by Deborah J. Draisin
North Jersey's Champagne Charade is Saetia
LaReoux on Vocals, Bobbie Venom and Kaedon
Grey on Guitar, Nicky Charade on Bass, and
Chris Crypts on Drums. They were formed from
the burnt ashes of Wait Until Dark in March
2007. Their hard-hitting five-song EP, “The
Takeover” was released that August and
the single “The Offering” off
that EP was featured the following April as
GarageBand.com’s “Hard Rock Track
of the Day.” They opened for Reggie
and the Full Effect on September 12 of this
year.
Q: I am a metal fan from way back, and I have
to tell you that you guys are one of the best
new metal bands I’ve heard in decades.
I know nobody likes to be compartmentalized,
so why don’t you guys tell me what you
want to present on a personal level? What
do you want people to take away?
Chris: Just a good show (band nods in agreement.)
People are paying money…
Bobbie: Yeah…
Saetia: Show you a good time, and also the
musical references - as far as being metal
or being rock - we want to use a couple of
different genres in our music so that we can
target different audiences. A lot of bands
nowadays are so specific. People will go to
a show to see what bands are playing, and
if two of them are metal and two of them are
rock, they’ll say “Well I only
like two…” We try to mix it up
a little bit so that everyone can have a good
time.
Kaedon: And how awesome would it be to play
a show, look out and say, you know “Hey,
there’s a rock dude, there’s a
metal kid, who the hell is that dude with
the pink and blue hair, you know mixing together…”
Q: I think blending the genres is very important,
I agree with that. Bands are always asked
about musical influences, but I think your
fans might be more interested to know who
your personal influences are – like
who inspired you guys to play music?
Saetia: My Dad.
Kaedon: I don’t know; I just wanted
it really bad - I moved out here to do this.
I really like Slayer, I really like Lamb of
God, Pantera and Ozzy… and seeing them
on a huge stage was really inspiring.
Chris: I just grew up around it. My Dad used
to play in bands…like 70’s and
80’s glam, that’s all I knew.
He was always the drummer, and then he became
the singer; I used to try and mimic him, playing
hangers on the pillows. One day he gave me
an opportunity to learn; we were fighting,
you know, not really getting along –
so he’d come over and give me an hour
and a half lesson. Then he’d go home
and when I’d see him the next weekend…
Q: He’d throw a drumstick at your head…
Chris: (laughing) Yeah…I had to practice
to be better than him, because I wanted to
be better than him. Now we get along really
well…through music, we actually became
closer. I was actually playing in my Dad’s
band for a while; it was like an 80’s
hair band kind of thing – good stuff.
Q: That’s great.
Bobbie: I’d have to say my buddy, Chris,
who’s the same age as me. We both started
out playing bass, and he actually switched
to guitar while I was still playing bass -
we just really pushed each other to become
better musicians. We’d practice and
drill for hours, just playing stuff that we
couldn’t play; he was just like “You
know what, Dude? I really want to play music.”
He just moved to California; just like went,
and started playing for this band Cowboy 9.
He actually gave it up to get married –
he did that a couple of times, with different
bands; he was in Texas. You know, he really
wanted it – he went all the way across
the country, didn’t even know these
guys - but just really went for it, and that’s
just like…yeah, he really inspired me.
Saetia: That kind of motivates you to be inspired.
Bobbie: Yeah…
Q: Oh, absolutely!
Saetia: Um, for me, you know, I’ve always
loved to sing - I’ve always been a singer.
My Mom was kind of a punk rocker when she
was younger…
Q: Cool!
Saetia: …and my father was a musician,
so we kind of always had it around. So, we’d
familiarize ourselves with it - my siblings
and myself. Then, when I kind of realized
that I wanted to be in a rock band, I think
I was 12 or 13. I went to my first local rock
show – it was actually E Town Concrete.
They’re not together anymore, but it
was really sweet. We knew one of the bands
that was playing with them, so they let us
go backstage. We stayed onstage to see the
band that played before them, and seeing the
audience was incredible. It was the most incredible
experience of my life, and as soon as I saw
the mayhem and the fun, I knew it was the
only thing I could be doing. You know; some
people are really good at math, and then they’re
accounting people. For us, we’re musicians,
and that’s what we do, and that’s
what makes us happy – and you know,
that’s what we’re here for. So,
just kind of knowing who I am and who we are
is probably what’s really driving us.
Q: Awesome!
Nicky: When I was little, I used to listen
to a lot of glam rock and stuff – I
didn’t think, at that age, that I could
make it to that level. In my early teens,
I discovered punk rock and hardcore, and I
was like: “You know, this is more relatable
– I can do this; this isn’t that
hard, it’s easy to play.” I played
in several bands like that, and then as I
progressed musically, I was able to do more
of the stuff that I was influenced by as a
kid.
Q:
I have a fifteen year old who’s trying
to become a musician, too, and that’s
definitely how it starts. There are some artists
in this band (indicating Chris) – are
we going to be seeing some of your artwork
gracing the covers of your new cd, is that
a thought in your head at all?
Chris: Mm, we talked about it earlier, but
then we decided “Eh, just get somebody
else to do it…”
Saetia: Yeah, Chris is a tattoo artist, so
he has a lot of experience drawing. He does
design a lot of stuff personally and for other
people, so there is that option as far as
collaboration goes, but for the most part…
Bobbie: He’s too expensive! (all laugh)
Saetia: Yeah…
Chris: I mean, I do it as my job; I don’t
want my job to be…
Q: You don’t want to mix the two together…
Chris: No…
Q: Does the band have a visual concept?
Saetia: (looking at Nicky) That’s probably
your department…
Nicky:
I think that may be Chris, our Fashion Consultant’s,
department (we all look over at Chris, who
passes the buck back to Nicky.) When I talk
to graphic artists, I try and push them in
that 80’s glam rock direction, with
like a big POP! - so we’re more recognizable.
I mean, there are so many bands that are like
stripped and dripped and it just all looks
the same, so I try to help set us apart from
the other bands.
Q: Oh yeah, I’ve noticed that already,
that people are starting to look alike.
Chris: Here you are paying money and they’re
hopping up there in sweatpants!
Saetia: Yeah, when you’re recording
in the studio, you get to wear sweatpants.
Bobbie: I like sweatpants! (all laugh)
Kaedon: I mean, you wouldn’t go and
be in a “Robin Hood” movie dressed
up in a tee shirt and jeans…
Chris: We’re nothing without the fans
- that goes for any band.
Q: They love to hear that…
Chris: …and we want to give that back
to them.
Saetia: If any other band has never said it,
then there’s a problem, because that’s
what it’s all about.
Q: They forget; they’re busy.
Saetia: If they forget that, they’re
probably retarded.
Q: I’m glad you guys brought up the
studio – does anyone have any weird
studio habits?
Chris: I demand…certain benefits, you
know? (all laugh)
Q: You got a tour rider going?
Chris: Yeah we have a little show rider (smiling.)
Nah, nothing really weird; I mean, we’re
honest with each other.
Q: Anyone go through Red Bulls constantly
or anything?
Bobbie: (shaking his head) No, no!
Saetia: (smiling) We drink a lot of energy
drinks, but we’re not too terribly odd.
Our work ethic is really intense – and
I think that goes for all of us. We’ll
go in every day; we’ll arrive at 7:00
a.m. and we’ll go to 3:00 in the morning.
We’ll just feel it; when we’re
recording, we’re feeling it –
we’re all a hundred percent, you know?
We’re into it.
Chris: We ride each other pretty hard, too
(all nod.)
Q: You guys threw this together really fast.
Saetia: (laughing and nodding) Yeah, we did!
Kaedon: This is something we know we want
to do – all of our hearts are in it.
Saetia: Yeah, our producer – he worked
with us on the EP as well as the new recording
(with the three song update) – his name
is Will Putney; he’s fabulous, he’s
right on our level, and he knows exactly what
we want to do. If we’re a little sensitive
or we’re feeling a little tired, he
pushes you.
Q: My fifteen year old checked you out –
he wanted to know who I was coming to see
today – and said “That is the
greatest thing I’ve heard, Mom, in a
while.” He’s really
impressed (band nods appreciatively, saying
“Wow!”)
Saetia: Well, that’s our demographic…
Q: Mm-hm, that’s what you guys want!
Okay, I’m gonna put you on the spot:
could you summarize your band in one word?
Kaedon: Interesting.
Chris: It’s a spectacle, I guess?
Nicky: Yeah…
Bobbie: Exciting!
Saetia: Hm, that’s tough; I have no
quote here; nothing inspiring.
Q: Yeah, that never happens when you need
it to…
Saetia: I guess just going back to the whole
motivation and dedication theme: to be in
a band is not easy; especially when you’re
just starting out - there’s so much
work that goes into it. There’s a lot
that you have to…
Random Person In Car: (yelling and honking
his horn) Yeah, Dudes! (band laughs and Saetia
waves)
Q: Fans driving by…
Saetia: You constantly have to give one hundred
and fifty percent…
Chris: Of your money, too…(Kaedon and
Bobbie laugh.)
Saetia: For me, I would just say you go big
or you go home; that’s the best quote
that I can give you, and I think that the
guys would go along with that as well. You’re
wasting your time if you can’t put all
of yourself into it.
Q: Oh, I agree; that’s a really good
attitude. So, where can we pick up this EP?
I know it’s out there…
Saetia: Well the EP is on iTunes, it’s
on Napster…you can buy it from a couple
of web pages, or you can download it from
myspace. We also have it on purevolume and
half.com. There’s plenty of places you
can get it – you can’t get it
any stores yet, but we’re working on
it.
Q:
Are you going to do a full-length, too?
Saetia: We were thinking about putting all
eight songs together – that would make
the cd long enough to be a full-length –
but we’re always writing. If we can
get back into the studio then we’ll
have some more.
Q: That’s great! Are we going to hear
– maybe – some new material tonight?
Saetia: Um…yeah we wrote a few…
Bobbie: (nodding) Couple of new songs…
Saetia: You’ll hear two new songs from
the update, yeah; we’re going to be
playing them tonight.
Q: Cool! Well alright, thank you for your
time; I’m definitely expecting more
exciting developments to come out of you guys!
Band: Thank you!
Where to catch them:
With New Tomorrow, November 5, 2008 –Dingbatz
– 200 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ
Cover: $10
Read Up, Listen Up, Catch a Video:
http://www.myspace.com/thechampagnecharade
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Champagne+Charade
http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=5468
http://www.reverbnation.com/thechampagnecharade
http://www.garageband.com/artist/thechampagnecharade
http://youtube.com/user/TheChampagneCharad
