Champagne Sunday
A toast to originality
By Chris Jay 04/12/2007
Kitchen sink rock: It’s a tough time for original rock bands in Ventura County. These days, it seems anyone who spends more time on songwriting than screaming will end up in a coffeehouse battling to be heard over espresso machines and clinking silverware. Long gone are the glory days of Café Voltaire, when the area’s more subdued acts had a home base to cultivate a healthy scene.
Nobody should pine for those days as much as Champagne Sunday, a band that, if it had been around in the late ’90s, probably would have been the center of that vibrant scene.
Comprising singer-guitarists Jessi Reems-Terrell and Jared Fredeen and bassist Thom Thomas, the band, which formed in May 2005, has at least succeeded in creating a truly original sound. Pooling their influences — from rock to folk and everything in between — the musicians have a tough time classifying themselves.
“We have such a hard time answering people when they ask us what we kind of music we play,” Reems-Terrell says. “Lately we’ve been covering all bases and going with rock-blues-jazz-folk-pop-country-musical theater.”
Venturan Idol: Surprisingly, the band’s “throw it in a pot and hope it cooks” mentality does not hurt the songwriting. From the perfectly sublime groove of songs like “With You” to the hauntingly gorgeous “Music Box,” it’s obvious the guys and gal of Champagne Sunday respect the craft.
Most of all, Reems-Terrell is an absolute powerhouse as lead vocalist — quite possibly the best female singer the local music scene has to offer. Reminiscent of a Norah Jones with personality, she’s an engaging performer with pipes that, in a perfect world (or just maybe one in the not-so-distant future), would have record industry weasels knocking on the door.
Leavin’ town: So what’s a right-place-at-the-wrong-time band to do?
Take a tip from the headbanging world that shuns them and hit the road for their first-ever national tour. Booking themselves in everywhere from coffeehouses to clubs to schools, the four-piece is intent on getting its music heard one way or another.
Lucky for us locals, despite the band’s lack of proper attention in these parts, it hasn’t given up on us. It’ll be pulling double-duty on the weekend, with a stop at Franky’s on April 13 and Café Bella the following night.
The date the group is most looking forward to, though, and is the tour kick-off show on April 22 at, of all places, Yolie’s Fresh Mex. They've rented the outdoor patio for the big night and are planning on having a slew of surprise guests from the scene dropping by, including their current percussionist, local legend Maximum Bob.
Be sure to stop by and pay one of the county’s most original bands the respect it deserves — before the rest of the country beats us to it.
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