Call & Response: Versio Curs
(5 min)
Versio Curs has a sound that ties in decades of punk and confessional pop into an album that is far more than the sum of its parts. Though the band never played a show together when How Are You was recorded, the album sounds like they’ve been touring for years. We were able to chat with Kyle Halverson (Vocals) and George Keuther (Guitar) about the band’s beginnings and influences... sort of. Let’s just say that if you’re wondering if their snark is restricted to their songs, wonder no more.
Lab Notes (LN): If you had to boil your musical journey into one sentence, what would it be? (Run-on sentences accepted and encouraged.)
Kyle Halverson: Write music, release music, get interrupted (college, Coronavirus, etc.), write better music, repeat.
George Keuther: One sentence? Alright here goes - Making music is fun.
LN: For those unfamiliar with your music, how do you describe your sound?
Kyle: Sad! But fun!
LN: Though much of the band played together in high school, your album How Are You is basically the first thing you did as Versio Curs. Tell us a little about that writing and recording process without first playing these songs live.
Kyle: A lot of sending songs back and forth for a while. It came together pretty smoothly. The band members have experience playing live with other projects so it wasn't as daunting.
George: We really just never stop writing music, even between projects. We had recently all graduated college and we were like, let's finally just put together something we'll stick to.
LN: The sound you’ve created really feels like it could be at home in many different decades of pop/punk. Who are some of your major influences?
Kyle: Lyrically/vocally, whatever I'm into at the moment.
George: Musically we've got about a million different influences, from many different decades of pop/punk. So that makes sense. With How Are You, we took a ton of influence from Cymbals Eat Guitars, Joyce Manor, and older Saves the Day.
We really just never stop writing music, even between projects. We had recently all graduated college and we were like, let's finally just put together something we'll stick to.
LN: How Are You received a really warm welcome from many of Milwaukee’s music journalism voices. What has the journey been like from having no expectations to touring bands knocking on your door?
Kyle: I'm happy that anyone is interested in playing with us. We've had fun with everyone we've played with so far.
George: It was really cool seeing the response from the Milwaukee music scene. We never really anticipated anything at all so every time anybody reached out to us to play a show or do an interview or something like that it was basically a whole new experience. We're still getting used to having any attention at all on our music. Like Kyle said, every new experience has been super fun.
LN: Do you have plans to make more music together?
Kyle: Absolutely not, honestly this is just a resume experience for me so i can quit and start releasing really mediocre solo albums.
George: We do have a new album that is in the final stages of recording. Things have been delayed for a while. But it will happen!
LN: What inspires you? What gives you hope these days?
Kyle: BLM gives me hope. Gen Z gives me hope.
LN: What music are you listening to right now?
Kyle: Dua Lipa, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, and Bright Eyes. What a line up.
George: Dua Lipa, Sidney Gish, Against Me!, old Alkaline Trio.
We never really anticipated anything at all so every time anybody reached out to us to play a show or do an interview or something like that it was basically a whole new experience.
LN: What do you do when you’re not creating music?
Kyle: Try not to die.
George: I play far too many video games. And I try not to die. Also I just got a kitten, so I guess I'm a father now.
LN: If you were trapped on a desert island, what 5 albums could you not live without?
Kyle: Spitballing, but here's some I'd grab - Is This Desire (PJ Harvey), Upside Down Mountain (Conor Oberst), Revolver (Beatles), Grow Up and Blow Away (Metric), Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (My Chemical Romance). Or the Monster Mash 5x. Can't decide.
George: LOSE (Cymbals Eat Guitars), Negative Qualities (Single Mothers), Worship and Tribute (Glassjaw), A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (Panic! at the Disco), Weezer (Blue Album or Pinkerton).
LN: What are three things about you that wouldn’t want left out of your Wikipedia page?
George: I just want everyone to know how much we all actually can't stand each other and we're only doing this for the money.