VerseCity will be playing as a special guest of Jud Johnson Band on Friday at the House of Blues on 1204 Caroline St. Tickets start at $7.50. | Courtesy of Bryan Anderson
Texas is known for its music. Cities like Austin are known as music havens, while Houston is best known for its rap and hip-hop.
Because of this, local musicians in Houston don’t usually get acknowledged, but UH’s own VerseCity is hoping to change that.
Communication junior Micah Walker and music sophomore Marcus Edwards, who met at Bayou Oaks apartments in Fall 2006, write most of VerseCity’s music and lyrics. They also provide the bulk of the vocals and guitar, respectively.
Edwards also plays the saxophone on “Lullaby,” the band’s most-downloaded track.
“If I had to describe the sound, it would be rock/soul/pop,” Walker says. “The idea (behind the band) is to push a positive message while having a good time.”
The two, who originally played basketball on opposing high school teams, began to write music together at Bayou Oaks.
“We were jamming as an acoustic duo for about two years,” Walker says.
VerseCity’s first show as a full band was on Jan. 12, 2008. The band has recently celebrated its two-year anniversary.
One of the band’ s first shows was at Frontier Fiesta in 2008, where VerseCity opened for Cobra Starship.
“Our fan base boomed,” Walker says.
Walker has no official vocal training but has always loved to sing. He takes most of his singing inspiration from Brandon Boyd, the lead singer of Incubus, whom fans have compared with VerseCity’s sound along with the likes of Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5. Walker was originally supposed to be a walk-on for UH basketball.
“He’s not that good,” Edwards says of Walker’s skills as a basketball player. Edwards insists that he is the better ball player.
The band is working on a new album now at Digital Services Recording Studio, which they plan to release during the summer. Five songs are completed, and more are in the works.
Along with Walker and Edwards, the band is composed of Daniel Rascoe, Nelson Baradat and Jared Kindel. Baradat is a music junior, Rascoe attends Lone Star College and Kindel is a student at Bellaire high school. Both Rascoe and Kindel plan to attend UH.
When it comes to making music, Walker and Edwards have different – albeit similar – advice for other local artists.
“Don’t be afraid to be creative,” Edwards says. “Don’t try to sound like everyone else.”
“Establish the values you want to push as a band – the [band’s] vision – and go out and do what other bands aren’t willing to do,” says Walker.
VerseCity’s first album, Epic Sunrise, is available on iTunes, and the band is playing at the House of Blues on Friday, Jan. 5 as an opening act for Jud Johnson Band.
