The ACB will return to regular posting in January 2011. In the meantime, some news bits:

-The Shipyard Sings is an a cappella competition based in Hingham, MA. It’s open to all area a cappella groups, with the winners earning a $500 cash prize and the chance to open for the Tufts University Beelzebubs on September 18, 2010.

There will be two rounds of competition, the first of which is underway now, the second of which will start later in the summer. Entrants submit videos here between June 8 and July 16, and the five text-to-vote winners will compete live on July 31 at a show in which the live audience will pick the winner. The second edition runs from July 17 to August 17, with a live show on August 31. Both winning groups will get cash and the chance to perform alongside the ‘Bubs.

You can get more information at the contest’s website here.

-Saint Louis University Bare Naked Statues is trying to raise money to create a new CD in the fall. You can support their cause by purchasing some group merchandise or unique services (telephone serenade, anyone?) here.

Note: This is the final regular post for our 2010 publication season. Thank you to all of this year’s contributors, and to all of our readers. Be sure to check back for news updates during the off-season. We will return to daily posting next season.

The Best I’ve Seen highlights the very best in collegiate a cappella, as seen in the admittedly biased and limited view of the author. In this special edition, ACB Content Manager Mike Chin and ACB Production Manager Mike Scalise team up and, on more than one occasion, butt heads about the best they’ve seen in the 2010 ICCA season.

Best Set
Mike Chin: The easy, objective pick here is The SoCal VoCals–after all, the group that wins the international championship should have put forth the best set of the year. I’m veering a little off course on this one, though, to instead offer up my pick for the set I enjoyed most this season, which would have to be the one put forth by The Washington University Stereotypes at the ICCA Midwest Semifinals. The guys started with a spot of high energy musical theatre with “Seize the Day” from Newsies, before taking on some old school Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “With Carry On.” It was a solid opening to the set, but the guys really were just getting started. In one of the top five solos I saw this year, the guys let loose “Your Song” in the style of Moulin Rouge, to be followed by an impossibly high octane version of “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire. Sets just don’t get much more fun than that. Although the crew didn’t make it to the finals, it sure as heck wasn’t for lack of effort.

Mike Scalise: The best set that I’ve seen in the 2010 season comes from The SoCal VoCals at the finals in NYC. The group, which is tremendously talented, delivered three solid songs sung with near perfection. They began with “God Bless the Child” by Billie Holiday. The solo was clear and professional-sounding. Couple that with a strong visual performance by remaining group members and you have a hit. They continued with “Crazy Ever After” by The Rescues. I wasn’t very familiar with this song, but after hearing a number of soloists sing their hearts out, I was really moved. It was an amazing performance. The group completed their set with “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder. What stood out to me about this song was the group’s entertaining and energetic choreography which consisted of free-style dancing, hand gestures, and even a raising of the soloist (who, in case you were wondering, was exceptional). The overall set was hand over fist better than the rest of the competition, and rightfully earned this group the title and bragging rights for the ICCA 2010 season.

Best Song
Mike Chin: The SoCal VoCals put together a set like an a cappella highlight reel, but I think what I’ll remember most was their innovative imagining of The Rescues’ “Crazy Ever After”. With rotating soloists and rotating positions on stage, the group cleverly created a sense of group unity, while at the same time asserting the individual talents of the group members. Better yet, the constant shifting fit the “story” of the song well, illustrating the shift’s in the narrators’ minds, and the conflicted feelings at play. Emotionally heart-wrenching, musically sound, and altogether interesting to watch, this was the best song I saw in the 2010 season.

Read the rest

For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.

Reason #9: Killer Samples

As an art form that has its roots and its core in live performance, a cappella has the unique opportunity for its performers to sample other songs amidst the ones they are performing.

We’ve all seen it. Sometimes it just sounds right melodically—the bevy of groups performed Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” a couple years ago, and threw back a sample to “Stand By Me,” or Rochester’s Midnight Ramblers sampling “Ode to Joy” toward the end of “Mr. Brightside.” Sometimes there’s a thematic connection—there’s a time I saw group sample Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” in the middle of Ben Folds’s “Annie Waits,” making it a song of empowerment for Annie.

Sampling is a fantastic way of individualizing a song—while a cappella arrangements are, by their nature different, this ups the stakes, creating a mini-medley of sorts, giving the audience the sense its seeing something genuinely unique and special. Furthermore, it keeps the audience on its toes—taking it out of the safe realm of a familiar song, and experimenting with something new. Not every sample works, but when the do, they can really elevate a performance.

I love it!

—-
Trying to find a group? Search or sort The ACB Group Directory–the most comprehensive and up to date directory of collegiate a cappella groups anywhere on the Internet!

The collegiate a cappella world is one of great complexity. Amidst all that there is to take in, The Importance Of… highlights what is truly important, and elements of a cappella that may otherwise be overlooked.

This week, we look at the importance of… organizational leadership

The nature of an ensemble performance is that each and every piece of the ensemble is important. The soloist might get the most attention, but can’t succeed without the vocal percussionist keeping the tempo straight. Even if the song’s on the beat, it won’t matter if the tuning in the background sounds like crap. The visual presentation is the responsibility of the entire group. When it comes to performance, the argument can therefore be made that no individual member is more important than another. That’s what happens on stage. There is, however, another side to a cappella, which is what happens before and after shows, behind the scenes. Herein lies the importance of organizational leadership.

An a cappella group needs leaders to plan for, motivate and prepare a group. Groups need to make their way through rehearsals in such a way that gets them prepared to perform their repertoires well, besides organizing practices such that they make good use of busy college students’ time. These are no easy tasks. And it is up to an organization’s leadership to balance between the many roles involved in a group’s success. They serve as player-coaches, drill-sergeants, motivational speakers, counselors and more. Leadership holds a group together, and synergizes a number of individuals into a unit.

Read the rest

For the uninitiated, it can be difficult to understand why people love a cappella. Heck, even for those of us who do actively enjoy it, it can be difficult to put into words why we enjoy this art form so. While we’ll never have a truly comprehensive list of everything cool about a cappella, 200 Reasons to Love A Cappella is our best attempt at assembling a list of what makes it great.

Reason #8: Body Percussion

When most of us think of a cappella, we think of human voices carrying the melody, harmonizing with one another, synthesizing the sounds of instruments. Carrying that a step further, there’s vocal percussion–multi-piece drum kits, delivered through the human mouth and its interaction with a microphone. Taking things one step further, you have the clap of hands, the snap of fingers, other traditional pieces of a cappella.

There’s a way to take this all a step further, though. There’s a stomp of the feet. A slap of your chest, or your thigh. All of this, without the benefit of instruments, or synthesizing sounds, can create an organic, raw and powerful sound that rouses audiences, with a truly different technique. Carried out at just the right time, with perfect synchronization, this is the kind of performance techniques that draws goosebumps.

I love it!

—-
Want to write for The A Cappella Blog? Want to have your photos posted on the site? Want to join The ACB team in another capacity? You’re in luck because we are looking for new staff! Go to our contact page and write to us about what you would like to do.