Santa Barbara, California punk pop band Versus the World are excited to finally get back to Canada. So they are justifiably excited to not only just be here, but to be able to visit places they have never been before. Like Lethbridge, when they come to Inferno on their tour with Authority Zero, Dec. 13 with special guests The River Jacks and the Spacewolves.
“It’s so beautiful here. I’ve never seen that island before. Everything good that happened has happened here. We got drunk and shit happened. It’s been really good,” enthused frontman/ vocalist/ guitarist Donald Spence, after finishing the first date of the tour in Victoria and preparing to play Vancouver on a Friday night.
The band includes punk rock royalty like bassist Mike Davenport (The Ataris), guitarist Chris Flippin (Lagwagon), drummer Bryan Charlson (Crooks and Liars) and guitarist Tony Caraffa, though Chris Flippin isn’t on this tour as he is touring Australia with Lagwagon.
“We haven’t been to Canada since 2006. You have the toughest border in the world to cross,” Spence observed.
“I’ve been to 18 countries and have only been turned away at the border at one — Canada. I’ve been turned away twice. So I just feel lucky to be here. It’s really cool. And I’m getting to go to places I never heard of before like Red Deer and Kamloops. Just being on the ferry today — It’s beautiful. Just to see a part of the world I never knew existed. The last time we were here we were touring with No Use For A Name and we only played the big cities,” he continued.
They are excited to tour with Arizona punk band Authority Zero, who they go back a long way with.
“We’ve done like six tours with them. This one is a little different because we’re sharing a drummer, because our drummer (Bryan Charlson) owns a coffee shop and is opening another one in San Diego, so he couldn’t come. But Sean (Sellers) is amazing. He also plays in Good Riddance. So that’s been really cool,” he said.
They are touring in support their latest album Homesick/ Roadsick,” which is about just that.
“After you write a few songs, you get a sense of what the vibe of an album will be. We wrote this one after we just got back together and spent two years touring. And it was like “Jesus Christ, I just want to see my home and my bed,” he said.
The album features some excellent triple guitar work and plenty of melody and guitar harmonies.
“Melodies are my forte, but the harmonies are all Tony,” he said, adding he loves the band’s triple guitar attack.
“That’s how guitars are recorded anyway, one on the left and one on the right and one lead. Even bands with one guitar record that way. So it’s nice to be able to record a CD like that,” he said.
“Chris is in Australia with Lagwagon. So it’s nice if one guitarist has to be away, to still be able to have two guitars,” he said.
They are already preparing to record the next record.
“We’ll do that as soon as we got back from this tour. I’ve got twins on the way, so that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.
“I’ve got a handful of songs and Tony probably has a handful, so that’s eight songs, which is a great start,” he said.
They are excited to see Lethbridge.
“We’ve never been to Lethbridge before. And we’re not the type of band to just hang out backstage. We like to arrive early and explore the city. We’re always looking for places to eat and drink, ” he said.
Tickets for the show are $25.50 in advance, $18 at the door or $12 with valid student ID. Doors open at 8:30, The music begins at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13.
