State Champs were a Halifax, Nova Scotia, indie rock band formed in 1993, originally known as Raleigh Sport, prior to a name change in 1995.

The "Nevada Downs" 7" EP was released on July 1, 1995, by indie Halifax label Daydream Records (DD-001). It was recorded by Kevin Lewis.

Track listing:

Teen Circuit - 0:00
Revolt into Style - 3:50
Gaited Dancer - 5:32
Broadcasting Features - 9:14

The State Champs were:
Drums – Mike Catano
Guitar, Bass, Keyboards – Jon Dacey
Guitar, Vocals – Mark Mullane
Andrew Sawler - "European Vibes"

Press Release from July 1995:

STATE CHAMPS - NEVADA DOWNS (daydream records dd001)

The State Champs are new to the Halifax scene. Sort of. A previous lineup of the band (featuring current guitarist/vocalist Mark Mullane and bassist Andy Sawler) opened for Eric's Trip at the 1994 edition of the Halifax Pop Explosion. After that band broke up, Mark and Andy joined Mike Catano and Jon Dacey of Essen in a just-for-fun outfit called Raleigh Sport. They did a lot of four-track recording and circulated handfuls of their tapes. Things got serious and the band renamed themselves back to State Champs, mostly just because they liked the name better.

When Daydream Records was still, well, a pipe dream, the original line-up of State Champs caught our eye at a summer '94 all-ages gig. Then a stellar Raleigh Sport performance at a benefit (February '95) for campus station CKDU really blew us away, and soon after the name change, the State Champs went into the studio for the first time, to record their and our first seven-inch release. Even before the single was ready, the band self-released a ten-song cassette, "Back to the Billions", containing four-track material and other tunes from the studio session.

After only two Halifax gigs under the new (old) name, they hit the road and played a couple of shows in Massachusetts, playing the Middle East, opening for Thrill Jockey sensations Tortoise, and headlining a show in Northampton.

The single was released, inappropriately enough, on Canada Day. The band played not one, not two, but three shows on July 1, starting with a free in-store performance followed by an all-ages headliner with The Motes and Emily Vey Duke in support, and finishing off with a bar show at Birdland with the Local Rabbits, Mars We Love You, and Leonard Conan.

Nevada Downs is a 33-1/3 RPM seven-inch vinyl single featuring four songs: "Teen Circuit", "Revolt into Style", "Gaited Dancer", and "Broadcasting Features". All these recordings are studio versions unique to this single (there are four-track versions of the b-side tunes on various cassettes). We at Daydream are very pleased to bring you this taste of our favourite new Halifax band - look for a Nerdy Girl single on our label sometime this fall.

Daydream records (July 1995)