Artist description Edgy modern alt-pop chick rock with powerfully moving, hypnotic grooves, guitars, lush harmonies and pop melodies. This band has been compared to No Doubt, Garbage, Pink, and Poe. Just Jimi`s vocals will lift you up one minute and kick you in the teeth the next.

Music Style Power Pop

Similar Artists No Doubt, Garbage, Veruca Salt

Artist History SugarBang Biography Formed in the summer of 1999 by producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Russell with his writing partner, vocalist and performer Jimi Campbell, Sugarbang bypassed the usual floundering in the local club scene and immediately began writing and recording songs for their debut CD Organica. Both Russell and Campbell were anything but rookies in the music scene. Russell was a member of the hard hitting Portland band, Gun-shy and spent time on tour with Seattle heavy Bone before moving back to Portland, and helping Mary Sue Tobin produce her solo project, MST and the A-List. After the completion of MST and the A-List, Russell worked with multiple local Portland bands, lending his guitar and producer expertise on many projects, including local rock band Mobius (now Dfive9) and signed Seattle heavy weight Rorschach Test. Campbell has deep roots in the Portland music scene as well. Her father, Jimmy Campbell, was one of the most sought after drummers in town until his death in March of 1983. Campbell is no stranger to the stage, either. Singing and performing since the age of 5, she started writing her own material at the ripe age of 14 while attending high school in Iowa. Campbell wrote, recorded and produced her own songs at Rainbow Recording Studio in Omaha Nebraska at the age of 16, traveling countless hours back and forth to complete the project. Campbell then spent a year in a cover band, Toaster, traveling all over the state playing in local clubs and hotels to thousands of the bands' local fans. In 1994, deciding that she needed to "come home" Campbell packed everything she owned into the back of her car and moved to Portland. Within 6 months after moving to Portland, Campbell joined forces with a local promoter, and formed the acoustic rock group Slide Hammer Mary. Realizing that she loved the acoustic sound, but needed the energy of a rock band, Campbell formed the heavier rock band Hunny in 1996. In 1998, Campbell disbanded Hunny and began quickly writing and recording more music with friend and co-writer, Cam Caldwell. Russell was working with Rorschach Test, and getting ready to go on tour when he contacted Campbell to do some vocal parts for a side project he was producing called Digital Brothers. Russell then asked Campbell to perform during Rorschach Test’s live performance opening for Chicago’s hard-core underground group Ministry at the Roseland Theater. This worked out well, and Russell invited Campbell to Seattle to perform with Rorschach Test and Ministry again at the Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle. The same night after their performance at the Paramount Theater, Russell and Campbell wrote several songs together. Little did either of them know that they were forming an alliance that would become both a business partnership, and a partnership for life. "We set up a project studio, and just started playing around with new technology. Our project studio and the songs turned into something much bigger than we had originally planned. We just kept upgrading gear, fine tuning our sound and writing song after song until we had about 30 demo songs together." Campbell admits. "It seemed like everytime I came up with new lyrics to a song, Kevin had a song idea waiting for me to apply it to. The chemistry between us is amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like it. And finally – thanks to modern technology, we have the tools at our fingertips to make it all come to life." "We decided to tackle the hard part first- which was developing a unique sound. While most bands are testing the waters in the club scene and trying to pump out the "sound du-jour" we tried a different approach. Spinning your wheels is never an efficient use of energy, so the duo put their heads together to formulated a plan. "The turning point in our sound came when we found the balance between the style of music that had inspired and influenced us, and created new sounds and grooves based on what we loved to hear. What we ended up with was a completely modern sound, the kind we’d wanted to hear on the radio. It’s refreshing!" Powerfully moving, mesmerizing grooves and synth sounds paired with acoustic and electric guitar create the backbone of Sugarbang. Deciding they needed a phrase to tie their sound with a tangible description, the band dubbed the phrase "Organica" to describe their unique approach at blending the organic sounds and influences of Russell’s guitar wizardry and analog synth sounds with the hypnotic grooves and pop melodies. This also became the name of their first release. "It sticks," says Campbell, "there simply wasn’t a better way describe to describe the fusion between organic and mechanic material." Fueled by Campbell’s electrically-charged live performance and intense sensuality, Sugarbang is ready to be more than just Portland's "next big thing".

Group Members Jimi - Vocals, Background vocals, Keys, Kevin - Guitar, Bass, Synth, Programming

Albums Organica

Press Reviews Portland Tribune called SugarBang's contribution to the Deep Roots compilation CD a "highlight" to the CD and referred to Sugarbang as "Twitchy Techno Pop".

Location Portland, Oregon - USA

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