VHS or Beta flirts with a new format
VHS or Beta formed in Louisville, Ky., in 1997 as a loud, noisy punk-rock band. But then things changed. “We were part of a scene that grew very, very stagnant, and seemingly bitter,” says guitarist-vocalist Craig Pfunder.
So VHS or Beta switched formats, some might say shockingly so, as Pfunder and his mates began using guitars, bass and drums to concoct an unusual house/funk/disco blend born of jam sessions, resulting in the celebrated 2002 debut EP, “Le Funk.”
“It was pretty drastic to do that,” says Pfunder, “trying to play this dance music when everyone else was playing punk. Usually it takes a significant amount of time to understand how people would come from point A to point C. But the most punk thing to do is change.”
That appears to be VHS or Beta’s credo. 2004’s “Night on Fire,” attempted a disco-punk hybrid, while VHS or Beta’s new CD, “Bring on the Comets,” shifts the emphasis to new wave dance-rock.
Not everyone has been enthralled by VHS or Beta’s zigzag on “Comets.” While Urb magazine found it full of “superb pop hooks with dance beats” Spin dismissed it as “a bland regression.”
Pfunder scoffs at the criticism. “I don’t think those people (who slammed ‘Comets’) are going to be happy with anything we do.” Then, he says with a curt laugh, “Actually, I don’t give a … ”
Pfunder, who was adopted from South Korea and grew up in Georgia and Oregon, is used to pursuing his own path. “I’ve been into music since I can remember, when I was old enough to make some of my own decisions,” says the 32-year-old performer. “I was mowing lawns to save money to buy a guitar, and I taught myself to play. I come from a pretty big family, and there was always a bit of tension, people asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go to [college]?’ Basically, because I’ve known what I wanted to do since the sixth grade.”
Besides bassist Mark Palgy, drummer Mark Guidry and new guitarist Mike McGill, VHS or Beta includes keyboardist Chea Beckley.
“Comets” has several songs about finding love or the loss of it. The disc’s title track and the pulsating Brit-pop tune “Love in My Pocket” are soaring examples of the former, while “Can’t Believe a Single Word” is the best instance of the latter.
“Word” includes a guitar-slashed martial-rhythmed middle that calls to mind Big Country. “A lot of people have been telling me that,” says Pfunder. “But I don’t even own one of their records. … I need to do some research.”
Other songs echo Duran Duran, a group that VHS or Beta admires, and vice versa. “We’ve already toured with Duran Duran,” says Pfunder. “They invited us out three years ago. I can’t complain playing in front of 15,000 people.”