1) Versus the World is a … Read Full Bio ↴There are at least 2 bands with this name.
1) Versus the World is a post-hardcore/pop punk supergroup from Santa Barbara, California.
2) vs. the world was a melodic noise punk band formed in 2019 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, consisting of Iris "Weeder" Graser (bass, vocals), Lukas "Rufus" Frefel (guitar, vocals) and "GG" Annika Szokody (drums). They disbanded in 2023.
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1.) Versus the World was formed in 2005 by singer-songwriter Donald Spence and bassist Mike Davenport, who performed together as an acoustic duo called Pencapchew. They issued their first studio album as Versus the World in 2005, followed by a string of shows with bands like No Use for a Name, Suicide Machines, Bouncing Souls, and Social Distortion, as well as appearances at the Vans Warped Tour. The group spent the ensuing years working on other projects. Versus the World released their long-awaited sophomore long-player Homesick/Roadsick via Kung Fu Records in 2015.
The lineup currently consists of Donald Spence (guitar), Mike Davenport (bass, formerly of The Ataris, Tony Caraffa (guitar), Chris Flippin (guitar, formerly of Lagwagon), and Bryan Charlson (drums, formerly of Crooks and Liars). Former members include Nic Matsuda, Marco Peña, Trevor Lewis Matthias, and Casey James Cress.
There’s an unshakable bond that can only be forged through a combination of shared passion, life experiences, and world travel hardened camaraderie. It’s not really something tangible, touchable or scientifically provable. But if that electric chemistry that makes friends into family has a sound, that sound is definitely VERSUS THE WORLD.
The appropriately titled Homesick/Roadsick is Versus The World coming full circle, a third album supercharged by a triple-guitar attack and filled with all of the urgency, earnestness and restlessly adventurous spirit the album’s title represents. The thrilling paradox of wishing for a familiar bed on tour only to yearn to get back on the road after coming home spills out of Homesick/Roadsick with powerful drive and renewed focus.
The dense pop-punk pedigree of Versus The World is the foundation for the some of the most exciting post-hardcore troubadour jams to ever emerge from the West Coast. The floorshow style energy of Hot Water Music, the darkly romantic but uplifting melodicism of Alkaline Trio and the modern-but-timeless singer/songwriter DNA found in Gaslight Anthem collide within Versus The World, whose own signature sound is further enhanced by the group’s individual resumes, which includes The Ataris and Lagwagon.
Dave Hause guests on the album opener, “Santa Margarita,” which vocalist/guitarist Donald Spence wrote for fallen friend Tony Sly, the late frontman for No Use For A Name. “The Black Ocean” was born from a combination of a sound check riff and the view from the plane on an overnight flight to Japan. Homesick/Roadsick is the first Versus The World record where Spence shared the writing responsibility, collaborating with guitarist Tony Caraffa on songs like “A Storm Like Me,” “A Brooklyn Rooftop” and the title track. The band rehearsed “Our Song” for the very first time in the studio.
Familiarity and family remain at the forefront for Versus The World. They’ve made all three albums with Bad Astronaut guitarist and producer Thom Flowers. Drink.Sing.Live.Love (2012) and the new album were mixed by Ian MacGregor, whose discography includes work with Katy Perry and All-American Rejects. They’re back with Kung Fu Records, the label that released Versus The World’s self-titled debut in 2005. The long-running SoCal punk institution is also the label that first discovered The Ataris.
Mike Davenport played bass for The Ataris during the late ‘90s and early 2000s, lending his talents and stage presence to genre-classics Blue Skies, Broken Hearts… Next 12 Exits, End Is Forever and the gold-certified mainstream breakthrough, So Long, Astoria. He met teenaged singer/songwriter and Ataris fan Donald Spence in Texas and casually told him to feel free to visit the band owned indie record store in Santa Barbara sometime. The next year, Spence ran away from home and scored at job at that very record store, Down On Haley, where the pair started Versus The World in the backroom.
Thanks to the strength of Spence’s songs and the positive reception to their debut, Versus The World grew from a side project to a real-deal band and put in significant road miles on tours with No Use For A Name, Social Distortion, Bouncing Souls, The Vandals and the Vans Warped Tour, among others. During the much-needed downtime that followed, Davenport started Cave Mummy with Lagwagon cofounder/virtuoso guitarist Chris Flippin. Spence had a “home project” too, Crooks & Liars, with drummer Bryan Charlson, whose ferocity behind the kit runs in hilarious contrast to his laid back Hawaiian vibes.
Flippin and Charlson were members of Versus The World by the time the group teamed with Fletcher Dragge from Pennywise (and a few industry vets) for the release and subsequent promotion of their second album. With Flippin still a full-time member of Lagwagon, the band would often draft Murderland guitarist Tony Caraffa to fill-in during the increasing touring that followed, which included US tours with MxPx and Unwritten Law, Japanese dates with Useless ID, a trip to China and to Australia’s Soundwave Festival.
Midwest metal shredder Caraffa became a full-time member, elevating the band to an Iron Maiden style triple guitar status, which is put to incredible and inventive use on what is surely Versus The World’s most invigorating and confident full-length thus far. The hard-hitting heft of the first album and the dynamic diversity of the second are not only present but turbo-boosted all over Homesick/Roadsick. The end result is the penultimate expression of the musical and personal experiences of each member.
Anyone who gets a charge from the subcultural sound of songs driven by purposeful power is invited to dive into the fan community supporting Versus The World, just like that invitation teenaged Donald Spence accepted that started it all.
-Ryan Downey
Victim
Versus The World Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh victim your cries made it to heaven
But the angels didnt care
So ill just give up from the 90ft drop
Maybe they'll hear me when
My fists hit the gates
And they bite down to the bone
Victim i know so bury them deep sp the scars dont show
Oh victim the enemy is closer than you know
Its hides inside where every hit youve taken
Hold a knife upto your throat
The lyrics of "Victim" by Versus The World describe the feelings of a person who feels like a victim and helpless. The singer addresses himself/herself as the victim and says that his/her cries have reached to heaven, but the angels did not hear them. The victim believes that his/her song has fallen deaf ears, and nobody cares about his/her suffering. The singer then talks about committing suicide by jumping off from the 90ft drop, hoping that maybe someone will hear when his/her fists hit the gates of heaven.
The singer expresses the pain and hurt caused by the scars of the past as "the graves that you've made, they're cold now, and they bite down to the bone." The victim asks to bury these scars deep so that they are not visible anymore. The singer then talks about the enemy being closer than one might imagine, who hides within oneself and holds a knife up to the throat of the victim. In the end, the singer addresses himself/herself as a victim repeatedly, expressing his/her helplessness and vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh victim your tired song has fallen deaf ears
Your repetitive complaining and wallowing has become old and ignored.
Oh victim your cries made it to heaven
Your pleas for help and attention have been heard, but met with no response.
But the angels didnt care
The supposed helpers or saviors did not come to your aid.
So ill just give up from the 90ft drop
I am contemplating suicide by jumping from a high place.
Maybe they'll hear me when
My fists hit the gates
Perhaps this method will finally get the attention and help from those who ignored me earlier.
The graves that youve made they're cold know
The emotional pain and hurt you have caused for others still lingers and affects them deeply.
And they bite down to the bone
The emotional pain is so intense that it feels physical and deeply ingrained.
Victim i know so bury them deep sp the scars dont show
As someone who has experienced hurt, I understand the need to bury the pain and move on from it to avoid scars and further emotional trauma.
Oh victim the enemy is closer than you know
The source of your pain and hurt is much closer and ingrained in your life than you realize.
Its hides inside where every hit youve taken
The trauma and hurt you have experienced are deeply internalized and manifest in subtle ways, affecting every aspect of your life.
Hold a knife upto your throat
The pain you carry feels so deep and unbearable that it manifests as an urge to cause physical harm to escape it.
Contributed by Colton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.