Champion is the result of a very successful musical partnership between Dick Orvis And Debbie Verhaegen since 1979. They are lifetime full time professional musician vocalists and are known for their ability to entertain and to get the party started. The band has been performing mainly for the past eight years at the casinos in Tunica, Mississippi. (30 miles south of Memphis and one of the most competitive musical markets in the USA) Although the group hails from South Bend, Indiana it is known for it's southern sound. Debbie handles both the bass and guitar duties while Dick plays the keyboards and they both sing. Although Champion is an older group (Orvis is the same age as Paul McCartney of the Beatles) like Paul they continue to add new material and have a very fresh sound. There is not an audience that they can't entertain! The group has shared the stage with many premier acts like Blood Sweat And Tears, The Guess Who, Three Dog Night, Paul Revere And The Raiders, etc, and honed their musical style while playing a steady gig on Bourbon St. at the Downtowner Hotel in New Orleans back in the early eighty's.
Before hooking up with Debbie, Orvis worked in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1969 to 1976 and was a part of rock history performing in the famous ballroom scene playing keys for Salloom Sinclair and the Mother Bear and did shows with Santana, Proco Harem, Janis Joplin & Big Brother, Van Morrison, Proco Harem, Doobie Brothers, Greatful Dead, Jefferson airplane, and Muddy Waters at the Fillmore West, Avalon Ballroom, The Matrix and other historic venues. Mother Bear was the first and only rock group to be signed by Chess Records. He also led the band "Body Heat" which was one of top dance groups on the west coast from 1974 to 1976 during the Disco Dance era and was in demand on the west coast studio scene.
Dick and Debbie have been taking time off for the first half of 2010 to catch their creative breath and to record. If you are a buyer you'll be glad you scheduled them, they are a "no problem" band. If you like good live music be sure to stop by and say "hello" when they come to your neighborhood, you'll be glad that you did!
