Up and Coming Band Boasts Young Malibuite as Lead Singer

• ‘Sugar in Wartime’ Soon to Rock Local Night Spot with Music from Latest Album

BY VANESSA HARRIS

You’re the star,” says a Sugar in Wartime fan to its bassist, John Wagner, after politely being asked to move away from the Derby Club’s stage moments before the band’s performance. “That’s right man, but that doesn’t mean I have to be an ass,” responds Wagner humbly with a grin. Judging by Wagner’s ease and modesty right before performing, it seems his mother taught him right. Well, either his mother, or perhaps the lead singer of his band, Thaïs Carmen. As the main figure and only female of the band, both Carmen’s genuineness and good-heartedness seems to radiate through her influence on her bandmates and the music that comes from the band itself.

Sugar in Wartime is a cut above modern day L.A. bands. The group describes itself as its “own brand of melodic rock, blending vintage inspired tones, danceable beats, and candid, poetic lyrics,” Sugar in Wartime is a perfect mix of good people, creative artists, and talented musicians, with Thaïs Carmen as lead vocals, guitarist John Wagner as bassist and harmonies, and Ronnie Hanks as drummer.

Sugar in Wartime’s unpretentiousness is hard to find in a band these days, especially within the 90265 zip code. Perhaps one can attribute Carmen’s, as well as the rest of the band’s, ease and grace in the entertainment world to growing up within it here in Malibu.

Carmen’s full name is Thaïs (pronounced TAY-iss) Carmen Albert. As the child of two famous acting parents, Edward Albert, Jr. and Katherine Woodville, and the granddaughter of internationally recognized entertainer and humanitarian Eddie Albert, she learned firsthand how to deal with the pace that Southern California seems to impose on those within the entertainment world.

She chose Thaïs Carmen as a stage name because she “liked the ring better.” Her middle name, Carmen, is a family tradition that has been shared by several generations. The name Carmen also reflects her grandmother’s Latin roots and the family’s social and environmental activism.

Carmen, 25, recalls a childhood in a Malibu that was more early California rancho than high-end designer outlet. She grew up in the small town that still fights to hold on to its lifestyle in pockets throughout the community. She reflects on her childhood home, a warm and inviting Southwestern-style horse ranch, as “a magical place that gave [her] a lot of creative opportunity due to the space and solitude.” This enabled her to find her passion as a songwriter, and drove her to pursue it by receiving formal training at UCSB’s College of Creative Studies.

This is the extent of her technical training, as she is a self-taught musician. Here is where her fellow band-mates fill in the gaps. Bassist Wagner has had formal music training since the second grade, while drummer Hanks has taken lessons for over 10 years.

They describe this balance as ideal when it comes to their music making. Carmen bases her part of the teamwork on emotion—what she feels a song needs or is missing. Wagner, on the other hand, reaches into his music knowledge, but “makes sure to keep theory from tainting what’s happening with each song,” whereas Hanks helps fill in what he thinks a song needs based on his years of experience with playing in all different types of bands.

In addition to their different musical training, they attribute the ability of their band to thrive to their different backgrounds. Hanks grew up in a blue-collar home, and Wagner lived throughout Europe in a military household, while Carmen laughingly describes her childhood culture as a world of “hippies.” They say that the different set of views and values that each has been taught mesh and are what makes their songwriting and music work.

As each fills in the other’s missing parts, they are, in essence, creating the completing parts of Sugar in Wartime.

With their debut album “Out of the Woods” out, Sugar in Wartime is more complete than ever. After spending two years on “cooking and re-cooking the album until the recipe was perfect,” the members of the group have successfully composed, mixed and produced the album solo. When listening to the quality of the songs, it’s surprising to think that the recordings took place in a make-shift portable studio that landed everywhere from the children’s daycare center that Hanks works at, to each of their homes and apartments.

“Sugar in Wartime,” a name that Carmen originally called her chapbook of poems, seems to have stuck with the band throughout the years. Carmen came up with the concept as “something good in hard times…something that shouldn’t be rare.” As a name that just started out as a metaphor, its meaning has become more political in current times. However, the band does not like that the name now has a political attachment, because they “don’t think music should be political, but instead [be] an escape from such things.”

Sugar in Wartime hopes to provide just this kind of escape for its fans, as the group pursues “longevity with loyal fans and loyal listeners,” as opposed to focusing only on producing hit songs. With their view of music today, they are optimistic about establishing this fan base as they find it “encouraging and exciting to see that people are turning away from the mainstream norm and going out of their way to find good music,” says Wagner.

Some would say that the music seekers do not need to go any further, because the band they are looking for is here. The “good vibes” that Sugar in Wartime produces can be found on their website at SugarInWartime.com, or by catching their next show at the Malibu Inn on Oct. 4. Rationing is definitely not required.