Kay, is an American singer-songwriter and model. She rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the rock band VersaEmerge. Early life Kusterbeck was born and raised in St. P ...
– lead vocals (2007–2015) *
Blake Harnage Blake Preston Harnage (born November 26, 1988) is an American songwriter, music producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He has written, produced, engineered, mixed or performed on songs for Versa (band), Versa, PVRIS, Hands Like Houses, All ...
– lead guitar, vocals, programming (2006–2015), rhythm guitar (2006, 2006–2007, 2009–2015), bass (2006, 2011–2015), drums, percussion (2009–2015) Former members *Anthony James – keyboards, programming, unclean vocals (2005–2007) *Josh Center – rhythm guitar (2005–2007) , bass (2006) *Spencer Pearson – lead vocals (2005–2007) *Nick Osborne – bass (2005–2006) *James Lano – rhythm guitar (2007–2008) *Anthony Martone – drums, percussion (2005–2009) *Jerry Pierce – rhythm guitar (2008–2009) *Devin Ingelido – bass (2006–2011) *Ian Brown – drums, percussion (2010–2012) Touring musicians *Chris Kamrada – drums, percussion (2012) *Ian Brown – drums, percussion (2010–2012) *Chris Pollock – drums, percussion (2010–2011) *Spencer Peterson – drums, percussion (2009) *Nick Osborne – bass (2011–2012) Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


EPs


Singles

*"In Pursuing Design" (2007) *"Past Praying For" (2009) *"Whisperer" (2009) *"Fixed at Zero" (2010) *"Your Own Love" (2011) *"Figure It Out" (2011) *"Lost Tree" (2011) *" Santa Baby" (2012) *"No Consequences" (2012) *"Neon" (2013)


References


External links


Official website of Versa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Versa Emo musical groups from Florida Musical groups established in 2006 American synth-pop groups Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Fueled by Ramen artists Alternative rock groups from Florida Female-fronted musical groups Male–female musical duos