V.B.S.

ORIGINS: Hornsby, NSW

GENRE: Hardcore

YEARS ACTIVE: 1998-2001

 

MEMBERS:

• Mitchell Bingemann - Vocals
• Mark Smith - Bass
• Tyler Troy - Guitar
• Paul Tooth - Drums (1998)
• Jason Suplina - Drums (1999-2001)
  
• Nate Geoffrey - Guitar (1999-2001)

RELEASES:

• Demo (1998) - Split with Meataxe

• Violent Hornsby Straightedge Compilation (2000) - Download Here.
• 1. Garbage Face Lisa
• 2. Adrian
• 3. P.S.B.S.

SUMMARY: With an acronym that does not stand for 'Voice Beyond Reason', this teenage Hornsby hardcore band arose around the same time as their peers S. Van, Meataxe, Nintendo Police, and Fistfull. VBS played a handful of shows and found their way onto the iconic Violent Hornsby Straight Edge before breaking up.

 

SHOWS: 

• Hornsby PCYC, Hornsby - 20th February, 1999
• Lane Cove Youth Centre, Lane Cove - 17th December, 1999
• Hornsby PCYC, Hornsby - 20th February, 2000
• Iron Duke, Alexandria - 7th April, 2000 [Did not end up playing]
• Hornsby PCYC, Hornsby - 6th May, 2000
• Pennant Hills Community Centre, Pennant Hills - 8th July, 2000
• Hornsby PCYC, Hornsby - 25th February, 2001

ORAL HISTORY:

MITCH: We were just snotty, angsty teens growing up in Pennant Hills. Everything around us felt staid, static, and boring - and punk was an obvious and exciting counter to everything we saw. We mostly got into hardcore and punk through our friends' older brothers, who gave us a crash course n late '80s punk, thrash, and hardcore. Musically, we were pulling from bands like FYP, Propagandhi, DRI, Flycop, 7 Seconds, Youth of Today, and Beastie Boys. But honestly, we were just as inspired by the locals bands playing Hornsby PCYC shows back in the day. We just wanted to be part of that energy.

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

TYLER: The music I listen to that influences me are bands such as Eye Spy, Citizen Fish, Swallowing Shit, and Culture Shock. 

Tyler Troy (Guitar), Counter Attack Issue 3, 1999

MITCH: What does VBS stand for? Well, it all started one night when me and my cousin Nick were fooling around... wait a sec, we can't reveal our true names. In the hardcore scene call us 'Voice Beyond Sense' because we don't want to be beaten up... Our aim is just to have fun and play music. 

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Counter Attack Issue 3, 1999

MITCH: Honestly, I can't remember the exact origin. Three-letter acronyms were all the rage with the thrashy bands we listened to at the time, and FYP was definitely a massive inspiration on that front. I remember at our initial band practices, we were attempting Propagandhi covers before our poor musicianship forced us to pivot to thrashier, simpler stuff. Someone threw the name 'Voice Beyond Sense' around, but we all thought it sounded way too serious. So, we went with 'Vicious Bum Sex' instead, or simply, VBS. I'm not sure we ever explicitly nailed it down, we were pretty happy to let people decide what the letters stood for themselves.

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

Incomplete Crap Issue #1, 2000

MITCH: Our first lineup shift happened when original drummer Paul went off to private school. We maintained a solid friendship for years but he eventually got into the rave scene and just stopped answering our phone calls. That's when Jason ame in. We were all the better and significantly thrashier for it.

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

JASON: When I was a kid I used to listen to The Cure's Three Imaginary Boys at my grandma and uncle's place in his dark, dank room by myself. I got  told by my uncle that I'm the drummer. Later on, I started listening to my brother's CD collection. I moved from Nirvana into music like Nancy Vandal's 123 Baby Yeah and The Porkers' Big Backyard. Eventually I heard FYP's Incomplete Crap. Going to the Beastie Boys concert in Year 7 with a bunch of friends from Pennant Hills High led to me hanging around Mitchell and Tyler. I started jamming with Tyler and another friend, Beard, but it wasn't really a band. Eventually Paul left VBS and they asked me to play drums for them. At that time the only punk I could play was FYP songs that I'd jam on with my brother. I don't think I  really knew what hardcore was in today's idea of it. I was just into fast, heavy, weird music. VBS asked me to play a week or two before a house party that they were supposed to play with Paul on drums. So we had a jam or two and I could (barely) play four songs by the time of the party. And we played those - basically just to our school friends at this party. Then we tried to jam on other VBS songs but that just sounded like a mess and we stopped. 

Jason Suplina (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

NATE: By the time I joined the band the original drummer Paul Tooth had left and Jason Suplina was on the sticks. I don't remember exactly how I ended up in VBS though things were going badly in another band I was in at the time as the drummer was having some issues and had a somewhat unhinged brother who was making practise hard, and at the time the most mature option seemed  to be to jump ship and join another band... what a great friend I was back then, haha. Anyway, at some point I was invited to join the band as second guitarist. I like to think it was because of my sharp chops on the axe but there's every chance it was because I was a year older than the other guys and had a driver's licence and car...

Nate Geoffrey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

MITCH: All the Hornsby shows hold a special place, but two shows specifically come to mind as memorable. I remember doing a Lane Cove show at the Community Hall with Fistfull, which was awesome. The other was a Chris Shields memorial show at Pennant Hills, which was also memorable because it was largely bands made up of his close mates - and also because my cousin Nick decided to dack me and expose my cock and balls mid-song. Another stand-out was an Iron Duke show that we were pumped to play but never actually did. We ere 16 at the time, and Iron Duke shows were strictly 18+. We used to jump the back fence by climbing a dumpster and would sneak in to watch bands like AVO and The Blurters. We somehow blagged an appearance on a lineup, but when the publican found out we were underage he dragged us up to a hotel room to decide what to do with us. We eventually got kicked out. 

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

NATE: We played a couple of shows and house parties, which was heaps of fun. I remember one where the 'stage' (I use that term loosely) was on an angle and sliding into the mud as we played. I think a few of us had probably had shrooms or something so it was a lot of fun and everyone got into it even though no one at the party was really into hardcore. I think we covered a Beastie Boys song, 'Egg Raid on Mojo'. I vaguely remember playing a Pennant Hills show as well... it was totally mental. Neil from The Kill had a table covered in fluorescent light tubes and barbed wire or something - he jumped on it, face down... I wasn't so interested in the antics but I was big fan of Robbie's songwriting (The Kill, also from Open Wound) and I got to hang out with him after the show. I was super intimidated but he was really chill. We were just kids and these guys were like serious musicians to me. 

Nate Geoffrey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

Counter Attack Issue 3, January 1999

MITCH: We did a demo tape or two, one with Meataxe. We also appeared on the Violent Hornsby Straight Edge compilation with all our mates and the other area bands at the time. There was talk of also doing a split 7" at some stage but I can't remember who it was with or why it died. Probably because we were terrible. 

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

NATE: The Violent Hornsby Straight Edge comp is more to do with Mitch. Mitch is more friendly with that crew and might have known Jay (who put it out). I was a stoner so I was ideologically opposed to what they were about at the time, haha. Jason is Damien Suplina's brother (whose band Meataxe also featured on the comp), so it could have been through Jase as well. 

Nate Geoffrey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

Review of Violent Hornsby Straightedge Comp in Harbour City Hooligans Issue 1, 2000

JASON: I think Mitchell wanted to play in a straight edge hardcore band and the rest of us were very anti-straight edge - leaning more into hippie crust powerviolence kids. Hence our outrage when our band was put out on a comp called Violent Hornsby Straight Edge, when that represented everything that disgusted us. 'Violent Straight-edge' probably conjures ideas of slam dancing and crowd killing in 2025, but back in 2000 it also extended off the dance floor to everyday violence. For example, driving around throwing urine on random people sitting at cafes, harassment and assault of vulnerable people using drugs and alcohol, or generally snarky in-group/out-group mentality. So it was disgusting to be put on this comp glorifying the violence and harassment we were experiencing and witnessing in our lives. And the first time we saw it was when we were handed the CD. I'd like to add - despite this, we all still remained good friends. It was a kind of disparity that existed on a different level above our personal friendships. These were some of the smartest, funniest and kindest people I've ever met. And I was lucky to go high school with each of them.  

Jason Suplina (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

NATE: I think the image of community was stronger in the straight edge scene. They referred to themselves as 'crews' and stuff like that; went  out tagging and doing mildly gang-adjacent stuff that I always saw as a bit derivative of US culture or something, but that might have also been jealousy on my part, haha. They all had a good time and great friendships that lasted the test of time, so I was probably just an arrogant little shit. I would spend a lot of time at whoever's house had the latest hardcore record - with a hash pipe, beers, and guitars - working out riffs or just banging our heads. 

Nate Geoffrey (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

NOTES: The end of an era? Or just some shit sound that came out of the Hornsby area? S. Van, Meataxe, and VBS have all called it quits for various reasons.

Incomplete Crap Issue #1, 2000

MITCH: The reality is - we were untalented, snotty, and no good. We just naturally petered out. Musically, we all started going in different directions and the band just reached its natural conclusion. 

Mitchell Bingemann (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2026

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