by Margaret RegesAfter spending a few years playing in his brother Ed Baluyut's band, Versus, James Baluyut opted to go solo in 2001. The project was called Plus/Minus (+/-), and after a whirlwind year of writing and recording material, Baluyut released his first album, Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album, on Teenbeat Records in 2002. Baluyut was joined by Margaret McCartney and former Versus member Patrick Ramos on the album, but by and large it was Baluyut's baby -- he sang the songs, he played the instruments, and he even produced the album. He recruited a couple old friends to fill out Plus/Minus shortly after the first album was released -- Ramos joined the group on guitar and vocals, and Chris Deaner joined on drums. They got to work on some new songs, cobbling together what would become the band's signature synthy, jumpy sound. The group released its first EP, Holding Patterns, in 2004, and followed it up a few months later with its s...