Wade Coggeshall
Don't accuse Christian Stone of not paying his dues in the music business. He's already dwelled in the valley of dead rock star careers in his short life. But he survived it and is slowly climbing his way back, trying to see just how high that peak will go. His band Campfire Girls will open for S.T.U.N. and Chevelle tonight at Wabash College. And for all the frustration the band has already been through in its short existence, singer/guitarist Stone is just happy to be on the road."We've been lucky considering we're the first to perform every night (on this tour)," Stone said in a recent telephone interview. "The crowds have been good, very welcoming." The band can expect a rowdy Wabash crowd pumped from the biggest football game of the year when the Little Giants battle DePauw in the 110th Monon Bell game.Campfire Girls is touring behind the release of its second album, "Tell Them Hi," which also represents a second chance for a band that nearly lost it all.It's a story all too common in the City of Angels.An aspiring Stone moved from Boston to Los Angeles to pursue his rock star dream. Sharing a home with drummer Jon Pikus, the two quickly recruited bass player Andrew Clark to form a trio with the self-deprecating tag Campfire Girls. Stone piled up mind-sticking songs that leads to a residency for the band at a local club. In a matter of weeks the club sells out regularly and Campfire Girls is inundated with record label interest. Choosing the smart route, the band signs with an independent company (in this case a burgeoning Interscope) to keep more artistic control. Suddenly flush with money, band members lose their minds in a storm of drugs and excess. And just like that, no debut album, no tour, no record deal, no money, no future.Band members eventually moved on to other projects. It took Scott Weiland (of Stone Temple Pilots and currently Velvet Revolver) to convince Stone and Clark to give Campfire Girls another shot. Replacing Pikus with Kelli Scott and adding a second guitarist in Mike Semple, the reconfigured band approached Interscope about getting out of its deal to start anew elsewhere. After Interscope president Mark Williams heard their new stuff, he signed Campfire Girls to a new deal. That new material resulted in "Tell Them Hi," an album charged with a big guitar sound, meaty hooks and wounded lyrics. Their first record, "Delongpre," (named after the house from which it originated) finally saw the light of day last year on another label."It was a long process to finally get that album released because we had to get the masters from Interscope because the record really belonged to them and when they re-signed us that was part of the deal," Stone said. "We were like, 'Look, we know you don't want to put that record out, but we want to put it out, so we want to get that record to an indie who can put it out.' "The band's early sound emulated much of the grunge movement of the early '90s. Now, rock music is at a crossroads with the slow fade of rap metal and the rebirth of garage-blues. Stone, however, isn't worried Campfire Girls' shot at success has passed."I try not to think about stuff like that," he said. "We just try to do what we do and let the cards fall where they may. I think you kind of get into a chasing-your-own-tail game if you start worrying about what other people are going to think about what you're doing."It is interesting that (garage rock) has become popular in the last year or so," Stone continued. "That was the sound we had seven or eight years ago, but we're a lot tighter now and I think we've lost a little bit of our garage sound."Despite the dog-eat-dog climate and the ever-shifting landscape, rock music is still an aspiring career choice for many teens flailing away in their parents' basement or garage. Stone believes the best path is the one you choose."Don't listen or follow anyone," he said. "Do your own thing and let things happen as they will. As far as the pitfalls and stuff of the music business and all that we went through, I don't think there's really anything I can say except that, hopefully, someone else might learn from my mistakes. Even though I don't regret what I've been through, it was hard and I certainly wouldn't want to wish it on anyone else."——On the Net:www.campfiregirlsmusic.com
