By C.D. Di Guardia Photo By Marianne Bolduc

Before they abandoned their old system in favor of the metric system back in 1924, the Russians used the term ‘vershok’ for a measurement of length, equivalent to approximately 1.75 inches. Roughly eighty years later, Jason Seaver, Steve Trombley and Nick Given brought the term back into usage. The three musicians, along with original Vershok member Grant Paquin, had played in a few different bands together before coming together in 2004 to form The Vershok.

While the band’s sound has remained solid, they have changed their line-up a few times in the past couple years. For a four-person band, The Vershok has enough italicized band names such as “Bowling Loaded” and “Bang Camaro” on their resume in the form of “once known as-“ and “members of-“ and “formerly of-“ to qualify for near all-star band status. They find this fact slightly funny.

Their vision was a return to full-throttle rock music, a straight-line burn that leaves a jagged scar on the road. “It’s not ‘garage rock’ really,” hypothesizes Given, who stands at least 44 vershok tall, and he’s right. If The Vershok was to take place in a garage, it would be a cavernously greasy one around the corner from a cheap motel, full of large machines emblazoned with warning stickers.

Throughout the lineup changes, the general feel of the band has remained true to the original idea, and in August of 2006 they officially solidified their lineup with the addition of guitarist Graeme Hall, who comes predisposed to the hard-hitting lead-pipe rock mentality of the group. He rocks the faux-hawk, wears a tight leather jacket, and possesses what many would consider the ultimate piece of rock and roll credential.

“I like to come onstage and say ‘Hi, we’re The Vershok from London’,” smirks the leather-jacketed Graeme Hall in his sharp British accent. The spiky-haired guitarist freely admits that he doesn’t expect to fool many people. Who, after all, isn’t going to recognize the towering form of Given, especially when he wears that brilliant white denim jacket? Given, Trombley and Hall also function as core members of another local gang of sorts: the Bang Camaro choir, where everyone gets to cut loose.

Given isn’t able to writhe along the floor or undress female audience members with his teeth as much during Vershok shows, as he holds down the sizeable bottom end of the group’s combustible sound, which compares closely to that of Queens of the Stone Age.

The Devil Said is an eight-track sampler of the general spirit of the band. While they are chock full of fist-pumping bravado, there is a certain eloquence to the band’s writing, whether it’s due to Given’s humanized lyricism or the surprising hooks and melodies. Hooks and melody might not be expected in the thunderous wakeup of “Motel Pheromone” or the pipe-bomb subtlety of “Rape This Town,” but they are always present. It is their knack for bigger-than-life melody in concert with a similarly proportionate personality that captains many tracks on The Devil Said.

The record, like the band, is highly dynamic, with high points of varying flavor, culminating in the 9:37 “Joan of Arc.” It is perhaps in this lengthy track that one of The Vershok’s most endearing qualities sits. Even their medium-length songs, such as the stand-out “Secretariat,” often surpass the five minute mark. While this fact lamentably lessens the on-air appeal of many of The Vershok’s stronger tunes, it displays the group’s capability to write complete sounding songs, no matter which numbers the timer stops on.

Each member of the group seems generally pleasant, as in you don’t simply want to hear them play, you want to have a beer or seven with them afterwards. For a person whose size would allow him to be an immense tool, Given is friendly, talkative, and ready to take any actions necessary to maximize the action in any given situation. This is not a boring group to listen to or witness. Their dynamic could carry a live set, a record, or a reality television show. For now, they allow themselves to be contained to the stage, but they are not above spraying the audience with a little beer. They like to share.

www.thevershok.com