Champagne Champagne

The clock hasn't struck 11 on a rainy Thursday night in Belltown, and Seattle hip-hop group Champagne Champagne is already causing trouble. The trio of local musicians—Pearl Dragon, Thomas Gray, and Mark Gajadhar—are inside the Crocodile downing tallboys of Pabst Blue Ribbon at a lightning pace, and are livelier at the back of the bar than touring act Sebastien Grainger is onstage. While Gajadhar, who also plays drums in local post-punk outfit Past Lives and is a famed Blood Brothers alum, mostly keeps his cool, Gray, with his scraggly beard and highly animated demeanor, looks like he could have starred in Fraggle Rap if such a show had ever existed. He's bouncing all over the place and beaming from ear to ear, while Dragon, who was drinking Jameson for free earlier at a bar down the street, heads to the back of the Crocodile to see what food he can pilfer from the green room. Click here to continue reading this feature by Jonathan Cunningham. Photo courtesy Steven Dewall.
Tue., June 2, 8 p.m., 2009