URBANA — Shoompie is returning to Uni High.

This Friday, the six-member band will be promoting and selling their newly-recorded eponymous debut album to the Uni community during lunch.

CDs will sell for $10 each, and $15 T-shirts will be available for pre-order. CD-shirt combos will be sold for $20.

The self-proclaimed “rock-fusion” band was formed in January, combining jazz, rock, and indie styles to create its own distinctive sound.

SHOOMPIE
"Shoompie" front and back covers
Released: August 2009
Genre: Rock-Fusion

"I think, in the CD itself, we have a pretty good variety of music styles. We have folk songs, we have rock, waltz, jazz medley — a lot of different types of music and influences," says member Clement Dossin.

Besides Dossin, who plays saxophone and guitar, the band originally consisted of Carter Hutchens, bass; Kareem Sayegh, guitar, vocals; Teddy Zamora-Mills, guitar, vocals; and Eddie Diazmuñoz, drums. Daniel Borup was recruited later in the year for vocals and violin. All but Diazmuñoz, a current senior, graduated from Uni in May.

"I enjoyed playing with them a lot. We are very good friends, so we had a very good dynamic," says Dossin of the group. The band and its album are namesakes of his dog.

Shoompie garnered schoolwide and local fame, notably winning third place at the Champaign Park District’s seventh annual Battle of the Bands last March and subsequently earning a radio performance on WPGU 107.1 FM’s “Funk, Peace & Soul.” Throughout the year, Shoompie played at such local venues as Hessel Park, Iron Post, and The Canopy Club.

"Then we kind of said, 'What's next?'" explains Sayegh. "So we kicked around, and somehow or another, we ended up having nine songs. So we said, 'OK.' We have a lot of material. Why not write a few more songs and make it an album?"

With an abundance of local performances serving as experience under its belt, Shoompie set out to record their debut album this August.

The location? Pogo Studio. The Champaign-based facility is owned by Mark Rubel, a Uni graduate and member of the Class of 1975.

"It was exciting because we're a bunch of amateurs and the guy has been in the business for 30 years now," comments Sayegh. "So he kind of started with nothing after graduating from Uni and then launched a studio off the ground. He knows what's he's doing."

Though Shoompie started with very few expectations for themselves as a band, they were pleasantly surprised when they ended up staying in a studio for a whole week and concertedly churning out a complete effort.

"In the end, we were writing pretty good music. Having the CD recorded after six months together as a band was pretty good," says Dossin. "Anyone who enjoyed the shows we have will enjoy the CD even more; everyone was playing at their best. Also, the shows we played at were pretty loud, and the CD is a lot cleaner. You can hear all the parts separately."

"It was exhilarating for a bunch of high school students to record a full-length album," agrees Sayegh of the 12-track CD.

Not everyone in Shoompie is a newcomer to the business of recording, however. Last year Diazmuñoz released an album as a member of the band The Capote Flat. Their alternative-pop album "Dream!" was recorded in August of 2008.

"This time around was a lot easier to record," recalls Diazmuñoz, whose former band was split between Illinois and Iowa. "Last year, I was recording individually, and my bandmate was recording individually. It was also a lot more professional this time. [Rubel] had an actual studio and more experience. The other guy we worked with was barely out of college and we worked in his house. He ended up losing a couple of tracks we had to re-record."

Now that college has stolen many in the band, the future of Shoompie remains uncertain.

"The only way we can play is when [the other members] are back for vacation," says Dossin.

"Kareem has been talking about us playing next summer," muses Diazmuñoz. "He wants to go into a Midwest kind of thing. But we haven't really been talking about that; when we talk it's more of a joking sort of tone.

"But who knows, we might be playing together — it might happen."

"Shoompie" Track List

1. “Intro”
2. “Herbie Hancock”
3. “Teenage Dream”
4. “Just Right”
5. “Imagen de lo Lejano”
6. “Loose Trigger”
7. “Settle Down”
8. “Le Coc Chapin”
9. “Devil's Skill”
10. “Funock”
11. “Classic”
12. “Missing You”