VHS or Beta
Encyclopedia
VHS or Beta is a band originally from Louisville, Kentucky
, now based in Brooklyn, NY, that combines elements of rock
, house
and disco
. Their self-released debut EP Le Funk
found some success on the charts, but the band became better known in the wake of the 2004 album Night on Fire
. After two and half years of touring, VHS or Beta recorded 2007's Bring on the Comets
in Asheville, NC, marking a slight change in direction towards a more straightforward pop sound, achieved without sacrificing their trademark dance sensibility. Recent singles "Feel It When You Know" (2009) and "All Summer in a Day" (2010) were issued on their own Chromosome Records label. The band's third album "Diamond and Death" is scheduled for September 2011 release.
The band's core members are guitarist/vocalist Craig Pfunder and bassist Mark Palgy. Guitarist Zeke Buck and drummer Mark Guidry, both founding members, left the band in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Guitarist Mike McGill and keyboardists Chea Beckley and Jerome Miller have all toured with the band.
Palgy and Pfunder were in early '90s band Raze with former Elliott
and current Wax Fang drummer Kevin Ratterman.
In 2005, VHS or Beta opened for Duran Duran
on a leg of the latter's 2005 North American tour.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, now based in Brooklyn, NY, that combines elements of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
. Their self-released debut EP Le Funk
Le Funk
Le Funk is the second EP by the Louisville-based band VHS or Beta. Originally released in 2002 by ON! Records, it was reissued in 2005 by Astralwerks with three bonus remixes and is now widely considered to be their first album.-Track listing:...
found some success on the charts, but the band became better known in the wake of the 2004 album Night on Fire
Night on Fire
Night on Fire is the second album by VHS or Beta. It was released September 21, 2004 on Astralwerks.The song "Night on Fire" was featured on the video game "MLB 06 : The Show" and the film "Grandma's Boy"-Track listing:# "Night on Fire" – 4:01...
. After two and half years of touring, VHS or Beta recorded 2007's Bring on the Comets
Bring on the Comets
Bring on the Comets is the third album by VHS or Beta. It was released on August 28, 2007 on Astralwerks.- Production :In a February 2007 interview on Blender Magazine Online, the band's singer and guitarist Craig Pfunder talked about how the music business has changed since the release of their...
in Asheville, NC, marking a slight change in direction towards a more straightforward pop sound, achieved without sacrificing their trademark dance sensibility. Recent singles "Feel It When You Know" (2009) and "All Summer in a Day" (2010) were issued on their own Chromosome Records label. The band's third album "Diamond and Death" is scheduled for September 2011 release.
The band's core members are guitarist/vocalist Craig Pfunder and bassist Mark Palgy. Guitarist Zeke Buck and drummer Mark Guidry, both founding members, left the band in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Guitarist Mike McGill and keyboardists Chea Beckley and Jerome Miller have all toured with the band.
Palgy and Pfunder were in early '90s band Raze with former Elliott
Elliott (band)
Elliot is a rock band from the United States. They have released six albums and several singles in their eight-year existence, and are signed to Ten City Music. The band was created in Bend, Oregon....
and current Wax Fang drummer Kevin Ratterman.
In 2005, VHS or Beta opened for Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
on a leg of the latter's 2005 North American tour.
Albums
- Night on FireNight on FireNight on Fire is the second album by VHS or Beta. It was released September 21, 2004 on Astralwerks.The song "Night on Fire" was featured on the video game "MLB 06 : The Show" and the film "Grandma's Boy"-Track listing:# "Night on Fire" – 4:01...
(Astralwerks, 2004) - Bring on the CometsBring on the CometsBring on the Comets is the third album by VHS or Beta. It was released on August 28, 2007 on Astralwerks.- Production :In a February 2007 interview on Blender Magazine Online, the band's singer and guitarist Craig Pfunder talked about how the music business has changed since the release of their...
(Astralwerks, 2007) - Diamonds and Death (Chromosome/Krian, 2011)
EPs and Singles
- Le FunkLe FunkLe Funk is the second EP by the Louisville-based band VHS or Beta. Originally released in 2002 by ON! Records, it was reissued in 2005 by Astralwerks with three bonus remixes and is now widely considered to be their first album.-Track listing:...
EP (2002, ON!) - On and On EP (1998, ON!)
- "Solid Gold" (Astralwerks, 2003)
- "Night on Fire" (Astralwerks, 2004) - Featured in Grandma's Boy and on The OC, in addition to Mack Dawg Production's 2006 "Follow Me Around." It was also used as part of the soundtrack for the videogame MLB 06: The ShowMLB 06: The ShowMLB '06: The Show is a baseball video game for PlayStation 2 and PSP. The game was produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, primarily by SCE's San Diego Studio, which was formerly known as 989 Sports. It was the only first-party MLB-licensed video game for the 2006 season drawing attention to the...
- "The Melting Moon" (Astralwerks, 2005)
- "You Got Me" (Astralwerks, 2006)
- "Can't Believe a Single Word" (Astralwerks, 2007)
- "Burn It All Down" (Astralwerks, 2007) - Featured in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
and on the soundtrack for 2009 documentary The September Issue - "Feel It When You Know" (Chromosome Records, 2009)
- "All Summer in a Day" (Chromosome Records, 2010)
- "Breaking Bones" (Chromosome/Krian 2011)
Videography
- "Messages" (1999)
- "You Got Me" (2005) - Directed by Ryan Rickett; Giant DragGiant DragGiant Drag is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formerly a duo, the band was founded in 2003 by Annie Hardy who continues to be the band's sole singer and songwriter....
's Annie HardyAnnie HardyAnnie-Summer Hardy is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the American rock act Giant Drag.Previously signed to Interscope Records, she was voted one of NMEs "50 Coolest People," and has received major news coverage in NME, Spin, MTV News and Rolling Stone, among others.She is known...
and Ima RobotIma Robot-Band history:Ima Robot formed in the late 1990s, after vocalist Alex Ebert's band The Lucky 13's broke up, and became successful in the early 2000s after signing with Virgin Records. The band's other original members were Timmy "the Terror" Anderson, Oligee, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and the prolific...
's Alex EbertAlex EbertAlex Ebert is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.-Early life:...
both appear in the video - "Night on Fire" (2005) - Directed by Ben Dickinson
- "Can't Believe a Single Word" (2007) - Directed by Greg Foley
- "Breaking Bones" (2011) - Directed by Graham Hill
External links
- VHS or Beta official website
- Discogs
- Interview with VHS or Beta
- Lazy-i Interview: December 2004
- vhs or beta at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...