Champion was an American
straight edge
Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
band formed by vocalist Jim Hesketh and guitarist Chris Williams in the spring of 1999 in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
History
Jim and Chris formed Champion and after a few months of shows, the band released its first
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
on
cassette
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Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
and went on a
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
tour of the United States. In the early days the band was plagued with constant line-up changes, but in 2000 the majority of the core lineup came together to release the ''Come Out Swinging'' EP on Platinum Recordings (Germany).
After playing with American Nightmare Timbomb suggested Chris Wrenn of Bridge Nine Records check out the band. After a couple of calls Champion joined the label
Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...
and recorded another
EP, entitled ''Count Our Numbers'', followed by the re-release of ''Come Out Swinging.'' They toured hard on these records and traveled with American Nightmare, Death Threat, The First Step,
Comeback Kid,
Terror, Slapshot, and
Sick of It All
Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sick ...
. They toured all over the US, Europe, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.
Champion's full-length LP, ''Promises Kept,'' was released on Bridge 9 Records. Right after this Andy joined and completed the core lineup of the band. After a second
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an tour and an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n leg, Champion toured the United States in early 2005. "In the spring they were to become one of the first Western independent act to visit the famous country of South Korea where Kill Your Idols and Ensign also played around 2001." 2005 also saw the band re-release their previous two EPs on one
CD, entitled ''Time Slips Away.''
The band announced through Bridge 9 on January 31, 2006, that they were disbanding, with a final show that occurred on May 27, 2006, at El Corazon in their hometown of Seattle, Washington. Their reasoning for breaking up can be found on their MySpace page. Here is a small excerpt:
With all the pressure to do another record and to tour, it wasn't what we "wanted" to do anymore; it was what we "had" to do. So before making any commitments that we would be bounded to, we decided to end it now, while everyone in the band was still friends and still loved everything we did as a band together. NO ONE SOLD OUT.
Since the breakup, all of the members of Champion have continued to be active in the punk/hardcore scene. Aram Arslanian played guitar in The First Step, The Vows, sang for Betrayed, and ran REACT! Records. He recently plays guitar in True Identity, Keep It Clear and plays bass in Union of Faith. Chris Williams sings in Dead Weight and played guitar The Vows, The Poverty Bay Saints, and The Crew as well as bass in Gone But Not Forgotten. Vocalist Jim Hesketh sang in ON and True Identity, who disbanded following accusations of sexual assault and rape from multiple women, all of whom were children at the time of the alleged assaults. Todd Preboski played drums in Betrayed and Lonewolf. Andy Norton played in Time to Escape and Warpriest currently sings in Praise and plays bass in Nerve Endings and Peace.
In 2020, Aram Arslanian formed the band CHANGE, who released the LP "Closer Still" on React! Records. Chris Williams performs live with the band.
Members
;Current members
* Jim Hesketh – vocals
* Aram Arslanian – guitar
* Chris Williams – guitar
* Todd Preboski – drums
* Andy Norton – bass
;Former members
* Ben Colton – bass
* Eagle Barber – guitar
* Timm McIntosh – guitar
* Joe Preston – drums
* Jeff Boltz – drums
* Nikki Platter – drums
* Sean Spear – bass
* Brandon Wallace – drums
Discography
* ''Demo Tape'' (1999)
* ''
Come Out Swinging
''Come Out Swinging'' is an EP by Champion. It was released in 2001 on Phyte Records (CD) and Platinum Recordings (7" Format) and re-released in 2003 on Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outsid ...
'' (
Platinum Records
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
, 2000)
* ''
Count Our Numbers
''Count Our Numbers'' is an EP by Champion. It was released in 2002 on Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachus ...
'' (
Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...
, 2002)
* ''
Promises Kept'' (
Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...
, 2004)
* ''
Time Slips Away'' (
Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...
, 2005)
* ''Champion/Betrayed split EP'' (Rivalry Records, 2006)
* ''
Different Directions'' (
Bridge 9 Records
Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...
, 2007)
References
External links
MySpace SiteBridge 9 Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion
Straight edge groups
1999 establishments in Washington (state)
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups disestablished in 2006
Hardcore punk groups from Washington (state)
Bridge 9 Records artists