Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Versus

 
Artist: Versus
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Fontaine Toups, Richard Baluyut, Ed Baluyut, Patrick Ramos

Similar Artists:

Dear Conquistador, Ides of Space, The Holiday Snaps, Guv'ner, Honeybunch, Blumfeld, Small Factory, Silkworm, Seam, Tsunami, Unrest

Influenced By:

Pavement, Neil Young, Young Marble Giants, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Mission of Burma, Led Zeppelin

Followers:

Desert Hearts, Interpol

Formal Connection With:

French, Pacific Ocean, Containe, Flower, Whysall Lane, Alkaline, +/-
  • Formed: 1992, New York, NY
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Two Cents Plus Tax," "Secret Swingers," "Dead Leaves"

Biography

New York City indie rock favorites Versus evolved from the remnants of Flower, a band led by singer/guitarist Richard Baluyut. In the final months of Flower's existence, the group was joined by vocalist/guitarist Fontaine Toups, who remained with Baluyut in the short-lived Saturnine before the duo formed Versus (borrowing the name from an LP by Mission of Burma) with Baluyut's brother, Ed. After playing their first shows with a line-up comprising three guitars and a drum machine, Ed Baluyut relocated to the Phillipines, and Toups switched over to bass; upon Ed's return, he assumed drumming duties, and Versus issued its 1992 debut single, "Insomnia." In 1993, the trio issued the stellar EP Let's Electrify!, a taut, melodic collection spotlighting their intricate, dissonant guitar work and odd harmonies. After signing to the Teenbeat label, Versus issued their 1994 full-length debut, The Stars Are Insane (originally titled Meat, Sports and Rock, three subjects the band ardently supported, much to the dismay of the prevaling indie-scene mentality of the moment). A collection of singles, compilation tracks and demos titled Dead Leaves appeared in 1995, followed in early 1996 by the EP Deep Red. Another Baluyut brother, James, signed on for the 1996 LP Secret Swingers; the album was also Ed's last, with new drummer Patrick Ramos enlisting for 1998's Two Cents Plus Tax. The Afterglow EP followed on Merge Records a year later, and in mid-2000 Versus returned with the EP Shangri-La and the band's fifth studio effort Hurrah. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Versus (band)
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Versus
Origin New York City, U.S.
Genres Indie rock
Years active 1990 – 2001, 2009 – current
Labels TeenBeat, Caroline, Merge
Associated acts +/-, TFT, Whysall Lane, The Pacific Ocean, Flower, Containe
Members
Richard Baluyut
Fontaine Toups
Edward Baluyut
Former members
Robert Hale
James Baluyut
Patrick Ramos

Versus is an American indie rock band formed in 1990 by Richard Baluyut, Fontaine Toups and Edward Baluyut in New York City. Richard and Fontaine were to remain the two core members throughout the band's history. The band were 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", neither 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 was 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.

Contents

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. 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 longterm member and that James and Patrick had left the group. The group began recording a new album that month.

Members

Discography

External links

MySpace

Reviews

Interviews


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
Learn More
vs. (abbreviation)
WWF: No Mercy 2000 (2000 Sports & Recreation Film)
v. (abbreviation)

What is the abbreviation for versus? Read answer...
When do you use 'have' versus 'had'? Read answer...
When to use you and him versus you and he? Read answer...

Help us answer these
When do you use into versus in to?
What is black versus?
What channel is versus?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Versus (band)".  Read more