May, 2010, #2

Thank You

Since the last Bulletin was published on May 10th, I received this note from Jean Turley, Ed Crosley's daughter. She asked that I share it with the Chapter.

"Words cannot express our appreciation and gratitude for the love and caring that was shown by the all the guys who visited and sang with Ed during his stay in the hospital and the turnout by everyone at the funeral home. It eases the pain of his loss a little to know he was thought of so highly."

Thank you to all.

Billie, Ken, Joanne, Jan, and Jean
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Singing At Copley Place

On Saturday, May 22, we once again were welcomed to Copley Place in Fairlawn. Our directors, Dan Nichols, Terry Arman and Bud Couts ably led us through a forty-five minute performance that included songs from the 2010 show, some old favorites and songs from Chapter quartets. The audience was very enthusiastic and many sang along with the chorus.

As those of you who have joined in our Copley Place singing over the past few years know, the venue is a beautiful place in which to perform. The administration and staff have been very helpful to the chorus by, among other things, providing transportation to some of our Cleveland TV appearances.And at the end of our singing, we were invited to join with others in attendance and enjoy dessert and coffee. What a nice way to brighten up a somewhat rainy day.

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Jim Murfin- 5/31
Paul Albert- 6/3
Bob McCullough- 6/7
Robin Reid- 6/7
Bill Weddington- 6/11

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What O. C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us

1. Beware the 'gambler' barbershopper who believes he'll get even on the next song, two at the most.

2. A good tag will never beat a good song.

3. A guaranteed way to increased chorus membership, go out and buy new risers that meet your current needs.

4. Want more money for your chapter treasury? Maybe this idea will start your brain juices flowing. Do a double printing of all tickets to your annual show. True, at curtain time you may have a little chaos in the aisles. So what. You tell them it was the printer's fault, followed by your loudest song. And, besides, it's only a rented hall.

5. Fifty percent of all chapter presidents believe that, when the nominating committee was asking for volunteers for that job, the rest of the chapter collectively, took one step backward. As relates to any other elected job, this figure raises to 90%.

6. The statistical probability of your chorus/quartet winning at the international level is about equal to any two guys in your chapter mounting a heated campaign to obtain your vote in the joint pursuit for the job of treasurer.

7. Annual chapter elections are about as exciting as vocal warm up exercises. Here's a way to really spice them up. Make the post of past president an elected office. You'll be swamped by contenders. Why not? All you gotta learn is how to say "we never did it that way."

8. Tired of giving your annual show audience the same old uniform look? Consider this. Get your local church choir to trade their robes for your uniforms for one weekend. It will give you a brand new look for your Saturday night show and increase the attendance at the following morning's services.

9. Without fail I attend every chorus rehearsal. No misses. No exceptions. No excuses. I feel that it's the least I can do for my chapter because, come contest time, I prefer sitting up in the balcony keeping score on the back of my program. (an aside. I polled my chorus on this. They didn't seem to mind. A really nice bunch of guys.)

10. When you can no longer duck from taking a job in your chapter, become the chapter's bulletin editor. To begin with, it doesn't take much talent and you can do the job entirely in the comfort of your own home. In many ways it's much like singing lead; it requires a heavy dose of attitude adjustment. If you can restructure your thinking to truly believe that you are only responsible to some level of barbershopping higher than your chapter, your district, or Nashville, you'll have a lock on it.

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Recruiting Signs: The Next Generation

Our campaigns with the "Wanted: Men Who Like To Sing" yard signs have been instrumental in the increase in chorus membership that we have enjoyed recently. All those who participated in that program deserve much thanks. However, as with all successful endeavors, we should not rest on our laurels. The time has come to "ramp" (pun definitely intended) up our efforts and make it easier for prospective members to find us. So, the Bulletin is proud to unveil the 2010 recruiting sign.

Getting To Know Us

Click on the "Featured Chorus" link in the Hot Links section in the top right of this Bulletin page to visit with some of our fellow barbershoppers.

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Chorus Member Age Survey

Now that you're familiar with where the Hot Links section is, take a minute and respond to the survey, according to your age at the present time. You have one week to do this and it is being done to give the Chapter some numerical information about the age demographics of our members. Please, only current members of the Akron Derbytown Chorus should respond to this poll


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Memorial Day

One week from today, we will again honor those men and women who died while in military service. Here are two patriotic songs, both featuring the quartet, "Acoustix". The first one takes us back to "Acoustix-1995", four years after they won Gold at International. The second is from 2007.

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The Youngsters Are At It Again

This quartet should hang out with Hot Air Buffoons to improve their comedy "patter", but the singing is pretty good.

May, 2010, #1

An Afternoon At The Ballpark

This past Saturday, May 8, thirty-three (by unofficial count) members of the Akron Derbytown Chorus made what has become an annual visit to Progressive Field in Cleveland. We were once again invited to sing the National Anthem before the game.

As often happens with barbershoppers, we found many opportunities to sing before our main duties were scheduled. As men, along with family and friends arrived, pitches were blown and songs rang forth. The joy was there from the start and the volume increased as more singers arrived.
We began our pregame concert outside of Gate C, near the Bob Feller statue and received hearty applause from those standing in line waiting for the gates to open. The set even included a tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Jingle Bells" in honor of the chilly temperature. When those gates did open, we moved our performance inside to the concourse, mostly to escape the substantial wind and occasional rain. Ah, May in Ohio!

The group gradually made its way around the concourse toward Gate A where we were to meet our guide for the trip to the field level. Naturally, there were pauses for singing along the way.
Once at the location where we were to enter the playing field, we continued our singing, to warm up our bodies as well as our voices. Then it was time to perform for the crowd.

The sky brightened a bit, the wind subsided a little and we proudly sang The Star Spangled Banner. For those of you who have not joined us for this and past performances at Progressive Field, it's difficult to describe the feeling of singing the anthem at such a venue. I think that all those who were there would agree that it is a very wonderful feeling. Let's see if we can get 50 or more singing when we return to the ballpark next year.

Below are some still pictures and one video from last Saturday. I have also included a video of our performance. I must give credit to my wife, and chief videographer, Sue, who bravely battled the wind gusts in section 311 to record this video. As you will notice, the combined force of the wind and the chorus ringing that final chord tore her loose from her moorings and swept her to the top of the scoreboard. As the fireworks explosion knocked her back to ground level, she stoically held on to the camera so that you would be able to view our performance. Thanks again, Sue.

Note: The anthem video will be found at the end of today's Bulletin issue.




















Here is the "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" video.

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Quartet News

The Summit Chordsmen

On Wednesday, May 12, at 7:00pm, The Summit Chordsmen will be singing at the Emeritus Assisted Living Center in Stow. This performance marks the second sing-out with new bass, Gary Young.

Clear Choice

On Saturday, May 15, Clear Choice will be performing on the campus of Kent State University. The event is a throwback baseball game between KSU and Bowling Green as part of the Centennial celebration of the founding of both schools in 1910. The players will wear vintage uniforms and concession prices will be "old school". The game is free and open to the public. There will be a show of classic cars, as well as historical trivia and prizes. Clear Choice will be strolling and singing in the hospitality tent from 2:00-3;00, and then will sing the National Anthem at 3:00, prior to the start of the game. The site of the game is Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.

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Birthdays

Cory Hornish- 5/14
Dennis Siwik- 5/14
Tom Gentry- 5/23

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What O. C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us

1. Quartets: They're a heck of a lot easier to get into than they are to get out of.

2. You'll find the best advice for going into a contest on the label of a mayo jar; keep cool, but don't freeze.

3. Judge score sheets: There's no column titled "remarks."

4. Accept the truth. None of the truly great accomplishments of your chorus happened before you joined them.

5. Risers are a big waste of money. Why not buy a single tower for the director. You'd all see him better and, an added advantage, it would keep him from trying to become part of the first row of the chorus.

6. Their logic escapes me. They tell me to take "big steps" going up the scale and "small steps" coming down the scale. I tried it in the key of C. I ended up in the key of G.

7. Yes, we have our contests. But, the true soul of barbershopping does not rest in how well you sing it, rather, in how great it makes you feel while you're singing it.

8. Have reservations about joining a quartet in which the lead follows the other parts.

9. The shortest measurement of elapsed time is the time it takes a good woodshedding bari to; Hear the other three notes, identify the intended chord and deliver the missing correct note.

10. Why is it that 95% of all barroom tags you'll ever hear will be done at one-half the speed of the original quartet.

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Getting To Know Us

Click on the "Featured Chorus" link in the Hot Links section at the top right of this Bulletin page to find out about the Texas Millionaires Chorus.
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Featured Videos

One Quartet Meets Another

You Mean There's A Song That Goes With That Tag?

National Anthem Video 2010