Celebrating 20 years of Fil-American band Versus’ masterful Two Cents Plus Tax
by rick olivares
For Filipino fans of the alternative or independent music scene of the 1990s, aside from the local heroes such as the Eraserheads, Color It Red, and Sugar Hiccup to name but a few, they looked to one band based in New York City that putting out some great indie rock music… and that was Versus.
The band featured a mostly Filipino-American line-up with brothers Richard, Ed, and James Baluyut, Patrick Ramos, and American bassist Fontaine Toups. Ed was the band’s initial drummer before Ramos took over and he was on board for the first full length album, Secret Swingers after which Ramos came on board for Two Cents Plus Tax and then Hurrah. Ed recently returned to record the new extended play album, Ex-Nihilo and the fifth album Ex Voto that will be out this August on indie label Ernest Jennings Records.
Versus were like Sonic Youth and Pavement albeit with intoxicating boy-girl vocals and immensely catchy songs.
Local fans were ecstatic to have representation in bands such as Moonpools and Caterpillars and the Pixies. But it is with Versus that got fans excited.
Many a local band cribbed the guitar riffs of James Baluyut but no one came close to the sarcasm and pain of Richard’s voice and Fontaine’s twee-like vocals. When the band came over about 10 years ago for a series of performances in Manila, it was a virtual who’s who of bands that came to watch them underscoring the influence Versus had on them.
Twenty years ago, Two Cents Plus Tax was released.
Indie music site, Magnet called the album, “a lost classic.” Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A- rating and said, “Two Cents Plus Taxdelivers both in a wistful song suite about post-cold war blues, romantic betrayal, and love so raw it makes you dizzy. Plus, on ”Atomic Kid,” you get what may be the catchiest reprise to feature the word “Armageddon” ever recorded. The AV Club glowed: “Two Cents Plus Tax doesn't sound like the work of most angry young players. Instead, it sounds like Versus' smart, strong bid for attention, the band kicking and screaming its way to the top of the heap.”
The album averages four or five star ratings over Amazon or Discogs buyers.
For those who frequented that curio shop, The Rastro in Shoppesville, Greenhills, a copy of Two Cents Plus Tax on both vinyl and compact disc meant paying a fortune. “Rare,” the bookish shopkeeper reasoned out. “Rare.”
If Secret Swingers was a raw and unadulterated emotion captured in a jagged pill, Two Cents Plus Tax, bristled with energy wrapped in a more polished veneer and teased about the future of their music.
The secret track, “Oriental American” that precedes the opening track, “Atomic Kid” eventually begat the more experimental, electronic feel of James’ later band, Plus Minus.
We spoke with the four members of Versus at the time of Two Cents Plus Tax was recorded, Richard, James, Patrick, and Fontaine to look back at the 20thAnniversary of indie rock’s secret gems and one you would do well to hunt down if not bug Teenbeat Records’ Mark Robinson to reissue.
Rick: I love Secret Swingers and the raw and heavy sound of it. Was it a reflection of the times given grunge was still popular? What was Versus collectively into at that time because Two Cents Plus Tax is just so different. It sounds more -- for lack of a better term ''refined or even polished.”
Richard: Secret Swingers was recorded by Nicolas Vernhes, who was just starting out as an engineer. The aesthetic at that time was to be somewhat unadorned, where the instruments sound "like they sound" and there weren't many effects used. By the time we recorded Two Cents, OK Computer had come out and changed the landscape for sound. (Our mixing engineer Vaughn Merrick had actually worked on that record!) We were going for a more polished sound, and finally had an advance to spend on a recording.
James: Secret Swingers was really just the product of us going to Nicolas Vernhes' Rare Book Room studio and putting down the songs. He was just getting started. I think he had done one record there before us? It's the sound of us getting together in a big room and playing the songs. We used to practice there as well so a few of the songs were actually written there. At the time, 'natural room sound' was sort of a thing we were after. We didn't labor over the guitar sounds so much - just going for the sounds we'd get live.
Two Cents Plus Tax had a longer process. We wrote everything and then demoed it at a studio. Then we selected a producer and recorded again at a 2nd studio. I feel like we spent a couple days in the studio just getting the drum sound right. That seems insane to me now. And we took quite a bit more time honing all of the sounds. We ended up not getting along too well with the producer so we ended up back at Rare Book Room for the end of the session. Finally, we went to a 4th studio to mix the record. So you can see, that's quite a bit more involved.
Rick: The secret track "Oriental American" it is a departure from anything done before (with the LP which I also have it is a separate single) and I think it is terrific. Did that track says something about the origins of Plus/Minus? And this was such a prolific time for the band -- two albums (from 1994-2000) every two years with a smattering of EPs and singles in between. Yet, each album so different. What can you share about the band's approach to making albums during this period?
Richard: Our approach was simply to keep doing records as the songs got written. At this time, we were touring a lot, practicing and writing 3x a week, so it was just natural. There was no grand strategy for world domination. Just to keep doing what we loved. And that's what we still do, although now it's stretched to a decade between albums! We finally have an EP and LP coming out in 2019.
James: Regarding Oriental American, this was a song that we wrote as an instrumental which is rare for us. I'd bought a sampler and sequencer during this period and I was experimenting with syncing it to the band. I wrote a lot of bits with the sampler during this period, most of which ended up on the first +/- {Plus/Minus} album.
The period when we wrote and recorded Two Cents Plus Tax was probably the most active period of music making in my life. We'd rehearse and write three times a week for hours on end. We'd tour. We were full-time musicians. I think what you hear on this record is this particular band coming together. Patrick and I brought a much different sensibility to the band. Patrick's a more straight forward, hard hitting drummer compared to Ed. My presence on guitar allowed Richard to concentrate more on singing. The songs changed as a result.
Patrick: Yes, we added a fresh youthful exuberance. Like a squeeze of lemon or a pat of sizzling butter to a dish. Actually more like a dash of finishing salt like that Turkish chef, Salt Bae. But with much less....um...style? Also, and much more importantly, it was during this time that I introduced them to the world of NHL Hockey and the Detroit Red Wings in particular who ended their 42 year Stanley Cup drought that year.
Rick: Why was the album titled, Two Cents Plus Tax? What is the story behind it? How about the mosaic-like cover -- what is the story there?
James: Two Cents Plus Tax - that's Richard's idea. You should probably ask him about that. I think he thought it was something that Elvis said once, but we can't find any evidence of that.
Richard: The album title was something I heard a stoned Elvis blurt out in between songs during a 70's live performance. I thought it would be hilarious to use as a title.
James: The cover shoot was a classic Richard moment. Before a show at a college outside Philadelphia, Richard started taking Polaroids of each of us. I had no idea this was for the cover. He didn't give any warning. I'd like to have shaved that day! Afterward, he went to Washington DC to work on the artwork with Mark Robinson. They stitched together portraits of each of us using those photos. Richard, of course, made himself look normal (and good) but he mangled the rest of us. Ha. By the time he got to Patrick, it was cubist.
Patrick: Someone once said to me while looking at my photo on the cover, "This is not how you get girls."
Rick: How long did it take to write and record the album? Any nice stories to share during the process? Was everyone working (day jobs I mean) at this time as well?
Richard: More like horror stories! Our original engineer for this record turned out to be an evil loser who held our tapes hostage when we tried to get rid of him. Nicolas (who had recorded Secret Swingers) saved us by finishing the tracking of the record.
Patrick: I think we spent most of 1997 writing, rehearsing, demoing and then recording Two Cents while playing a few shows here and there. Aside from the aforementioned original engineer, I remember the recording being mostly fun and especially creative. We had pretty early start times and went late and tried not to settle for anything less than a good performance or a good sound for anything we were recording. We hadn't really used a sampler much so we had fun finding unusual things to sample. I did work for part of that year at various temporary jobs...ad agencies, the art department on a Busta Rhymes video and on Bobby Flay's first cable cooking series (lots of retakes for a 22 1/2-minute show). But once we started tracking the album, I quit all of it and it felt so good.
Rick: Secret Swingers and Two Cents Plus Tax were out on CD via Caroline, but the LP from Teenbeat. Why was this so? Can Teenbeat put out anniversary editions for the albums?
James: The band signed with Caroline after an LP, a compilation and an EP on Teenbeat. I think it was mostly about doing something new. Reaching different people. I think Teenbeat has the rights to release the vinyl so I suppose they could reissue that? But the CD and digital rights are with Caroline and, as far as I can tell, they haven't bothered to make either available since the initial pressing. It's sad that these albums are neither in print nor available to stream.
Richard: Good idea (on the reissues)!
Rick: Let's tackle the songs. Kindly share your thoughts about the songs.
Atomic Kid -- The one song not about relationships on the album? Was this in response to India conducting nuclear bomb testing, the war in the Balkans and the US air strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan after the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania?
Richard: Atomic Kid is about growing up with Cold War dread. When I was in elementary school we had drills where we had to hide from nuclear missile attacks. This was normal. Now my kids have "active shooter" exercises.
Dumb Fun - One of my fave tracks. About a troubled real-life relationship?
Richard. Very few of my lyrics are about actual people... they're more like composites of people. I do like the "failed apartments" concept though.
Patrick: For drum and Beatles nerds, I was trying to channel Ringo on the chorus.
Never Be Ok - A pensive song. Fontaine sings about a missed or failed relationship. Was this about someone in particular -- if it can be shared.
Richard. Unlike me, Fontaine sings about particular people... but that's all I can say!
Fontaine: It is about a 'failed relationship' but, also about the fact that lots of relationships end in breakups, or divorce, and questioning that.
Morning Glory
Richard: This one is based on my favorite movie In a Lonely Place. About two people who should be together being torn apart by misunderstanding.
Radar Follows You - a second straight slow one -- mood swings?
Richard: This is one of my favorites. Another doomed love song.
Underground -- Love the guitars on this that kicks starts side two.
Richard. This is one that we played for years before it had lyrics...
Spastic Reaction - Love the jingle jangle on this countrified slow rocker of a happy song. At least it sounds like one. Sounds like someone the band knows.
Richard: I'm not a huge fan of country music, but this one had a sing-song appeal for me.
Crazy-Maker
Richard. The long middle part of this was lifted from an early song about the doomed Amelia Earhart.
Jack and Jill
Richard: We wrote the songs for this album near a bar that had an excellent live salsa scene, which for me inspired the beat and the groove.
Mouth of Heaven
Richard: This was Versus' first foray into space. Our new album Ex Voto is a sci-fi concept album.
Oriental American
Richard: The voice on this song was our mixing engineer Vaughn's girlfriend... we needed someone who actually "sounded" Asian!
And lastly, any stories to share about Two Cents Plus tax? How do you look at the album today?
Richard: It is a bittersweet look back. It was recorded at the peak of our appeal, but the record company had already moved on to electronic music (Astralwerks) and didn't release it with any enthusiasm. It's now out of print, and somewhat lost. Maybe someday we'll get the rights back and re-release it.
James: I'm really proud of this record. We were probably at the height of our well-oiled machine phase here - we're playing well, writing well and everything is done with purpose. There are a few things recording-wise that I might have done differently but overall, I think the result was good.
Patrick: I appreciate it much much more now, especially after performing it from start to finish for the 20-year anniversary in December. It's really fun to play and it reminded me of what it's like to be part of the Versus machine. Made me miss it.
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