The Sunset Grooves - About The Band

MEET THE CREW

CHARDONNAY DEVILLE
(VOCALS/PERCUSSION)

Chardonnay grew up on a small dairy farm in a part of the French Alps renowned for its delectable cheese, which, as a teenage girl, she learned to blend into an amazing fondue recipe. She worked at the nearby ski chalet as a sous chef, and on occasion would sing with the house band.

When world-famous recording artists, Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina visited the Alps to assess the apres ski scene and listen to the chalet's band, they stumbled upon Chardonnay's astonishing gifts and invited her to come to Santa Monica to prepare her delicious fondue... and maybe even sing some backing tracks on their forthcoming record.

Chardonnay fell deeply in love with the West coast, spending every available moment carousing among the yacht clubs and the nautical elite, from Chula Vista to Vancouver, BC. It didn't take long for her musical talents to catch up with her culinary skills and she soon formed a band with some like-minded sailors who also happened to share her appreciation for cheese.

RUSTY "RED" SINCLAIR
(DRUMS/VOCALS)

Raised by Moonshiners in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, Rusty learned to play the drums by banging on pieces of his parent's copper still and half-empty whiskey barrels. But, as he approached his early teens, he felt the calling of the sea and knew he must leave behind his miserable Missouri roots. So, he hitch-hiked his way West to greet the Pacific Ocean.

He landed up in Cardiff Reef, San Diego and spent several months as a beach bum, hanging with the surfers and sleeping on the sand - but he quickly discovered that his fair skinned Scottish DNA did not agree at all with the harsh rays of Californian sun. His constantly sunburned complexion earned him the nickname "Red". Though he craved the salty seafarer lifestyle, but could not abide an abundance of sunshine - naturally, he settled in Seattle. Rusty has been rocking among the yachts ever since.

Ignacio "NACHO" Wurlitzer
(Keyboards/VOCALS)

Ignacio redefines smooth. He holds the Guinness book of world records for cleanest shave, even though he often wears a beard.

Orphaned at birth, he was raised near the Galapagos by a rare species of tree monkey. While combing the beach one day, he stumbled upon his first grand piano that had washed ashore with other flotsam and jetsam, and he never looked back.

Once he had received his first product endorsement from Cuervo Gold, he understood his destiny: a dedication to the music that inspires dreams and lays hearts to the wayside. After responding to a "keyboard player wanted" ad in Fine Columbian Monthly, he found his true home among the waves with The Sunset Grooves crew... and now his voyage begins.

TEDDY EXOTIQUE
(BASS/VOCALS)

A child of the 70s, Frederick "Teddy" Exotíque was swabbing decks and raising sails before most of us were walking. Growing up on the mean seas of the Atlantic, off the coast of eastern Massachusetts, Teddy cut his teeth working in the shipyards by day, in the taverns as a musician by night. As a longshoreman's son, Teddy thought that his future was down by the docks... however, the smooth siren sounds of yacht rock had different ideas.

As the years passed, Teddy grew bored with the roughneck lifestyle of the shipyards and headed west, ending up in the seaside town of Seattle, land of coffee, flannel and grunge (not a disease). Back then, the only thing smooth or groovy in the Pacific Northwest were the westbound lanes of 520 during a downpour. Despite the gray skies overhead and brown notes in the clubs, Teddy stayed true to his roots, perfecting his art of the bottom end while searching out his musical soulmates.

Before long, Teddy struck AM gold with the Sunset Grooves and is now having the time of his middle-aged life, holding up the bottom for his mates while they deliver the goods topside.

HENRI DE LA MER
(GUITAR/VOCALS)

Henri hails from Barfleur, a quaint fishing village in Northern France. He spent his formative youth darning nets and sharpening hooks among the other salty sailors. But, as a boy, he never cared for the flavor of fish. He yearned for another calling. It was his Auntie Jessamine that introduced him to stringed instruments when she presented him with a second-hand bouzouki on his ninth birthday.

He immediately traded it for a miniature goat, which died a few weeks later. Heartbroken and questioning the cruelty of the world, Henri stowed away aboard a West-bound cargo freighter and landed in Plymouth New Jersey where he joined his first band, The Pilgrim Buckles, who had a minor hit with their sea shanty, "Why You Always Wear That Eye-Patch to Bed?".

Although Henri has lived among the Yankees here in the states for nearly 40 years, he still adores all things French. The fries, the bread, the kisses, the braids... but mostly the kisses.