The members of Sam Champion gather downstairs at the popular East Village rock club, the Mercury Lounge. It’s early and the band just finished a short practice session before tonight’s show. “That was a crappy sound check,” says frontman Noah Chernin, as he kicks up his feet and rests them on an old, rusty chair. It’s a green-room of sorts — the cubby-hole for bands beside the club’s beer storage room.
The rest of Sam Champion – bassist Jack Dolgen, guitarist Sean Sullivan, and drummer Ryan Thornton, fill up plastic cups with large doses of water, and then take a seat. Earlier in the day, the guys attended a photo shoot for Teen People; they were not allowed to smoke. Now Chernin and Thornton decide to light up.
Sam Champion formed in the summer of 2002, in New York City, as a duo comprised of Chernin and Thornton. The two pals performed original songs in concert along with a selection of Neil Young and Rolling Stones covers. “She’s The One” from The Ramones was also a favorite. Gradually, Chernin began writing songs with Thornton adding something new at every gig; he included more snare and bass drum; he played one-handed.
The band evolved into a three-piece when Dolgen came aboard in the fall of 2003. After the trio recorded its debut album, Slow Rewind in the winter of 2004, Sullivan joined on guitar and vocals. He rounded out the Sam Champion family. The indie band tries to uphold the aloof aesthetic of early nineties rock music. They deliver melodic pop music as lofty as Pavement and as grounded as Neil Young or Wilco. The group’s first disc compiles ten songs, which demand a listen.
“We were all friends before we started playing,” says Chernin. “I first met Ryan when I tour managed his band RANA for a while. I met Sean and Jack in college at NYC, and we all started hanging out in various clubs. Sean was in a band called These Bones. When they broke up, we took him.”
It’s interesting to note that Thornton, the oldest member of Sam Champion at 25, remains in his other successful band, RANA. The group recently returned to the studio to record its third album with the help of David Lowery from Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. RANA’s sound has been compared to the Talking Heads and Velvet Underground. Most importantly, the band includes Thornton’s friend from sixth grade, keyboardist Matt Durant, who often makes guest appearances on stage with Sam Champion.
“It’s great to be in two bands with my friends. RANA is really how it all started,” says Thornton, as he takes a drag of his cigarette. “I’m a little worried about the future. Both are going so well right now. I’m on tour with RANA, then Sam Champion, then RANA. I always make sure to let Noah know my RANA schedule way in advance.”
“Ryan’s solid drumming allows the other band members in Sam Champion the freedom to make mistakes and take chances,” adds Dolgen. Thornton was never formally trained to be a drummer. He taught himself ten years ago by listening to albums and trying out different songs. In fact, he plays like a lefty but is actually right-handed. “No one told me I was playing the wrong way,” he says, laughing. “Someday, I want to be a drummer who can do everything … but not flashy. I’m not there yet.”
Sam Champion is quick to say the band is not named after the popular weatherman in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area, but they would be psyched if he showed up at one of their shows and started rocking out. (No word yet from the blonde, very-tanned weatherman himself — He should be flattered!) Thank goodness the band also discovered the name is the lead character in the popular 1974 TV drama Murder of Mercy starring Bradford Dillman. Remember him?
“It’s more about the name than the man. It’s a fictional character, we’re gonna use that to save our asses,” says Thornton, laughing. “ABC isn’t that psyched about it.”
It’s like a group therapy session sitting in the middle of these four friends. We talked about the thrills of living in New York City, songwriting, partying, dating, the fans–and daytime jobs! The band is gaining more attention. They recently completed a tour of small clubs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. In one dive bar along the road, there was one moment when the band was on stage with another act. No one was clapping because everyone was on stage for an epic jam session. “The waitress from the bar was playing the tambourine. We rocked so hard, and after it ended, there was total silence. It was a total party on stage,” Dolgen recalls.
Sullivan says he hasn’t figured out a way to do the “after-party” thing following a gig. The guys are used to setting up their own equipment and taking down the set after each and every show. There are friends the band wants to hang out with, but responsibilities must receive priority treatment. By the time they take care of the gear, many of their pals have called it a night and gone home. The other half is waiting at the bar and too drunk when the band is ready to party.
“There are so many logistics. So much work to think about. I remember once I had to catch a cab, skateboard my amp up Avenue A with a broken leg,” recalls Sullivan. As the new guy to the group, the guitarist says that he’s never once gotten attention because he’s a musician. “I think the whole thing is a myth just like the whole after-party. Maybe when I get somebody to carry my amp, I’ll discover the after-party thing.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever played the right kind of music to pick up girls. At least in high school, that was the case. I listened to rock music. I would say to girls, ‘You want to hear this Sevendust song?’ and they were swooning over Dave Matthews,” ads Sullivan, with a grin that some have compared to Jim Carrey in The Grinch. “I wasn’t really smelly and I never had a Mohawk. I’ve always smelled good.”
Yes, Sullivan must smell quite good now because he and all of the other guys have girlfriends except Thornton; he is the one who has been known to try to start an 80’s dance party at the Hanger Bar. Women on the streets of New York have tried to get his attention by telling him point blank, “Hey I’m single,” before they’ve ever heard him play. “I’m oblivious to that stuff,” says Thornton. “But I would really like to find someone.”
Speaking of relationships, many of the songs from Sam Champion’s first album include tales of love gone awry. Most of the tracks on the record are ones Chernin wrote in his bedroom in Brooklyn a year ago. Before he got a computer, his routine was to call his cell phone and sing into his voicemail. “If I couldn’t remember the lyrics, I wouldn’t keep it,” he says.
The band recorded its debut in January 2004 at DUMBO studios in Brooklyn with producer Brian Rosenworcel of Guster. Looking back at songs like “It’s Getting Late, and “All Of Our Tomorrows,” Chernin believes he’s learned a lot about those past experiences. “At the time, it was very stream-of-consciousness. Not so linear. Now, I take a look at those lyrics and understand those songs a bit more now. A verse will make sense.”
In “All of Our Tomorrows,” Chernin sings like Neil Young from years ago, when he plays, “All of our tomorrows/Half of our todays/Distant from our sorrows/Closer to the grave.” Dolgen and Sullivan swirl guitars and float over Thornton’s skittish drums. “All of our tomorrows dignify with age/Lost and lonely lovers, lifeless and estranged/You know what they say/Yes, you know we’ve had a good life.”
The world surrounding Sam Champion will only get better when the band begins touring in support of the album, due in stores July 24. From ballads about small town Texas, to the fast-paced bar brawl sound of “Company Dance, there is something for everyone on this disc. Who knows? The band may get its way, and one day see its name spelled in lights on the top of the Empire State building. Just maybe they’ll get a crew to carry their equipment and end up at a hotel after-party with Kings of Leon.
Sam Champion Fun Facts
Day Jobs: During the day, Noah works for a booking agency in the city and Jack holds down a job at the New York Department of Parks in Harlem. Sean is the ice boy at the hotspot APT, a DJ bar in New York’s Meatpacking District.
Three Essentials They Can’t Live Without: Jack is the jokester – Water, Crown whiskey, and a cross between condoms and Yankee baseball; Noah – cigarettes, cheeseburgers and Harvest, a Neil Young album; Ryan – the opportunity to play drums, Red Bull or like-minded drinks, and his Volkswagen; Sean – bacon, an acoustic guitar and guacamole.
Favorite Way To Spend An Afternoon: To explore sweet places in New York City. To sit on the couch and play the guitar. Although Noah already calls himself a “Lifer” in NYC, he says he wishes the band could crack open a beer and practice more together on any given day. “It’s harder to do that when you live in the city.” Ryan loves to watch “Family Feud.”
Reality TV: Jack was in the final few seconds of the season finale for “The Apprentice 2.” The episode was filmed at Riverbanks Park at 145th Street in Harlem and Jack was there working. Sean’s family even called him up to say they caught a glimpse of Jack on TV.
Marriage: “It shouldn’t happen to me for another 15 years,” says Thornton.
Favorite Song to play Live: “It’s Getting Late” and “Company Dance”
Rap Music: Rap is great for bass lines and drum beats, declares Ryan. “Everyone says the same thing, about how rich they are and how hard they’ve had it. You hear one person say it, and it starts to sound like whining,” says Noah. But how many rock bands are singing about how much they miss their girlfriends, Ryan counters. “Okay, it’s exciting to see something new from any genre,” the lead singer elaborates. “I hear a lot of mainstream rock radio, and it’s very bland, the same stuff. I like the stuff that goes back further than hip-hop and rap. Further than Dre. I’d much rather hear bands that sound like Neil Young or Pink Floyd than a band that sounds like Coldplay or Radiohead.”
Leave it to Jack to add the last laugh: “No matter what the music, if there’s a sweet beat, if you’re in a club, it doesn’t really matter.”
Jennifer Harmon is a freelance writer, reporter and poet living in New York City. You can contact her at jdharmon03@hotmail.com
