Champion Alberta

CHAMPION, ALBERTA was an indie 3-piece band from Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada, that has been in operation since 2002, but unfortunately broke up several months ago.
There members were: Rob Wood (guitar, vocals), Jason Stronciski (keyboards), and Tim Rechner (drums). Despite the breaking up, Rob and Tim answered some questions we sent them...

1. I heard of you as I bought all the 3inch eps released on the tiny UK label ‘I Wish I Was Unpopular’, and definitely my favourite band was CHAMPION, ALBERTA... I was astonished by that sound, a mix of MY BLOODY VALENTINE meets THE SEA AND CAKE dream-pop, and those 80s THE SMITHS’ guitars... I checked your website, and I tried to send you an interview but I never had an answer. I have been trying to get in touch with you, and finally Clayton, from Roast Records, told me that you broke up several months ago, I was surprised as there was no information about that fact... why didn’t you update your website?
Rob: I didn't announce that we'd broken up on the website because it felt like the wrong thing to do. The album we were in the midst of recording when we broke up may still be released at some point, so I thought it might be better to leave it open.
Tim: I have never been much of a computer guy. Rob is totally a computer guy so he was the one who was in charge of our website and our cyber pressence.

2. When did you break up? Why? you only released a fantastic ep and we wanted more! any possibility of CHAMPION, ALBERTA together again writing new beautiful songs and playing live?
Rob: We broke up less than a year ago, I think it was in March or April 2006. There isn't much possibility of CHAMPION, ALBERTA playing together again, but if someone offered us a million dollars, or even a thousand, I'm sure we'd consider it.
Tim: We broke up sometime last winter... it was sad but inevitable... Rob (our primary songwriter) didn't seem to enjoy the experience of playing in a band anymore and that was in my eyes the main reason for our demise. I don't see any possibility of CHAMPION, ALBERTA reuniting.

3. Why did you choose CHAMPION, ALBERTA if you live in Edmonton, 4 hours driving from the small town of Champion? which is your relationship with the city of Champion?
Rob: CHAMPION, ALBERTA seemed like a bad idea at the time, so we went with it. It ended up being a good decision since it reflects where we're from (the province of Alberta) but is still unusual enough for people to want to find out more about us.
Tim: Picking a band name is one of the hardest things in the world. I liked the idea of being named after a place... in the spirit of bands like CHICAGO, CHILLIWACK, TORONTO, ALABAMA, etc... Edmonton is referred to by local patriots as the city of champions so the name of our band was a bit of a play on that whole thing... I think we hoped that one day our music would grow beyond our city limits and provincial borders and that Champion, Alberta would become a more abstract term.

4. Did you play a lot of gigs with CHAMPION, ALBERTA? Only in Edmonton or also in other cities?
Rob: We played live a lot between 2002 and 2004. During that time Edmonton's music scene was massive enough that you could play as often as you liked. We toured Canada once, in the summer of 2004, and played in cities like Montreal, Toronto, and Thunder Bay. We've also played numerous times in Vancouver, Victoria, and even Calgary.
Tim: We played millions of shows in Edmonton, a few in Calgary, a few in Vancouver and Victoria and we did one cross Canada tour, I think that was in the summer of 2003.

5. Tim, now you are playing in another Roast Records’ band called NO HANDS, but the style is different, which one do you prefer?
Tim: I love NO HANDS but I also loved CHAMPION, ALBERTA. The styles are different. It is like comparing an apple with an orange. Both are tasty and nutritious. I would not be in a band if i was not really into it. I play for the passion. I have never made any money from playing in a band and it requires an amazing ammount of energy and time. I also play in a band called ELECTRICITY FOR EVERYBODY!

6. Rob, which is your opinion of Tim’s new band, NO HANDS?
NO HANDS is a great band. Have you got their EP? It's certainly one of the best recordings ever made by an Edmonton band.

7. How is the music scene in Edmonton? Can you tell us about some interesting bands from Edmonton that we should listen to?
Rob: The music scene in Edmonton was big between 2002 and 2005, probably the best in Canada at that time. It seemed, for a while at least, as if everybody was starting a band and there were shows every night of the week. A lot of the bands from that time have broken up (like us) and there haven't been many new bands forming to replace them. I personally don't go to shows anymore, so I'm probably not the best person to ask what's happening at the moment.
Tim: The music scene in Edmonton is up and down from year to year , it seemed extremely amazing a few years ago with bands like THE FLOOR, THE VERTICAL STRUTS, THE WOLFNOTE and PORNADA but these bands have broken up. Good bands that are around now: FAUNTS, WHITEY HOUSTON, THE LAST DEAL, THIS CIVIL TWILIGHT, FIELD AND STREAM, DOWN NORTH, BRAZILVILLE, THE BUMMERS, THE CITY STREETS, FRACTAL PATTERN, DEAD CITY SERPEANTS.

8. As almost no-one lives on music nowadays, what do you do in a normal day?
Rob: I'm a student of literature at the moment, and I'm also writing short stories and working very slowly on a novel which will never be published. I occasionally make electronic music on my laptop, but I can't see myself releasing anything or playing shows ever again, unless someone offered me money.
Tim: I am a visual artist: www.timrechner.ca. I survive off government grants, the odd sale of artwork and a few other small projects... Jason is a junior high school teacher.

9. How did you get in touch with the small “I Wish I Was Unpopular” UK label?
Rob: Roast is run by Clayton from NO HANDS. Everybody in Edmonton knows everybody else, so the connection is pretty obvious. Alistair at Unpopular reviewed a compilation we were on, and so I sent him ‘The silk purse’. It went from there.
Tim: Rob hooked that up.

10. Tell us about your city, Edmonton, is it a beautiful place? Tell us some good reasons to go there and visit it...
Rob: Edmonton is a terrible place, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves.
Tim: Edmonton has a flourishing arts community at least in the summer months, there are a lot of amazing arts festivals from spring to autumn that make the scene seem vibrant. There is a relatively low cost of living compared to most large Canadian cities. There is opportunity to do what you want to do without spending all of your time working at a job. For me as a serious working studio artist there is alot of funds available, cheap studio space and a supportive arts community.

11. Which music do you listen to? Your favourite bands?
Rob: I don't listen to very music at the moment.
Tim: I really like THE CONSTANTINES, SONIC YOUTH, ARCADE FIRE, THE SEA AND CAKE, PAVEMENT, SEBADOH.

WEB: http://www.sequentialrandomist.org/championalberta/