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VERSUS

About Me

versus- an indie rock band formed in 1990 by richard baluyut, fontaine toups and edward baluyut in new york city. 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.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.the band still tours occasionally but has been on a recording hiatus since 2001 when the band broke up for a short period. the members have since moved on to other bands - james baluyut and patrick ramos formed +/-, fontaine toups formed TFT and richard baluyut converted his solo acoustic project whysall lane into a full band. former member edward baluyut has played in the pacific ocean since 1997.
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Member Since: 18/11/2007
Band Members: Richard Baluyut-Fontaine Toups-Edward Baluyut-Margaret White
Influences: mission of burma, kiss, yes
Sounds Like: a heart is a diamond - knitting factory, brooklyn 11.13.09into blue -knitting factory, brooklyn 11.13.09blade of grass -south street seaport 7.17.09forest fire -ny, ny mercury lounge 6.18.09river -ny, ny mercury lounge 6.18.09radar follows you -manila, philippines 11.08.08b-9 -shibuya, tokyo 10.25.08frog-houston 2000you'll be sorry/shangri-la houston 2000dumb fun/never be o.k. houston 2000
Record Label: teenbeat, merge, caroline, k, remora
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

solo show tonite

New Yawkers, I'm playing the rare "solo show" tonite 1/20 at an event called the Mixer Reading and Music Series, following readings by my friend Jeff McDaniel, Tess Taylor, Steve Geng, and Mark Bibbin...
Posted by on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:16:00 GMT

abc news: amplified

check it.abc news: amplified
Posted by on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:23:00 GMT

the black cat this saturday 12.12.09

hi.versus is playing at the black cat in washington d.c. this saturday nite 12.12.09 at 8pm. $10. opening band are d.c. locals, soft power.  come out and listen.mele kalikimaka.-v
Posted by on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:03:00 GMT

merge xx

hey.  the merge xx anniversary has begun.  keep an eye/ear out as to when we'll be playing.  it's still as mystery for everyone.merge xx-v
Posted by on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:37:00 GMT

hey!

don't forget our show with superchunk this friday, july 17th.  it's at the south street seaport.details here.seaport music festivalcheers.-v
Posted by on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:25:00 GMT

cat's out of the bag

versus is recording a new album starting today.  ed is back behind the drums for the long term.  new songs were premiered last nite along with many favs (including 'river' posted on the homepage).  st...
Posted by on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:55:00 GMT

6.18 & 6.27.09

hi.versus has a show tonite (6.18.09) in nyc at the mercury lounge.  they'll be playing with +/- {plus/minus}, mascott, and gramercy arms.  also, a new date has been added for the boston area on satur...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:20:00 GMT

live stuff

yet another summer show lined up.supporting 'superchunk' at this gig:south street seaport music festivaljuly 17, 2009new york citycome out and see/hear us and the city at this cool outdoor venue.also,...
Posted by on Tue, 26 May 2009 22:19:00 GMT

shows on the horizon

hi.  summer is upon us.  time to go outside.  shows coming up:june 18, 2009mercury loungewith +/- {plus/minus} (10:30pm)gramercy arms (8:30pm)mascott (7:30pm)we go on at 9:30pm.  check mercury lounge ...
Posted by on Tue, 12 May 2009 14:17:00 GMT

those were the days

hi.more flashes from the past on our profile player.  these two songs are from the 'working holiday' comp cd from back in 1994.  'tin foil star' is from a split 7" w/scrawl released in january 1993 on...
Posted by on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:25:00 GMT