Off the Beat invited us down to cover their Fall show and we just find it incredibly difficult to say no to them. Truthfully, they’re a big reason we started doing Acappella U four years ago, so we feel like shooting their concert was the least we could do. This is Owl City’s Fireflies, and it JUST SO HAPPENS that this number came out the best - we don’t have a man crush on Josh Rittenberg or anything. Really.

Thanks again to Off the Beat for having us down, and remember - if you’d like to have us come to your school to shoot a video and A) are located the Northeast or B) have deep pockets, shoot us an email,  or, better yet, be our fan on the Facebook and post a ‘message’ on our ‘wall.’ It’s a virtual wall, of course, on the Facebook. Very confusing but terribly modern!

In the mean time, we will be agressively updating the free feed and website with sampleized verisons of current and past episodes so our part-time students will be up-to-date.

“Snakes On A Plane” (Solos: Will, Jonah and Rina, org. Cobra Starship)
“Mercy On Me” (Solo: Donna, org. Christina Aguilera)

 First of all, the best way I can sum up my impression of Off The Beat is that they are, in fact, more than they are cracked up to be. Musically, I can honestly say I like them even more live than as a studio band. They’re easily the best collegiate a cappella group I’ve ever seen in person, period. And they were even a couple of guys short last night.  We got a ton of great footage, we did a Vocal Percussion Masterclass and a music video shoot, and we also taped the entire concert.

But I sort of expected that, at least a little. What I didn’t expect was to meet some of the nicest, most warm-hearted people I’ve ever encountered since starting this little adventure we call Acappella U. What with being brilliant, gorgeous and incredibly talented, I figured the members of Off the Beat would be on balance an aloof, stand-offish bunch, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The group’s attitude is very kind and welcoming, and it all starts at the top.

In the interview I did with her, Morgan McOwen called Jake Cooper, OTBs President,  ’the most stand-up guy in college a cappella’ and I can’t put it any better. I’ve worked with a bunch of officers to cooridinate what we do both in studio and for our little field trips, and no one has gone out of their way to make sure we had a great experience the way Jake has, from sending me every CD in their discography to driving us around Philly this weekend. Jake, if you’re reading this, you’ve got my vote for congress.

Jonah Platt was beyond breathtaking as the band’s music director/conductor/percssionist/tenor soloist, but I was shocked at what a nurturing teacher he was to the other band members, and to me for that matter as he showed me the ins and outs of vocal percssion. He and Jake do a terriffic job of parenting Off the Beat.

Then there was the seemingly endless parade of beautiful, leggy, American-Idol-finalist-esque female solists, whose rock-diva vocals came along with incredibly down-to-earth personalities and sanguine hearts. And sunny-eyed Will, who came to Penn all the way from Spokane Washington having heard a single collegiate a cappella song in his life and with a perfect sense of pitch he didn’t even know about. With his Tom Hanks-ish charisma onstage and a great set of tenor pipes, he found himself in one of the best bands on the planet.

No, these definitely weren’t the kids I thought I’d meet. Then I got to thinking about it, and I realized that the Off The Beat we met is a little like Superman. Supes is basically the most powerful guy on the planet - he flies, has heat vision, invulnerability, you know the deal. But instead of lording over the mere mortals of earth, his boy-scout heart drives him to protect them instead. I think the leadership of this group sees all the gifts and talents bestowed on them as placing a responsibility on their shoulders as well, to not only be the best on stage and in studio, but to be the most professional and do-the-right-thing group as well.  

Thanks again to everyone at Penn who helped us with this trip, especially Jen Yuan. In the next couple of weeks, look forward to hearing and seeing Off The Beat as we experienced them. I certainly hope someday to come back here, for where is Acappella U if not Penn?   

“Don’t Cry” (Seal)
“Feel Good, Inc.” (Gorillaz)

Here’s what we have so far, with MUCH more to come soon! Not included here is the Ramblers video, it has its own post below. Enjoy!

Also, Ep. 22 has been delayed pending a couple of issues:-( I hope to have it up by Saturday night, which, incidently, would be two weeks since Ep. 21.