Q + A: Versus the Universe has new name, lineup, sound

By Patty Jenkins
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 11, 2008

ROCK BAND Versus the Universe, with members in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, began performing in July with a new name, lineup and sound.

In February 2006, founding members Kevin Strange and Mujtaba Habib on guitars and Zach Young on drums were working together as Web designers at what was then called Trader Publishing.

“We all got together to play a party,” Strange said, “and we ended up writing a song.” After that, the three decided to form byDesign and brought Kristy Nightengale on as vocalist.

When Nightengale left the band after a year and half, they picked up frontman Travis Heath from an ad on Craigslist. Completing the now five-piece is Nick Valese on bass. “When Travis came on it really changed the sound,” Strange said.

Performing twice a month, the guys have seen their fan base grow. “We get a lot of singing back of our own songs, which is really one of the coolest feelings in the world.”

Versus the Universe will head into Little Tree Studio in Norfolk to record its five-song debut EP. “The way we do it (songwriting) seems to be more open, snagging the melody out of the air, then building on it from there,” Strange said.

How much original music does the band play?

Most of our shows are exclusively original music with an occasional cover in the mix.

Where does the band get its inspiration?

Our inspiration comes from everyone’s varied backgrounds in music (Strange, rock/metal; Habib, eastern/world; Young, jazz; Valese, funk/punk; and Heath, rock) and Yuengling.

If you were going to go out and see another local band, who would it be and why?

Chek and the Family (rock/hip-hop) is a great band to go and see, as they are awesome.

What’s the band’s worst performance memory?

We performed a November show where there were a lot of problems with the stage sound at a Norfolk venue. This caused us to not be able to hear each other properly and messed us up a bit on a couple of songs.

If the band could write its own headline, what would it be?

Local Band Offers Salvation from End of Times.

Patty Jenkins, (757) 446-2298, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com

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