producer rick bonadio, whom champignon knew, invited them to make a demo tape and he liked what he heard, and they were soon picked up by virgin records. in 1997, they released the debut album "transpiração contínua prolongada" ("continuous, long transpiration", a reference to hard work). well received by the public, it remains as their biggest hit to date, and cbj won a vmb (the brazilian vmas) in the breakthrough artist category. in april 2005 members champignon, marcão, and pelado decided to leave the band, alleging 'artistic differences'. they were soon replaced by heitor vilela gomes (currently on cpm 22) on bass, pingüim on drums and beat box, and former band member thiago castanho, who returned to play guitar. this new charlie brown jr. formation is toured throughout brazil and around some cities in the united states in july. on march 6, 2013, chorão, lead vocals was found dead in his apartment. his driver found him unconscious and immediately called for an ambulance. once it arrived, paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. the cause of death was reported as an overdose of cocaine. six months later, another member of the group, champignon, was found dead in his apartment. in september 9, he committed suicide, with a shot in his mouth.