Interviews: Versus

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Post-Hardcore band Versus from the UK. Check out the interview and follow this band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Years of evolution I guess, we used to be called ‘You, me vs the world`; then we changed it to `Vs the system` but ultimately we wanted to make it short & snappy so changed it to `Versus`

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

The genre seems to have come very naturally to us. It sits in between each of the members individual influences where we can each use our own strengths to mould ideas into fully formed songs

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Three of us did. Shortie (vocals) and Bear (bass) go back a long way, and have previously been in bands with Rob (guitarist/producer/songwriter) over years gone by. Cal (drummer) was a later addition whom we hadn’t met before but slotted straight in from the start and just felt very natural.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

We all have fairly eclectic taste in music, and who we listen to often depends on our headspace at the time. However, the bands we keep coming back to are: 

Shortie – Enter Shikari, System of a Down, Nirvana

Rob – Dayseeker, Bring Me The Horizon, Periphery

Cal – Opeth, Slayer, Soen

Bear - Deftones, Sleep Token, Dry Kill Logic

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Inspiration for songs can come from anywhere. A chord sequence from a movie score that’s stuck in your head, noodling on the guitar and something sticks, a beat/groove idea you can’t seem to shift. Once something clicks and you get that spark for a song the fun (and effort!) is in filling out that idea into a song, and doing it justice!

6. Where was your last gig?

It was a hometown gig in Leeds, UK. This was our album launch gig which was full of roman candle style sparks that lit up the room, smoke machines that provided the ambience, and a healthy dose of confetti

7. Where would you like to act?

In the UK our dream would be to play Download or Leeds Festival, but internationally, HellFest, Wacken and Resurrection Fest and of course, Warped Tour 

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Well, I guess the dream would be any of the bands we’re influenced by, but that’s true end-game territory! 

9. Whom not?

I don’t think we would specifically rule anyone out right now, as long as the bands we gig/feature with are decent people and we all have each other's best interests in mind.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Calvin: Yes, remember all the stuff you’ve learnt over the gigs you’ve done and from a drummer's perspective - keep a spare set of sticks near you, or in my case, in your belt loop.

Shortie: I get twitchy before every show, and all I do is take myself out of the room, warm my vocals up, and just take a moment to breathe. There’s a really good bit of advice I was given a long, long time ago by Justin Sullivan from New Model Army and it’s to know the difference between practise and rehearsal. Practice is what you do at home and rehearsal is with the band, don’t forget to practice.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

There's a wide range of bands that you can hear influence from in our songs, whether that was intentional or not is another question! But also the influence you can hear in our music nowadays probably started off completely differently in our youth and we wouldn’t be writing the songs we are able to now without that unique grounding and development in musical tastes. The influences you’re probably most able to hear are likely going to be the same as our current favourite bands, but the structure and details underneath may stem from a totally different place.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Somebody once bought Shortie’s worn T shirt as we had run out of that size and he joked that they could have the one he’d worn before the show and they bought it!

13. What do you think of your fans?

Big love, much respect #versusfam

14. What do you think of our site?

We love that you’ve got your finger on the pulse of the scene but also that you embrace new music, new bands and support the grassroots scene globally.

15. Something to add?

We’ve got some surprises in store over the next few months, we’d love to play in Spain