The Sextet Trio

Chris Bell, Anne Marie Vignola & Jessie Gold * Vocals
Mike Murphy, Charles Etienne & Patrick Daley * Bass/Drums/Guitars

“Remember that scene in Animal House when Otis Day & The Knights sing “Shout� and the whole bar goes absolutely nuts?�, beams Chris Bell, founding member of The Sextet Trio, “Have you been in a situation like that before? Have you innocently plodded into a bar looking for a drink and walked out four hours later, sweaty, grizzled and your feet not quite touching the floor yet, because the band wouldn’t let you down?�

“WE ARE THAT BAND.�

The Sextet Trio has certainly played their share of dives, speak-easys and disreputable establishments. In their first six months as a band the sextet has traveled the entire West Coast, surprising bar regulars, inciting barstool sitters to shakedown and leaving them all the better for it. Of course, this kind of first impression has also garnered the fledging group enough attention to consider themselves well-trodden road warriors, but the original intention remains. To become YOUR secret band.

“When I see someone realize, “Hell, this band is smokin’ and this is the place I want to be!�, I know that I can never stop doing this, even if I wanted to�, states Chris.

And why would they want to? The group’s blend of Nu-Soul, funk, rock and reggae has evoked fans to draw upon comparisons to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime and even the Jackson 5. However the group is well aware of how this combination can become a tired amalgamation especially in the sun soaked confines of Southern California (The band’s homestead), so these comparisons are really just to point a new listener in the same general stratosphere of the band as this new funky soul-head continues to build up steam.

Chris Bell was a member of a regional band on the East Coast, and when that project began to show signs of slowing down he realized that he wasn't quite finished making music. After trial and error...and error, and error on Craig's list in Los Angeles, Bell was finally able to persuade his old band mates, Mike Murphy and Charles Etienne to join him as the skeleton of which would eventually form The Sextet Trio.

Charles had been co-producing tunes with Chris, but had shied away from joining the new project, enjoying his life off the road. However, once it was evident that Chris couldn't find anyone in LA quite as telepathic as Etienne, he was in (It didn't hurt that he was able to hear the transcendent guitar work of Patrick Daley, the saving grace of a long line of Craig's List disappointments.

The final pieces were added when Chris was heard complaining in a Santa Monica bar about his inability to find like-minded musicians and more importantly female singers in the LA area. His plea fell upon the ears of Anne Marie Vignola who quickly showed that sometimes you really do find what you're looking for. And with the addition of Anne Marie the stage was finally set for one last vocalist. Craig's List smiled upon the group one last time as Jessie Gold joined the foray.

The band is currently hard at work on their first recording, an EP due out in 2009. The band continues to tour the Western United States and hopes to get you off your barstool in the following months.