Welcome back to Frank & Sense!
This week, I was delighted to interview one of my favorite bands, The French Champagne. Aaron Bliden and Nick Wilby (as well as their incomparable manager, Rachel Parks) joined me on the show this week to talk about a wide range of topics, including DC music history.
But before that...we need to make history together!
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Ahhh, the French Champagne! Frank is joined this week by two of his best friends, former roommates, and the greatest band in Washington DC: The French Champagne (Aaron Bliden and Nick Wilby). The boys talk about Medieval Times, Baltimore accents, DC music history, and play a few games. We also hear a few stories from when Aaron was a boy and sang the National Anthem at an Orioles game, as well as his encounter with disco duo Peaches & Herb. It's our most menacing, weird, and striving episode yet. Slip on in, pop a bottle of bubbly, and feel that quaalude swing!
Follow The French Champagne on Spotify and on Instagram!
Episode is embedded below and available everywhere you get your podcasts!
Stuff We Talk About:
- The Origin of The Band Name: Aaron and Nick discuss the origin and the meaning of the name "The French Champagne" on the episode. As a part of that conversation, we rewatched this classic clip that partially inspired the name. If you haven't seen this, you're in for a treat. This is footage of a very drunk Orson Welles attempting to film a commercial for a champagne company. AHHHH! Enjoy.
- The Quaalude Swing: We talk about the French Champagne's first album, The Quaalude Swing, on the episode. Here's a link to the album if you've never heard it. It's a consummate and excellent album, and I could not recommend it more.
- French Champagne Mega Mix: Here's a link to a playlist that includes all of the music you hear on this episode: The DC music, Aaron's recs, Nick's recs, and the other random songs we listen to along the way. Enjoy!
Hoops Crew Corner
The NBA Finals are over which means that we are liberated to talk about whatever the heck we want. This week, Chloe, Matt, and Frank chit chat about all sorts of different things: X-Men, Chloe's trip to Indiana to see the Fever and the Sky, the show Clipped, and the people pooping in the river in Paris. It's a chill summertime grab bag episode of the best sports podcast that you've never heard of. Crack open a cold one and join us!
Stuff We Talked About:
- Parisians are Pooping in the River: Chloe brought this great item to our attention on the show this week. The Olympics are planning to host swimming events in the Seine (the river that runs through Paris) for the Olympic Games this year. Parisians think this is a shitty decision because the river has been unsafe for swimming for many years and even after $1.5 billion spent to clean it still shows incredibly high levels of bacteria. To further dissuade officials from using the Seine for the Games, some Parisians are planning to simultaneously poop in the river. Sounds like a craptastic idea! We salute you, France 🫡
And that's all the news that's Frank to print. Happy end of June, have a great weekend, and we'll see you again next week!
Frankly yours,
Frank
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