VersaEmerge is an American rock band consisting of Sierra Kusterbeck and Blake Harnage, originating from Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA, currently signed to the label Fueled by Ramen. They have three EPs - Cities Built on Sand, Perceptions, and the self-titled release. Their debut album, Fixed at Zero, was released June 22, 2010. VersaEmerge came together after the two founding members' previous band, My Fair Verona, broke up.
Florida band VersaEmerge formed while lead guitarist and backing vocalist Blake Harnage and former drummer Anthony Martone were in high school. They were originally in a band named "My Fair Verona". After My Fair Verona broke up, Harnage and Martone went on to form their own band. They chose the name "VersaEmerge" from the terms "vice versa", meaning opposite, and "emerge" meaning to rise up.
The band recorded their first EP, "Cities Built On Sand", in 2005, featuring former members Spencer Pearson on lead vocals, Anthony James on vocals, programming and keys, Josh Center on rhythm guitar, and Nick Osborne on bass as well as Harnage and Martone. With the departure of the four members, the band recruited former bassist Devin Ingelido from Bury the Ashes.
The following year, current vocalist Sierra Kusterbeck auditioned for the vocal position by sending a tape online. While the other members were not too sure about Kusterbeck, Harnage convinced them she was right for the job and she soon joined the band in 2007. Little did they know that Kusterbeck lied about her age saying she was 18 years old, when she was really 16, so she could get an audition. However, Kusterbeck later cleared this misunderstanding and explained that it was more of a mix up; she was turning 17 a week from the audition, and she said to Harnage on the phone, "I'm 17, my birthday is in a week". This was misconstrued to mean she was already 17, and was turning 18, however she actually meant she would be 17 in a week.
After the recruit of Kusterbeck, VersaEmerge played local home shows and went on tour with bands such as Kiros, Our Last Night, There for Tomorrow, and Craig Owens. The band worked hard and released their first EP with Kusterbeck, "Perceptions", in May 2008. They then parted with rhythm guitarist James Lano, who was then replaced by Jerry Pierce. VersaEmerge later signed to Fueled by Ramen. They began to write their self-titled EP, recording with producer James Paul Wisner. The EP was released February 3, 2009.
After the release of the self-titled EP, VersaEmerge went on "The Secret Valentine Tour" with headlining bands We the Kings, The Maine, The Cab, and There for Tomorrow. After the Secret Valentine Tour, VersaEmerge grew a larger fan base and got picked to play 2 of 4 dates of the Give It a Name 2009 festival in the United Kingdom with bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Thursday, Escape the Fate, and Innerpartysystem.
They returned to the United States and almost immediately left for Bamboozle in New Jersey. When they returned to their homes in Florida, they began writing for their LP for a few months before leaving for Warped Tour '09. After The Warped Tour, they headed to Malibu to record and write for their LP, then packed up for the OP tour featuring headliner Boys Like Girls, and co-headliners Cobra Starship, The Maine, and A Rocket to the Moon.
On September 19, 2009, drummer and co-founding member, Anthony Martone announced through his Twitter saying "I'm No Longer in VersaEmerge. Thanks for all your support. I am currently a drummer for hire, thanks everyone..." After about a week of much inquiry due to Martone's sudden departure, Devin Ingelido and the band posted blogs about their parting with Martone, stating the leave was due to personal reasons that will not be elaborated on.
The band hired musician and friend Spencer Peterson (not to be confused with the band's former vocalist, Spencer Pearson) to fill in as a temporary replacement on drums for the OP tour. Spencer Peterson is best known for his time drumming in Hidden in Plain View and Charlotte Sometimes.
On November 22, 2009, guitarist Jerry Pierce announced on Twitter that he will be leaving the band due to personal reasons concerning his family. He cleared up that he remains friends with the other members, however he "just can't keep touring as much as [VersaEmerge] does." Jerry played his last show with the band on November 28, 2009. They released their debut album right before the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. Pierce was not a part of the recording process.
In March 2010, VersaEmerge was named one of American music website Shred News' "10 Artists to Watch in 2010".
At the SXSW Purevolume house, VersaEmerge played four new songs; "Fixed At Zero," "Mind Reader," "Figure it Out", and "You'll Never Know", all from the upcoming album Fixed at Zero. Sierra Kusterbeck was also featured in the "Front and Center: The New Class of 2010" article of the May issue of Alternative Press.
According to a couple of tweets, Chris Pollock, formerly of Maryland-based band Oh, The Story! is currently filling in as the drummer for the band. It has not been announced whether this is permanent or temporary.
VersaEmerge went out to support the release of the album by playing The Bamboozle on May 1, 2010, playing alongside such bands as label-mates Paramore as well as Weezer. They also co-headlined a tour with I See Stars in the mid spring.
VersaEmerge completed their second full run on the Vans Warped Tour that began June 25, 2010 in California. They played the Glamour Kills Stage the entire tour. Kusterbeck also played a game called Where the Fuck is Sierra? with fans on every date of the tour. The game was similar to hide and seek and the first ten fans to find her received a winning card which was also a cut the line pass for their signing.
On July 27, 2010, the band released the music video for the title track and first single off of Fixed at Zero on their Myspace page. It was later made available on YouTube.
On September 13, 2010, VersaEmerge announced that they would be headlining a tour in Fall '10 called the Vultures Unite Tour. They were joined by Anarbor, The Dangerous Summer and Conditions. The tour hit small venues across the US and also had two Canadian dates. It was claimed to be a "cinematic experience". The Dangerous Summer left the tour due to an altercation between Ingelido and members of The Dangerous Summer, as well as previous issues disclosed on Kusterbeck's Tumblr page.
The band appeared on the MTV documentary show World of Jenks on October 18, 2010. After the episode aired, VersaEmerge's fan base had grown substantially.
On December 10, 2010, Alternative Press announced that VersaEmerge would be one of five bands on the 2011 Spring Alternative Press Tour. Joined by VersaEmerge are Black Veil Brides, Conditions, D.R.U.G.S. and I See Stars.
In late December 2010, inspired by Josh Farro and Zac Farro's departure from Paramore and the terrible release of their exposé on vocalist Hayley Williams, as well as Ronnie Radke's full story behind his departure from Escape the Fate, former drummer Anthony Martone posted a blog telling about story of when he separated from the rest of the band, claiming Kusterbeck and he butted heads a lot and he was kicked out of the band.
On April 26, 2011, band member Devin Ingelido announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his wife and newborn son. His last show was on May 7, 2011. Nick Osborne (2005–2006) will be replacing him on bass for the UK/Euro Invasion tour. Later on it was announced that Nick Osborne will be coming back to the band as the bass player for VersaEmerge.
On August 23rd, 2011 they released a Live Acoustic EP. They have stated that they released it to satisfy their fans while recording their next album. The new album is said to be influenced by outer space, and instrumental clips have were released on the band's Facebook.
VersaEmerge was the opening act at the Fueled By Ramen 15th Anniversary show on September 9th, 2011. It was also their last scheduled show for the year 2011.
On November 29th, the band streamed their cover of "Santa Baby" on youtube. It would be made available on iTunes on December 20th. The music video for the song premiered on PureVolume on December 6th, 2011.
