Craig Pfunder, singer of Kentuckian disco-rock band VHS or Beta took time out of his busy schedule to phone into Undercover and let us know what he's been up to on the eve of their first ever Australian tour.
Hot on the heels of a new(ish) album 'Bring On The Comets', the band have gone through some changes, from their line up (they fired their guitarist, Zeke) to how they write their songs (Craig Pfunder took control)."[Writing all the songs] was definitely a natural thing. I started writing material, I was bringing it to the band and I think they were feeling it and for the first time in our band's existence, we decided "Hey let's buy some individual studios" and everyone built a small personal studio in their house and I just began writing.
"I still really allow those guys to voice their opinion," Pfunder told Undercover, "I trust those guys a lot. The trust wasn't only extended to me, I trust them as well. If there wasn't that trust, not much would be getting done. I'm totally open-minded to the things that they have to say about the material and the direction and we work together to try to make it what it can be.
"That turned into me writing more and more songs, but it's not like they didn't do anything for the record. We had a process of me presenting them with material and discussing it and them working out individual parts of their own. But it was different. Usually we would go into a room and bang on equipment and record it and that would be the process of making a song, but I think change can be really good. We were at a point in our career and our mental state where I think change was very welcome."
These changes forced the band to take three years between albums, in some ways missing out on the hype generated by the success of their debut, but in others allowing the band to perfect their craft.
As Pfunder explained, "The thing is, we made 'Night On Fire', released it, and then we ended up touring it for like seventeen months. Then we took a break and I started writing material for 'Bring On The Comets'... and I think I took about nine or ten months to work on the material. I have to be completely honest. I wasn't forcing myself to spit a record out real quick.
"There was always the stress from within. The label wasn't pushing us. Of course we wanted to get it out sooner or later, but the band went through a few changes with our line up. It was just something that I think worked out and the only way it was going to get worked out was the way we did it. I don't know of a way we could've got comets out faster and it be the same record."
It's important for the band's electro-rock sound to come across well on stage and they always strive to make records that they can reproduce live, albeit with the help of an extra guitarist and keyboardist.
The band carved it up at Stubb's during South by Southwest in 2005, showing their abilities to replicate this sound that is paradoxically both retro and modern to pinpoint accuracy, without losing the spontaneity of a live show.
It's not just a hark back to decades gone by going into this catchy-as-hell pop band, as Pfunder explains, "I just feel like in my brain I have so many natural ways to express myself musically and they're not all wrapped up in VHS or Beta.
"I feel like I'm a big fan of country and blues. I feel like I could play guitar in a band like that and I would enjoy it and I could get certain things artistically out that I can't in VHS or Beta, so when I'm writing with VHS or Beta in mind, I'm able to, while I'm writing material, reference something."
This country and blues influence has come from their Kentucky upbringing, of which Pfunder says "Yeah we kind of stuck out, but it was something that we enjoy. I enjoy not being completely blending in with the crowd. I like being a weird disco-rock band from Kentucky."
We like this weird disco-rock band from Kentucky too, and so should you!
You can check them out across Australia at:
JUNE
4 - Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne
5 - The Zoo, Brisbane
6 - The Factory, Sydney
7 - Come Together Festival, Sydney
