Band: Champagne
From: Akron, Ohio
Their formation story:
(Shawn, vocals): "Frank and I have been friends for 20 years. We’ve always talked about doing a fast hardcore band together. We finally got serious about it and one day I randomly ran into Jeremy, an old friend from shows, at an antique store. I mentioned the idea to him and he was interested in doing the project with us. Involving Jeremy is really what made this band come together.
"I knew Gavin from going to shows and he’s the nicest guy in the world and figured he’d be a good bandmate so I reached out to him and he was also down for the project. Jeremy had great riffs from the start. They were actually too good. He would show us a part and Frank and I would say, 'Ok, make a riff like that but this time make it dumber.'"
Their sound in their own words:
"We started this band because we wanted to play aggressive hardcore in the vein of the bands we grew up loving. Champagne is heavily influenced by Integrity, Ringworm, Holding On, Outbreak, Right Brigade, Rival Mob, American Nightmare, The Suicide File, and The Hope Conspiracy.
"I don’t think we sound exactly like any of those bands but I like to think we’ve done a good job channeling the spirit of anger that all of those bands have and to me that is the most important part."
Latest release info:
"In September, we self released our debut self titled 7 song demo and that’s currently streaming everywhere. We are currently in the process of writing a new batch of songs and will be recording those soon. We plan to release new material this summer."
Future plans:
"Our next show is with Haywire in Cleveland on May 11th. We have a couple other local shows in the works and then we head to Boston for the Street Power record release show on July 26th with The Mongoloids, COA, and a bunch of other great bands.
"We’ll be turning that trip into a 4-5 show tour around the Northeast. The immediate future will consist of knocking out this next batch of songs and releasing new material soon."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Northeast Ohio is flooded with great bands right now and it’s awesome. The hardcore scene is healthy and thriving. Personally, I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight three Cleveland bands from the past that don’t get the love and respect they deserve. Search Bloc, Cheap Tragedies, and Masakari."
Champagne on social media: Instagram
Tagged: champagne
