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.
thank you so much for the show at bowery ballroom tonight, it was excellent! i have been a big fan since "the stars are insane" but for some reason i never got around to see you play, i am glad i was able to rectify that tonight. i lost it when you played "go tell it on the mountain", as that was the very first piece of vinyl i ever bought. it has remained one of my favorite 7 inches to this day. keep me posted on the Philadelphia date as a road trip will be in order. Perhaps you'll play "blade of grass" or "river"...hint. hint.
hey guys! thanks for the add. i just wanted to say the stars are insane was a great masterpiece. got to see you guys at the cats cradle in carrboro, nc, back in 96. awesome show. im glad to see you are still playing...
Your music means to me more than I can express. In fact, I am guilty of using your music for times exactly like this, when I can't find the right expression.
Redundant enough? No? Well try this: Maybe you could write a song about expressionless people who use your music as a means of expression, so moments like this wouldn't be so awkward.
