Straight Up Chumps

Bathroom singers of the world unite! And when I say world, I mean world. Seagers Rodrigues is the bass player and lead vocalist for Straight Up Chumps and—wait for it—is a worldly bathroom singer. At least he used to be.

Based on what we see when he’s playing, we might assume he had some formal training—must have always been in a band growing up… voice lessons?

Nope.

“Before Straight Up Chumps, I was a bathroom singer.” Heck yeah, brother, me too! Who isn’t? However, some who nurture those shower tones move on from that to playing in a funky, psychedelic, fusion jam band. Most of us don’t—thankfully.

Seagers is selling himself a little short, and here is where the world part comes in—he grew up in Belgaum, in the Karnataka state of India. His mother is from Bahrain; his dad is from Tanzania but moved to India as a boy. During power outages as a kid—which were frequent—Seagers’s dad would play guitar outside their home in Belgaum, and he and his three sisters would sing and harmonize in what he called “evening soirees.”

Maybe that’s not formal training per se, but that organic passion for music is the heart and soul of what makes Straight Up Chumps and their sound so unique—it’s organic, communal, and authentic. You can’t coach that. Either you have it or you don’t—they do.

Before the Chumps were the Chumps, it took some happenstance magical connection for the spark of what would eventually become Straight Up Chumps. Seagers moved to the United States when he was 20 and was attending the University of Indianapolis (this is 2009-ish).

One of the first guys he met was an RA in his freshman dorm, Ross Johnson, who became a founding member of the band. One evening, the notes of a Pink Floyd song wafted through the dorm air, ala Pied Piper style, and led Seagers to Ross… “Were you just playing Pink Floyd?” — “Yeah, dude.”

That casual connection eventually led to “Friday Night Jams” in Ross’s room. Ross played guitar, another guy, Austin—who DJ’d—had some sound equipment, Ethan drummed, and Ryan played bass. During this formative period, Seagers was only lending his skills as the bathroom singer.

They played some songs, sort of in public, and were self-proclaimed “sort of bad.”

Not because of the music—more so because of life circumstances—Seagers let the guys know he was leaving the band… but not just the band—the city…the state. He had made the decision to continue his education on the East Coast.

Here is where the details get a little murky, but it’s in the murky that legends are made.

While Seagers was away, Ross struck up a friendship with Aryn Ross (current guitar/vocals). If you’ve seen a Chumps show, you don’t miss Aryn. He’s the guy who puts the funk in their funky—throws in backing and lead vocals on occasion and drops in a rap or two for good measure. So…these guys are playing some duos out and still connected with the original bass player, Ryan.

Then a fateful phone call went out to Seagers: “Dude, come back to Indiana—we’re putting the band back together.” (Thank you, John Belushi and The Blues Brothers.) I’ll spare the details, but sometime in the summer of 2013, Seagers comes back and meets up with Ross (guitar), Aryn (rhythm guitar), Ethan (drums), and Ryan (bass).

Ladies and gentlemen… The Straight Up Chumps.

Full stop.

Nope. Not quite yet.

Ryan (bass) informs the guys, “I’m leaving the band.” The band informs Seagers, “You are playing bass.” One problem—he didn’t play bass. He didn’t own a bass.

“Wait, what? I’ve never played bass. Okay… I’ll figure it out, I guess.” From a guy picking up a borrowed bass and playing one note at a time—while trying to sing—he grew into the guy locking down the band’s rhythm section.

“I would have never thought that I would be playing and singing the stuff that I do. If you asked me in 2013… could you play this or that song… no, there is no way.”

Well, to channel our inner Wayne’s World—WAY!

And that way fast-forwards us to 2019—the current iteration of Straight Up Chumps.

If you are like me, you are probably expecting a straight line by now. You have Ross, Seagers, Aryn, and Ethan magically shredding it—and poof, the band… Straight Up Chumps.

Again, nope. Not yet…almost.

First off, Ross left to pursue a degree in life. Then Ethan left. First problem solved—Aryn wills his way from rhythm guitar into becoming lead guitarist. Second problem (drummer) became a revolving door.

The Chumps had some really good drummers sit in with them. One drummer was a “monster” but moved back to Texas after getting his master’s degree. His buddy—who he suggested to the band—was equally fire but moved to Seattle.

Okay, now what?

Once again, cue: happenstance magical connection.

Seagers’ wife, Kaitlin, was at work one day and noticed a colleague “finger drumming” on a desk.

“Do you play drums?” “I do.”

Hmmmm.

“My husband’s band is looking for a drummer.”

The rest, they say, is history. That would be James Jay, who has held down the kit since 2018.

So, if you are keeping up… the Chumps now are Seagers, Aryn, and James—but wait, there’s more.

Graham Brown, the Chumps’ keyboard player, was in another band, Fontaine. The Chumps shared bills with Fontaine, and when Fontaine disbanded, all parties were bummed out. But—enter happenstance magical connection again—Graham was of the mindset, “Yeah, I’d be down to join you guys.”

NOW, they had discovered their core four.

This is THE Straight Up Chumps: Seagers Rodrigues, Aryn Ross, James Jay, and Graham Brown (in no particular order).

Their diversity of musical background, experience, and taste is what creates the Straight Up Chumps’ irreplaceable sound.

Seagers’ influences growing up came from a mom who listened to Glen Campbell and a dad who listened to Deep Purple. Transitioning from rhythm to lead gives Aryn a unique style that is funky and raw. James is a “classics” guy—Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin. And… Graham is, as Seagers noted, “the wizard of the band.” A guy who played bass in Fontaine and picked up the keyboard almost just for fun. Close your eyes and you’d swear Ray Manzarek snuck into the group.

“Everybody brings something different to the table—adds their own flavor to the Chump sound.”

That sound is the result of a band that is evolving—always evolving. What they do is organic, and it’s what keeps them motivated.

They never go to a show like, “Oh, we have to play music today. It’s never taken for granted. It’s like every opportunity we get to play is sacred—what a great thing to be able to do this… and do it with a bunch of guys that we love. It’s literally a brotherhood of bringing all of our different tastes together.”

The best way to experience that togetherness is at a LIVE show.

In the best way possible, coming to a Chumps show is like eating a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re going to get.

That predictable unpredictability is the essence of a Chumps experience.

One of their “signature moves” is to sneak out the back door of one song and into the front door of another in super stealthy fashion. If you listen very carefully, you might pick up the hook for the next song while the band is already sneaking into the next one.

Early on, it was like, “Hey, let’s do this song with that song.” It was kind of premeditated—based mostly on key signatures. Here’s a song in E minor, here’s another song in E minor… and we just rolled with it.

Evolving.

“But now, we just kind of look around, and because we’ve played so much, one guy just has to play a note of something, and it’s like, yeah—I know where we are going… and you take it there and just feel it out.”

If you went to five Chumps shows in a row… you may hear the same songs, but they are always interpreted a little differently.

Because, from the band’s perspective:

“We are feeling something different in that moment. It’s a journey—it’s an auditory experience. It’s an excursion. We are just exploring together… hopefully the audience is too. That’s what keeps us motivated…”

Honestly, from a listener’s perspective—that’s what keeps us motivated too.

There is a certain comfort of sameness, and a certain expression of innovation at the same time that makes every Straight Up Chumps show an auditory experience, an excursion… an excursion worth taking.