March 2010, #2

Another Opening, Another Show

Well, another successful show has come and gone. A magnificent job of planning and preparation by many chapter members and hours of work, both on and off the risers by the entire chorus, bore fruit once again. The audiences on Friday and Saturday were very enthusiastic and , by their applause, showed that they fully enjoyed the variety of presentations in this production. The chorus, all the Chapter quartets and of course our special guests, Bustin' Loose and Our Town appealed to those long time barbershop fans, and provided a fresh view of our hobby to audience members that were not sure what barbershop was all about. Also our MC, Tom Gentry, did a masterful job of keeping the show flowing from start to finish. How can we top this next year? Stay tuned.

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What O. C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us

Advice to newly formed quartets; don't ask for requests. You'll never know it.

Advice to newly formed quartets; never challenge a heckler to come up and sing it better. He or she will.

Advice to newly formed quartets; a pitchpipe makes an excellent medium-range weapon.

Chorus progress is made on alternate meeting nights.

The bass section: never needlessly disturb a thing at rest.

The easiest way to find your misplaced pitchpipe is to buy a new one.

No matter how many rooms in the headquarters hotel, the guy who starts up his car at 5 am is always parked under your window.

Sound-judges will believe anything if you whisper it.

Choruses who don't work at what they've learned from post-contest A & R sessions will repeat those mistakes. Those who do work at it will find other ways to err.

Singing lead is as much attitude as it is technique.

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Birthdays

David Breen 4/3
Oscar Fraley 4/12
Scott Giles 4/12

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Getting To Know Us

Check the "Featured Chapter" link in the "Hot Links" list at the top right of this Bulletin page to visit this issue's group of barbershoppers.

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Featured Video

Since the Gospel Chorus was a welcome addition to our annual show this year, it seems appropriate to feature a great gospel quartet in this issue. If these guys could only find a bass. (you'll see what I mean)
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Guten "Tag"

Continuing in the Gospel music theme (Easter is approaching), here is a multi-tracked version of "The Old Rugged Cross".

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Upcoming Events

Tuesday: March 23; Open House -7:30 ( Wear Red Chorus Shirts)

Saturday: April 10; JAD prelims-Chorus Contest-11:00am

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March, 2010, #1

Chapter Welcomes Visitors

We have been fortunate to have some very special visitors at recent rehearsals. A quartet of young men from Miller South School were with us on February 23. They are playing the roles of the School Board in a production of The Music Man. The four also joined us on the risers to experience what it's like to sing in a barbershop chorus.



In addition, Rob Churgovich came by to do a coaching session aimed at improving our show performance. Rob is the lead for current JAD champion quartet, 4-Way Stop. We were able to observe a wide spectrum of barbershop, from the pre-high school level where the future lies, to the polished, competition-tested knowledge of a member of a championship quartet. Thanks to Matt, D'Angelo, Aiden, Gavin and Rob for spicing up our Tuesday evening.

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Birthdays


Tom Andrjwski- 3/13
Tom Duplaga- 3/14
Scott Foltz- 3/15
Vic Estafen- 3/16
Jack Huggins- 3/16
Terry Arman- 3/17

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Paradise Coastmen Annual Show

On Saturday, March 6, Sue and I attended the 35th annual show of The Paradise Coastmen, the Naples, FL BHS Chapter. In an earlier Bulletin issue, I reported on a visit that I made to one of this groups rehearsals. At that time they were working hard in preparation for this show. You may recognize the name of their Director. Steve Jamison is a well-known director, contest judge and arranger. He is also currently the Chairman of the BHS Contest and Judging Committee.

The title of this show was " Red, White and Green". It featured Irish music written by American composers. There are certainly a lot of great songs that fit into that category. As is often the case, the chorus opened and closed the show. In between, we were treated to a variety of musical entertainment. There were three Chapter quartets, "Zoom", a very talented Sweet Adelines quartet, two sisters who performed Irish dances, a bagpiper who led the audience back from intermission, and a young lady who played Irish tunes on her fiddle. And of course there was the featured quartet, "Our Town", the headliners for our own show later this month.


We got to talk with the members of "Our Town" for a while after the show. I asked them to say hello for me when they get to Akron, and I told them that I hoped that it would be 75 deg. when they got there(but not to count on it). It turned out to be one of those "right time at the right place" moments. The parents of "Our Town" lead singer, Scott Brannon, had come to this show. The quartet invited Sue and I to go outside for an impromptu concert. They serenaded Scott's mom and dad (and us) with two new songs that they are working on. I have no doubt that the Akron audiences will love "Our Town". Their song selection and presentation, mixed with a little humor, results in a great performance.

Even though I won't be there for our show, I was glad to see a little segment of it this year.

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St. Patrick's Day

Since this holiday will occur before the next Bulletin is published, here is a brief video that will help you to understand some of the history of St. Patrick's Day.

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What O.C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us

• The guy who says that Stage Presence is an easy, risk-free way to get added contest points should be shot. Twice!

• There is nothing wrong with being seen by the Chorus Director while looking at your watch...try to avoid his seeing you shaking it.

• All choruses have chaos...the successful ones are those who hide this fact from the judges, at least most of the time.

• Leads; the longer a song is, the higher the probability that the tag will be in your comfort zone.

• Wear white pants to all chorus rehearsals. No one will ever ask you to help with the risers.

• A correctly delivered relative third never needs to be sharpened, brightened or sung on the high side.

• Volunteer to be the chorus pitchpipe person. You'll never again have to sing a song outside of your range.

• I'd like to live long enough to see; a quartet who could sing the phrase "gonna build a little home for two, or three, or four or more" without using their fingers as counters.

• I'd like to live long enough to see; a chorus who could sing the phrase "strolling/walking down the lane" without sweeping their many right arms from stage left to stage right.

• Your favorite song, on your favorite barbershop CD, will always come out of your car speaker when you reach your destination.

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Getting To Know Us

Check the "Featured Chorus" link in the Hot Links(top right of this page).

Our Town Preview

Our Town did this song at the Naples show. I wouldn't be surprised that you will hear it at the Akron show.

February, 2010, #2

Singing Valentines Program Successful!

A huge round of applause goes out to all those who helped to plan and perform the 2010 Singing Valentines Program. Chapter quartets once again provided a wonderful way for the expression of love at this special time of year. Clear Choice made an appearance on the early morning WNIR radio show to promote the program, and chorus member Chris Eitman sang lead in a quartet and concluded this singing valentine with a proposal of marriage to his then girlfriend, now fiance. Congratulations Chris and Sabra.

There has already been much interest in barbershop generated by this weekend of singing, including interest in the annual show, and potential gigs for chapter quartets. Again, thanks to all who participated in any way and lets work to make this program continue and grow in the coming years.

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Baseball and Barbershop

Our Chapter has developed a great connection with baseball through our chorus and quartet performances for the Indians and the Aeros. Here is a another connection between our hobby and the Grand Old Game.

The music to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game," 1908, was written by Albert Von Tilzer, brother of Harry Von Tilzer, who gave us many barbershop songs. When Albert wrote the music, he had never seen a baseball game. (Source: PBS radio broadcast)

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What O. C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us
by Bill Gibbons, courtesy of PROBE

(Note: Some of the veteran chorus members may have seen these before, but the new guys have not. Anyway, they are still and will always remain relevant. (and hopefully entertaining)

• There is no such thing as being a little flat.

• The worst (insert your choice: tenor lead, bari or bass) always sings the loudest.

• 90 % of the members of any given barbershop chorus will consider themselves to be in the top 50 % of that chorus talent pool.

• The older you get, the better your voice used to be.

• There is too much apathy in most chapters ... but who cares.

• Chorus favorite; a bass, bari or tenor who would say, just once, that he wasn't brought down by the lead section.

• Chorus sadist; the guy who feels obligated to blow the pitchpipe at the end of the song.

• Stages in the life of a lucky barbershopper:

• Who's Joe Schner?

• Let's get Joe Schner in our quartet.

• Let's get a Joe Schner type in our quartet.

• Let's get a young Joe Schner in our quartet.

• Who's Joe Schner

• God has given man the seemingly infinite capacity to remember countless tags plus one of the chapter chorus contest songs.

• The three other guys in your quartet will always have the uncanny ability, without any apparent signals between them, to simultaneously go sharp.

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Birthdays

John Rohal 2/24

Spike Hudson 2/26

Richard Gintert 2/28

Dennis Conrad 3/4

Vic Dandrea 3/4

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Getting To Know Us

Check the "Featured Chorus " link at the top right hand corner of the Bulletin page to visit this issue's group of barbershoppers.

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Black History Month

The important influence of African-American singing groups on the development of barbershop has been well documented. This influence begins around the turn of the century and continues to this day. To honor that contribution, let's listen to The Mills Brothers sing one of their classic numbers.