Former Champions, perhaps Richmond’s most prominent jam-rock band, is set to play at the Summer Solstice Wine Festival at Grayhaven Winery in Gum Springs, Virginia this weekend. Touring behind their second album, Special FX Machine, the group is hitting the festival scene pretty hard this summer.
Former Champions, perhaps Richmond’s most prominent jam-rock band, is set to play at the Summer Solstice Wine Festival at Grayhaven Winery in Gum Springs, Virginia this weekend. Touring behind their second album, Special FX Machine, the group is hitting the festival scene pretty hard this summer.
Starting out in Richmond, whose music scene is heavily dominated by punk and metal, drummer Geoff Bakel said they were never too worried about fitting in. “We’ve tried to delve into a variety of different styles of music. We never really thought about how to fit in. We’re just trying to play music we’re all inspired by.” Drawing on inspiration from rock, electronica, jazz, and so much more, Future Champions set out to showcase this sound on Special FX Machine. “We were trying to do something more than the live show, really utilize the studio in terms of overdubbing and effects. We wanted to focus more on really bring out the compositions,” Geoff said.
Soon after releasing Special FX Machine, the band found themselves booked as the opening act for Lotus at The National. “I think it was sold out. And that’s a big stage for us,” Geoff said. “We play a lot of smaller venues so a place like The National is huge. The sound we have is more geared towards a bigger venue: the subs and stuff that we incorporate. A bigger venue allows us to back off and [let] the speakers do a lot of the work.”
Former Champions will hopefully find themselves on plenty of big stages this summer; it’s the season for festivals, and they’ll be playing quite a few. Having appeared at big name festivals such as Camp Bisco and Floyd Fest in the past, Geoff says that Former Champions are set to play about a dozen festivals this summer. “Festivals are really where it’s at. Getting in front of new people that wouldn’t have seen you otherwise. People come up to us at small gigs all the time and say they saw us at such-and-such festival–it’s great PR,” Geoff said. Some of the festivals that Former Champions will be playing include the Under The Stars Festival, Bele Chere, Big Dub Fest, The Big Up, Mantrabash, Front Porch Fest, and Pink Moon Festival, so if you’re going to any of those, keep an eye out for them.
It’s not all festivals this summer for Former Champions–or at least, not all music festivals. On Saturday, June 22, they will be traveling to Gum Springs, Virginia (45 min. West of Richmond on I-64) for the Summer Solstice Wine Festival at Grayhaven Winery. This will be their second year playing the festival. “The guy who puts it on saw us live and invited us to play. He’s a cool guy. We just want to do something a little different,” Geoff said. “It’s a good time. Anyone in Richmond who likes wine and good music should come.”
Geoff promises that the band will be back to their home city of Richmond, Virginia by early fall. But for now they are working on a steady tour of the East Coast and a new EP. Their sound has changed since releasing Special FX Machine just a couple months ago, so they are releasing a four song EP later in the summer that will be more representative of what they’re currently doing. “We’re really excited about working with the studio and really utilizing it,” Geoff said. They also have a few date with Ghost Owl (Perpetual Groove sans Brock Butler) lined up for the summer.
Keep your pinky fingers high, get yourself a box of Franzia, button up your linen shirt and head out to Gum Springs to see Former Champion at Summer Solstice Wine Festival at Grayhaven Winery on June 22. For more info and some free music, check out their website: http://www.formerchampions.net
