THE CHAMPIONS OF ALL TIME Alt rock band is driven by humor

In 2004, the band released an album, 'A Loss for Words.'
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- With a name like The Champions of All Time, you'd think this Youngstown band would have egos the size of Mahoning County. Instead, it turns out humor, not hubris, is what drives this alt rock outfit.
"Well, confidence is sexy," said guitarist Kevin Sturdevant. "When we started, we were so abominably bad that we thought that would be funny. It's like, if we're going to be bad, we might as well be good at it."
Over the past five years, The Champions of All Time have become really good at creating rock that the 1999 Austintown Fitch High School graduate feels positions the band in the vein of Jimmy Eat World.
So far the outfit has released numerous EPs and one full-length album, 2004's "A Loss For Words." There's also its recently released EP/DVD package "Bridges Burned/Lessons Learned." In addition to featuring original and cover songs, the DVD contains a spoof of MTV show "Cribs," with the members of The Champions giving America a tour of its bling bling-free practice space -- an Austintown barn in a field.
As far as a new album, there's talk about recording this fall, but considering the band members all work day jobs ("so we can eat"), Sturdevant isn't sure when that'll see the light of day. For now, the group is focused on its upcoming Westfest show, which is yet another band-related gag of sorts.
How Westfest began
Early on, The Champions of All Time were asked to play a show last minute, which happened to fall on singer/guitarist Jason West's birthday. As a joke, the group repeatedly told the audience about the special day, which from that point on was referred to as Westfest. An annual event, Westfest continues Saturday at Cedars Lounge with The Champions being joined by regional bands The Interns, Wesker and Manifold Stud.
Despite the comedic hi-jinx that surrounds Westfest, and The Champions of All Time for that matter, there's an underlying sense of confidence that, although not sexy, begets credibility.
"I think this is the fifth Westfest show, and this one looks to be the best in my opinion based on the lineup," Sturdevant said. "It's a good group of bands that we've been friends with for a long time. And what we're more proud of is, it's four bands that play because they love to play, because they love music and really like what they do. It's not image-driven rock 'n' roll."
He added, "And Cedars has always been a place that caters to that kind of band, that have always valued sincerity over image."
That said, don't forget to wish West a "happy birthday."