In the ’90s, most indie rockers were white males who cultivated a cool, detached image. New York-based Versus stood out from its contemporaries for many reasons. Its lineup included two (and sometimes three) Filipino-American brothers, it had a female bassist/singer, and the band gleefully professed its love for sports, meat and classic rock. After several albums and lineup changes continuing through 2001, the group went on a recording hiatus, only occasionally performing live. However, a reinvigorated Versus returned two years ago, and the band has just released On The Ones And Threes (Merge), its first full-length in a decade. Now consisting of singer/guitarist Richard Baluyut, drummer Edward Baluyut, bassist/singer Fontaine Toups, plus live violinist/keyboardist Margaret White, Versus picks up where it left off sonically: hypnotic melodies, male/female vocals and the occasional heavy guitar squall. The band members will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Richard: Rather than the usual stuff like regional food, free booze, autographed buttcheeks and groupies, I miss touring mostly for the mundanity of maps, mountains, truckstops and the comforting rumble of highways in general. We had it down; Pat would do the slippery scary drives, I would do the night drives, but always with Fontaine and cigarettes to keep me awake. We drove at a high rate of speed, often blowing by our touring partners. We had a trucker’s atlas so we never got lost. Rain-X for keeping stride in storms. Guilt-free fast food; no time for that local burrito place or organic market! The last time we toured, gas prices were half of today’s, so perhaps we wouldn’t drive as fast. (Though I doubt it.)
Video after the jump.
