As opposed to last time when we only had one day to write three songs and learn a cover, the Champagne of Bands actually rehearsed TWICE before this show.  I know, I know – but we’re perfectionists like that.

The cool part of this show was that each of us performed with our individual projects before the reunion.  Duncan Wilder Johnson did his spoken word thing, delivering hilarious and touching stories of heavy metal and friendship.  Bo Barringer played solo.  On bass.  It was unbelievably compelling and innovative.  Sidewalk Driver played a beautiful acoustic set, including a cover of Sade’s “Smooth Operator.”  And Kuuluuko brought the house down with a scorching blues/rock set.

As for us, the Best Intentions were once again down a man, but Jason Dunn of The Luxury ably stepped in.  Not to brag or nuttin, but we felt pretty g-darn good about our performance.  We brought the rock and roll to this sleepy town on a Tuesday night like it hasn’t been broughten in a wee bit. 

Here was the problem – I gave it all during my set… completely forgetting that I had to play ANOTHER set with my OTHER band.  In that brief moment in between the two sets, I realized exactly how old and decrepit I really am.

Luckily, playing with the fellas in Champagne of Bands gets the adrenaline pumping.  Here’s our first song, “Boston Band Crush:  The Song (a.k.a. Ode to Sophia)”:

And here’s the new song we wrote for the occasion, aptly entitled “Reunion”:

Not to get all sensitive on you, but I do feel very fortunate to have been randomly placed in this band with these four guys.  I’m grateful to not only have them as bandmates, but as friends.  This is definitely not the last you’ve seen of the Champagne of Bands.

All of our (relatively) hard work will pay off tomorrow night at the Middle East Upstairs.  Stop by around 8.30 for a viewing of the One Night Band documentary, followed by some spoken word by Duncan Wilder Johnson.  Then, music from Bo Barringer, Sidewalk Driver, me and my Best Intentions, and Kuuluuko.

The culmination of it all will be our much-anticipated return to the stage.  We’ve even got a new epic song for you.  Don’t miss this one!

On the eve of our big Champagne of Bands reunion, I talked to the enigmatic Mr. Barringer over email while he was holed up in his underground bunker…

Brendan Boogie:  I’ll start with the question I’ve been asking everyone – what has been your favorite part about working with me?

Bo Barringer:  I was looking forward to working with you because of your sharp wit and deft pop songwriting skills, but I (as I imagine everyone who works with you must…) came to really appreciate your manly musk….yeah, definitely your manly musk.

Brendan:  You were once described by my drummer Justin as “an affable chap” and a “man about town.”  Is that a fit description or would you other terms to describe yourself?

Bo:  Obviously Justin hasn’t talked to my MEandJOANCOLLINS and Mascara bandmates….

Brendan:  Why don’t you give the folks reading a brief history of your musical and creative endeavors.  Try to keep it pithier than Duncan, who answered this question with a 12-page resume I had to edit down.

Bo:  Born. Played Music. Died. (is that too long? ’cause I can probably edit it down a little if you want…)

Brendan:  As Boston’s most beloved Bo, with whom do you relate more – Bo Jackson or Bo Duke?

Bo:  I thought I WAS Bo Duke when I was a kid.  But my world was shattered when i found out Daisy wouldn’t ever be my cousin.  I hated Bo Jackson for all of the “Bo knows” commercials.  You can only imagine how many times, i heard that one…or “Bo don’t know Diddley,”  So I kinda hate him too.  (Even though the Bo Diddley beat is one of man’s great accomplishments of the 20th Century.)  Beau Bridges is kinda cool, but he spells it the wrong way.  (And I wanted to punch him in the Fabulous Baker Boys.)  And don’t even mention that douche-nozzle from American Idol.  So I would have to say Bo Derek.

Brendan:  What was your favorite memory of One Night Band?

Bo:  Playing lead guitar all over the place!  It was awesome. I felt like Slash’s gay British cousin or something.  I mean, how do you guys put up with that(!) Your song was one long guitar solo for me.  And the power ballad…I should have been fired onstage.  The only reason I didn’t solo on Duncan’s song was because he threatened me in the parking lot.

Brendan:  Ever since we’ve worked with Cullen, I have been convinced that this “nicest guy in the world” thing is just an act and that he’s secretly some sort of “Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs” type character.  When we were rehearsing in his house, did you find any overweight lotion-covered women in holes?

Bo:  Why do you think I kept disappearing to “go to the bathroom?”

Brendan:  Other than the Champagne of Bands reunion on Tuesday, what else do you have coming up that the good people should know all about?

Bo:  I’ve been hibernating ever since the One Night Band last summer.  This reunion is a chance for me to get out of the house and let people know I’m still alive…(rumor has it I may resurface the last Thursday in Feb for a solo show at Somerville Armory…)

Brendan:  I’ve described the Champagne of Bands as akin to Voltron in that we are all substantial lions in our own rights, but our power truly comes when we are united into a giant robot with a sword.  Which color lion are you and why?

Bo:  Voltron? Is that like a space age birth control device? Sounds like a futuristic chastity belt.  Birth Control is such an awful term.  I prefer contraceptive myself.  But i’d have to say my favorite color is fried chicken…

Brendan:  What are you most looking forward to about this Tuesday’s big Champagne of Bands reunion at the Middle East Upstairs?

Bo:  Oh, that’s THIS Tuesday? Shit, really?  Cause I have something going on that night.  Damn.  Sorry guys…

Check out the tasty licks of our favorite fried chicken-colored Bo Derek lookalike THIS TUESDAY at the Middle East Upstairs!

Tad took a moment before his New York City show to answer a few of my stupid questions over email…

Brendan Boogie:  I’ll start with the question that’s on everyone’s mind – what has been your favorite part about working with me?

Tad McKitterick:  Your cologne is very appealing to me.

BB:  You are the front man of the great Sidewalk Driver.  In the Champagne of Bands, you had to share the stage with some of Boston’s most charismatic front men.  I have a two-part question:  a) What was it like to be so thoroughly outshined? and b)  Are you going to cry about it?

TM:  I don’t think of it as being outshined, I think of it as if I were, let’s say, Ron Jeremy, getting nailed by Jeff Stryker all whilst jerking-off Peter North. I mean everybody wins (except the audience).  And yes I’m gonna cry about it.  Tears of fuckin pure joy.

BB:  Why don’t you give my lovely readers a brief history of your band and your creative endeavors over the past two decades or so.

TM:  2 decades ago I was 13.  Singing Queensryche and Judas Priest songs in my bedroom.  That’s pretty much stayed the same for the past 2 decades.  Then came Sidewalk Driver.

BB:  If you were to give each member of the Champagne of Bands a “For The Love of Ray J”-style nickname, what would they be?

TM:  Bo – Lashes
Brendan – Fluffy
Cullen – Popeye
Duncan – Gatling

BB:  What was your favorite memory of One Night Band?

TM:  Other than the actual show, it would be Duncan saying “I’ve never written a song with ‘oohs’,” and Brendan replying “I’ve never written a song without them’.”

BB:  Seriously, in a band full of frontmen, who do you think is the actual best frontman in the Champagne of Bands?  No one’s reading this.  It’s just between you and me, pal.

TM:  I’m sure that Duncan, in his element, would be hard to top.  So.  Much.  Intensity.

BB:  Other than the Champagne of Bands reunion, what do you have in store in the future for us?

TM:  An erotic/fun history facts calendar.

BB:  What are you most looking forward to about this Tuesday’s Champagne of Bands reunion at the Middle East Upstairs?

TM:  Wednesday.

Check out Sidewalk Driver’s excellent new album “For All The Boys and Girls,” available at the band’s website. 

Along with joining us for our grand finale reunion, Duncan will be regaling us with a very funny spoken word performance at the Middle East Upstairs this Tuesday February 9.  Here’s my convo with my boy Duncan…

Brendan Boogie:  Let me start the way I started with Cullen – what is your favorite part about working with me?

Duncan Wilder Johnson:  I really enjoy that you are one a different part of the spectrum than myself.  You’re approach to songwriting is very different than mine and it’s really enlightening.  As a person who never studied musical theory, but took some guitar lessons as a kid and then listened to a lot of 80’s Hardcore Punk, 90’s Hardcore/Metalcore, and eventually a lot of classic Metal and Thrash, my musical back ground is based on listening, emulating my heroes, and now using my own natural and unique voice (by voice I don’t just mean what comes from my larynx, but my whole being as an artist).   Oh and I like that “I Remember Teenage Girls” song.

BB:  The name of your book is “How I Fell In Love With Punk Rock.”  I was thinking of writing the sequel “How I Fell In Love With Late 70’s Easy Listening Mellow Gold.”  Any advice, one writer to another?

DWJ:  Why are you asking me about it instead of doing it?  Just start writing, NOW.  I’ll help you edit it later.

BB:  Why don’t you give my readers a brief history of your musical and creative life from birth to about ten minutes ago?

DWJ:  Bands -  Bring the Knife, Flux Capacitor, Destruct-a-thon, Kill It All Away, Duncan Wilder Johnson & T.S. Mike Carnes, Green Machine, High Rocktane, Sister Silver, Hillside 176 (aka The Satones), After The Fact, Two Minute Hate, Aslouchen, The Mushroom Men (we had a million names but more to the point we just went skateboarding).

Non-band creative endeavors – spoken word, Bad Girrls Studio, photography.

BB:  As a guy with three names, who do you relate to more: Jan Michael Vincent or Harry Dean Stanton?

DWJ:  Harry Dean Stanton, definitely.  He was in Paris, Texas and the undeniable cult classic REPO MAN (sick soundtrack).

BB:  During One Night Band, you were the only punk/metal guy in the band.  What was it like to have to deal with us wusses who concerned ourselves with such meaningless bullshit as “chords” and “melody” and “singing in key”?

DWJ:  Awesome.  I love to hear new approaches to creative problems.

BB:  What was your favorite part about the original One Night Band?

DWJ:  Walking up and rocking the shit out of people.  When we lit into The Pixies cover, the place just went ‘off’!  At least, that’s how I remember it.

BB:  If it weren’t for One Night Band, what do you think the chances would be of you and me being on the same bill together?  Or even meeting, for that matter?

DWJ:  Pretty slim, but I do run into you at The Rock N’ Roll Socials now and again.

BB:  Do you have any trash to talk about any of our other Champagne of Band-mates?

DWJ:  Nope.  This thing rules.

BB:  Other than the reunion, what other projects do you have in the works to which the people can look forward?

DWJ:  Bring The Knife (new metal band).  A few spoken word shows – I’m starting a series of Sunday afternoon shows at O’Briens that will be either monthly or every other month called The Spoken Word Hangover.  I’m hunting a publisher for my book Dude, Your Band Sucks.  And I’m slowly, very slowly but persistently, working on a documentary about Sam Black Church with the working title of We Are The Bastards, which is due out when it’s competed.

BB:  What are you most looking forward to about the big Champagne of Bands reunion on February 9 at the Middle East?

DWJ:  Rocking the shit out of that room.

Keep checking back on this space for more interviews with my fellow Champagne of Band-mates, providing Tad makes bail.

For those of you not in the know, Champagne of Bands was formed by the good folks over at Boston Band Crush this summer for the exciting One Night Band project.  Read all about it here and then come back to read my chat with the always affable Mr. Corley. 

Brendan Boogie:  So the most important question – what’s been your favorite part about working with me?

Cullen Corley: No warm up questions?  Let’s see – I enjoy your presence as a person, first and most importantly – you’re positive and fun and easy to work with.  You may have your songwriter order-giving sensibilities but you aren’t hung up on them.  I’ve worked with songwriters before who would take things personally; a disagreement wasn’t only an artistic choice, but commentary on their ideas simultaneously which was sticky.  So I think your positive nature and immediate-opinions-with-flexibility would be the short of it.

BB:  Wow – you’re being actually nice. Most people use that question as an excuse to get into ball-busting.

CC:  I figured so; it was a loaded question.  But I think you gave me the runner-up for nicest person award in a ONB interview, so really I’m just keeping up appearances.

BB:  Once again, you’ve cemented your legacy. Why don’t you tell the folks about your band with the unpronouncable name?

CC:  Well, it’s a blues rock duo, sort of like Black Keys but on the harder, faster side.  You know I wish I had my video camera one day when my bandmate, Stephen Salazar, was talking with a hip-hop producer we met at a recent gig.  “It’s pronounced koo-LOO-koh,” he said and the producer responded “oh, kuu-LO-co.”  And they literally went back and forth for a good 30 seconds, and he just didn’t get it.

BB: So you just invented the name so that people would have spontaneous Abbott and Costello routines?

CC:  Yeah it’s been entertaining – we’re thinking of starting a “spot the misnomer!” contest after seeing our name misspelled in at least 10 magazines, newspapers, etc. by now.  The most entries wins, I don’t know, a 2-on-2 basketball game or something.

BB:  Or you could, you know, change the name.

CC:  No, it means something along the lines of “have you heard?” in Finnish.  We thought about that, but everyone we talked to about it said if they heard and/or saw the name a couple times, it really stuck hard.

BB: I’m pretty good at re-naming bands and cats. Want me to take a crack at it?

CC:  People seem to warm up to it but I think we need to say it at least 20 times per show and get a banner behind us.  Neither of us has a cat, unfortunately.

BB:  I like to rename people’s cats.  No one ever names their cats correctly.

CC:  Are you anti-cats?

BB:  I’m not anti-cats per se. But I do feel people name their cats all wrong. For instance, I renamed my friend’s cat from “Twiggy” to “Future Cat – The Cat from the Future!”  It’s a much more exciting name.  Really jumps off the page.

CC: I have a friend who wants to move, genuinely, to a state that allows ownership of bears, just so he can name it “Fertilicus – Bringer of Pain.”  He’s a metal guitarist, if you couldn’t guess.

BB:  Speaking of metal guitarists, one of the lads we worked with in Champagne of Bands is the great Duncan Wilder Johnson, metal and punk man extraordinaire. You have to play pretty fast when he’s guiding the ship, huh?

CC:  I used to play metal but rarely touched on the fast, punky end of it, and I really like the exercise.  I remember you saying “and now I’ll step out of my comfort zone,” and that’s how I feel to some extent working with Duncan.  Which is great – I’m not in it just to keep the beat, really.  I want to be challenged.

BB:  Yeah, I am not used to playing music in which cardio is such a central factor.  And my cardio is, shall we say, not so good.

CC:  Believe me, sit in on drums for that song when we play it next.

BB:  I’m the worst drummer in history.  So One Night Band was one of my favorite experiences of my life. What were some of your favorite memories from the day?

CC:  Everyone finally getting into the room together, and realizing that all anxieties were totally nonexistent.  Everything just flowed and the second we were all in there together, realizing that everything would go so smoothly was a great feeling.  I’ve drummed with lots of different people; once out of high school I put up a craigslist ad saying I was looking for bands, and, believe me, I really appreciate the feeling of knowing you’re all on the same page.  One band I played with – once – had a pirahna tank in their kitchen.

BB:  We were pretty lucky. We got a good group of guys except Tad.

CC:  Well, at least he’s focused on singing most of the time so we don’t have to socialize.

BB:  I didn’t know they didn’t CORE check people for One Night Band until Tad got there.  So other than the CoB reunion, what other musical stuff do you have on the horizon?

CC:  I’ve been working on a singer songwriter friend’s album.  His name is Dylan Duncan and we’re just about finished with core instrumentals.  Also, I’m going to work with a Berklee friend, whose major is film scoring and he writes very dramatic metal complete with orchestral scores, choirs.    Also, Kuuluuko is talking with a friend about managing us, and I’m excited about that – we’re going to put our nose to the grindstone and really try to make some progress.  And my other band, Electric Laser People, has been on winter hiatus and seen some changes over the winter in the personal lives of a few of the members (very very positive changes).  So once we’re back in the groove, which should be in the next few months, I’m sure the vibe will just be amazing.  I’m excited about that.

BB:  Very cool. Finally, what are you most looking forward to about the Champagne of Bands reunion on February 9?

CC: I haven’t seen much of what all of you are working on, so I’m excited for a little taste of that.  Also, reactions to the new super-epic song we’ve written – we should get a video camera trained on the audience for that one.

In the next week or so, stop by here for (hopefully) more interviews with my Champagne of Band-mates.

We had our first rehearsal last night and it didn’t take long to recapture the magic.  Bo was laying down tasty licks, Tad was making terrible jokes, Cullen was continuing the streak as the nicest guy ever, Duncan was cursing his way through power pop hooks – it was like we never left. 

More importantly, we wrote a new song which combines our powers like Voltron.  And it just might be our most epic piece of work to date.  It’s all happening, Penny.  It’s all happening.  (February 9 at the Middle East Upstairs, to be specific).

For a walk down memory lane, here’s a video of “Boston Band Crush:  The Song” by the Champagne of Bands.  Bo’s guitar was out of tune on purpose, just in case you were wondering.