For those of you who haven’t heard, the Sing Off is an a cappella competition airing on NBC beginning tonight, December 14th at 8PM and continuing at 8PM on the 15th and 16th, with the finale happening on Dec. 21st. Looks like everybody votes for the winner on the night of the 16th. The Sing Off is the biggest deal in the a cappella world, well, basically ever. Why? Because all kinds of regular people - the school janitor, the babysitter, your mom - is going to have a cappella music shoved in their grill for 2 hours by one of the big four networks.

Simply put, The Sing Off is going to provide the best answer ever to the Big Question that, for anyone who’s ever loved a cappella, has always lurked in the back of your mind. If mainstream Americans get a taste of contemporary a cappella, will they think it’s as cool is we think it is? To put that another way, is lack of exposure the only reason a cappella hasn’t gotten huge, blown up, hit the big time, tipped , etc? One of the themes I (Joey) have repeated on this show over and over again is that A cappella has a good 12-18 months in it as a national fad. If that’s ever going to happen, I think it’s going to be in 2010.

Now Acappella U is all about Collegiate A Cappella, and there are four collegiate groups in the competition, the Tuft’s Beelzebubs, USC SoCal VoCals (sort of), BYU NoteWorthy, and Lee University’s Voices of Lee, (never heard of them, but there are lots of great groups I’ve never heard of). Here’s my take on each of the college groups.

The SoCals, an eight member recent-alumni version of the SoCal VoCals, have the best chance on paper. Why? Because they’re a smaller group, and smaller groups just seem to do better in competitions. They’re a little older, better looking and more from Southern California than the rest of the groups. Seriously, there’s NO ONE from NYC in this competition which seems very bizarre, and so the SoCals are going have all of, well, socal, the second largest population center in the country, voting for them by default.

Noteworthy looks GREAT judging by the previews, the girl who looks lie Pink is just fabulous. Also, HUGE kudos to Deke Sharon for the incredible arrangement of Under Pressure you’ll hear the entire cast perform as the opener. To me, the all-female thing will be huge OR they’ll flop big time. Probably the former because they’re gorgeous and VERY good.

Voices of Lee I’ve never heard of, which makes me nervous that the only reason they’re on this show is for the religious right red-state demographic. One of the things I DON’T like about the show is how contrived some of the casting seems. That’s unavoidable to an extent. When I was pitching the TV version of Acappella U, I remember this coming up early and often - stuff like ‘there are black groups and latino groups, too, right?’ And you kind of want to be honest and say, well, yes, sort of, but that’s not why these groups aren’t usually formed along racial and cultural lines, and a lot of the best stuff out there tends to be done by mostly white groups from Ivy-league-ish schools. There are minorities in great a cappella groups, to be sure - Mouth Off’s Christpher Diaz is an incredible talent and one of the pillars of the a cappella community, but amongst tthe ICCA high-achievers and repeat CARA winners, there’s not the broad demographic spread you see in American Idol Finalists. Television networks are very good at tweaking reality to serve their own creative purposes, and all things considered I think that’s fine if it serves the greater good.

Now, if that being said, Voices of Lee is my on-paper Dark Horse provided they’re decent on stage. Those bible-belt people know how to VOTE on shows like this. I mean, they managed to bring down Adam Lambert, the greatest contestant in AI history. Let’s all hope Voices of Lee is in there because they’re a huge talent, not just the best Christian group that came out.

That bring us to the Bubs, the quintessential Alpha Males of recorded collegiate a cappella, who I’d have to guess have more CARAs, BOCA selections and screaming female fans than anybody (can I get a fact check?). I sincerely hope I feel like a fool 24 hours from now for saying this, but I’m a little concerned after seeing the preview clip NBC threw up. I think there are four questions for the Bubs:

1) Will they show up, i.e. are they really all that good? To quote our facebook status, will the Bubs we see tonight be like Tony Stark without the Iron Man suit- a wealthy, super-smart guy completely dependent on technology for his competitive prowess, or more like Bruce Wayne sans Batgear - an incredible natural competitor whose reputation is aided by, but not founded upon, toys & gadgets, i.e. post-production.

2) If the answer to number 1) is yes, then, will it all translate through the TV medium? Will seeing a big group like the Bubs on TV be as good as seeing them live (it isn’t for Hockey)? Micing and mixing big groups is always tough, and there are so many faces and voices to learn.

3) Will it percolate the musical taste buds of John Q Public? This is the aforementioned Big Question.

4) Then there’s the kicker. Even if all those questions are answered with a ‘Yes’ and the Bubs look and sound the best, can America root for the group of rich white kids? I say group because on an individual basis we have no problem rooting for them as long as the national media digs up at least one humanizing attribute (volunteers at a soup kitchen) or heartbreaking storyline (little sister in a wheelchair) to make us feel like they’re OK. But when you have a BUNCH of RWKs, things get a lot tougher. Then you’ve got Cobra Kai, the Eden Hall Academy Varisty Hockey Team, or the heel in every other sports movie in history. When we see a team in a competition who has all the advantages, especially money, we’ve been trained to root against them. NBC has already done a little legwork to counteract this inclination by pointing out on the Sing Off website that the Bubs are actively involved in charity work in the Boston Public Schools, and hope there are liberal doses of that on the actual show.

The Bubs are the toughest test for the contemporary collegiate style - no pretty girls (and though a good looking bunch, they’re not Abercrombie models), no compelling rags-to-riches storyline, no built - in demographic - I guarantee that 4 out of 5 people in the northeast haven’t ever heard of Tufts, let alone know where it is. The Bubs just have (presumably) great singing, incredibly intricate arrangements, vp, etc., and the best, most technically gifted a cappella minds in the competition. We here at Acappella U are hoping against hope that the Bubs take this competition by storm, because in the same way that Pavorotti got the masses into Opera, the Bubs get folks hooked on college a cappella better than anyone else. To some extent this will be true regardless of who wins, but if the Bubs in particular do well on the show and John Q Public goes looking for more of their music, he’ll be blown away by what he finds. The world, my dear students, will then be your oyster.

After the show we went out for a few drinks, such that drinking for fun is possible at Penn, and were delighted to find that our (read:my) car had been locked into the parking garage where it was napping.

Fortunately, my car’s CD player works! I thought it might have broken due to irrelevance and neglect. We rocked out to Evitative, OTB’s latest joint, while we waited for the Penn Police (no, seriously) to let us out of the car cage, then headed back to the Residence Inn and got crackin’ on the pictures and video we got. Half a bottle of Maker’s and an episode of Mad Men later, it was 2:47 and time for bed.

Thanks to OTB for having us down, and congrats on the BOCA nod guys!!! Video coming soon. . . .

Q: Why is collegiate acappella so popular?

A: Well, you have to separate that into two questions: Why do so many people want to SING in groups and why do are so many non-singers fans of collegiate a cappella.

For singers, that’s sort of like asking why people eat ice cream - it’s awesome by its very nature! I think a lot if a cappella singers are drawn to the music because of the way it FEELS to sing as a part of a group and to harmonize with one another - it’s very pleasurable. I watched a surfing movie the other day and one of the guys they interviewed talked about going through the ‘tube’ of the wave. He said it was the greatest experience in his life, a visceral thrill and ecstasy that he couldn’t match anywhere else. That’s a cappella singing to a lot of us. There’s also those who revel in being a rock star without having to be able to play an instrument. In fact, I have it on good authority that a large percentage of male singers do it for the chicks. Finally, for the Musicians (capital M) in the groups, I think many of them take it on as an intellectual challenge, to arrange for and direct such a unique instrument. After doing this for a while, I now realize that a big part of the reason this music started in the Ivy League and remains prevalent primarily in top tier schools like BU is that it’s HARD to create, and like any other conceptually challenging task, smart kids are just better at it.

As for the fans, for some reason young Americans can’t get enough of karaoke - just look at the ratings American Idol gets. Collegiate a cappella is like watching a BUNCH of (usually) good looking people that you know all sing karaoke AT THE SAME TIME. The real question is why isn’t it MORE popular? My answer is that it hasn’t been marketed correctly yet, as every attempt to do so has revolved around some competition or contest. Eve breaking up with Tyler is way more interesting.

Q:How has collegiate acappella changed in the past 5 years?

A:Well, I’ll talk about engineering below, but digital music has given college groups a whole new way to distribute and more importantly, archive their music. Sites like acaTunes and iTunes give fans instant access to music that just wasn’t there a few years ago.

I also think one of the unfortunate trends I see continuing is talent dilution. Because a cappella is SO popular, people are more motivated than ever to be in a group by hook or by crook, even if it means starting their own because they didn’t make the ‘good’ group at their school. Now, a few of these upstart groups then wind up becoming better than the main, tradition-laden, ‘premiere group,’ which I think is bad for the community. Take U of R for example. The Midnight Ramblers should, by all accounts, BE the Yellowjackets. The Yellowjackets have been around forever, have al kinds of alumni money, history, etc. Now they’re sort of second banana to this new upstart group called the Ramblers. It’s a shame the guys who started the Ramblers couldn’t have just FIXED the Yellowjackets, after all, it’s not like Georgetown just starts a new basketball team when they’re having a bad season. Most of those splinter groups wind up being really mediocre though, being built around two or three really talented people. THE REAL SHAME is that when there’s finally room in the premiere group for those two or three really talented people, they’re locked up in their crappy group and everyone suffers. Some schools have an understood JV-Varsity relationship between groups, which is probably the best solution.

Q:How important is it for groups to make CDs?

A: If you mean recordings, well, extraordinarily. If oyu mean physical CDs, well, not so much. To go back to the last question, I think this is a HUGE way collegiate a cappella has changed. If have some people that can sing, a few nice arrangements and a lot of time and money, you can by yourself a reputation. Nothing makes a good group out of thin air like a dope studio album, and I’m probably more guilty than anyone for perpetuating that problem. The fact is though that if you can meet a girl at some party, dump some sick, pro-sounding music onto her iPod and say ‘that’s me and my boys,’ that’s a big deal for your average 20 year old guy. It’s also the best memory you can make of all the time and effort you put into the group, although we’re trying to add another dimension to those memories with Acappella U HD.

As far as the physical CDs, they’re great for your Mom, but for students it’s much more relevant to have your music available on iTunes or acaTunes. acaTunes is even producing ‘album cards’ that groups can sell at concerts that allow people to go home and download an album, no expensive CD required.

Q: Do you think some acappella is becoming overproduced?

A: Yes and no. I like that a cappella engineering has evolved into an art unto itself, because I’m a big fan of art in general. People who bitch about over production on recordings need to get out and see a concert if they want live-sounding music. Or watch Acappella U HD! Obviously some producers like to push different parts of the envelope in their own signature ways, and will occasionally pump out a particularly in-human sounding track just to prove what they can do, I think that on the whole it’s much more good than bad. For one thing, it makes a cappella sound much more ‘legit’ to the general public. Most of us have had that experience where we play a modern recording for someone who’s never heard contemporariy a cappella music, and they say ‘that’s just PEOPLE?’ There’s value in getting new fans interested that way. The flavor of production is also a personal choice. Pete Hollens just came on the show after producing the new On the Rocks CD under the tutelage of Bill Hare. Now, Bill is one of if not the biggest name in a cappella post-production, but he and Pete created one of the most natural, vocal centric CDs I’ve heard, because that’s what he wanted to make.

I will say that I’m not a fan of octivizing the bass lines of all-female groups. I know why they do it and I guess it sort of makes sense, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Q: Who do you hope to reach with your podcasts?

A: Basically four groups of people

1) Those aspiring to be CA singers, usually HS or college students

2) Current CA group members

3) CA group alumni

4) Everyone else

Each group has different tastes, and I try to cater to all of them, if not every episode then every few. For instance, ‘Everybody Else’ likes the most produced, bombastic sounding stuff out thee because that’s the music that sounds most similar to the original track. Alumni, however, seem to like it when I throw in mid ’90s ‘oldies.’ Recently I’ve been neglecting the aspirational singers, we used to ask the interviewees a lot more questions about auditioning, etc. We ought to get back to doing some of that.

Q: Why did you start ACapella U?

A: Basically because I didn’t make the cut for the U of R Midnight Ramblers. When I attended Marquette there was no a cappella group, and even though I was a rabid fan of CA I never got the chance to actually participate during y undergrad years. When I moved back to Rochester I decided I wanted to get my MBA and along the way I thought I could finally live my college fantasy and sing in a CA group, so I tried out for the Ramblers. . . . and didn’t make it. I had just recently bought my first Mac with the express purpose of expressing more of my creativity, and podcasting was just taking off, so I searched for a collegiate a cappella podcast that I could contribute to. When I didn’t find one, I decided to start Acappella U, more as an outlet for my CA fandom than anything else. I (famously) said that if 20 people downloaded the first episode, I would make a second. almost three years and a quarter million downloads later, people are still listening.

Q: Why should people listen to collegiate a cappella?

A: Because of the kids that make it. I’ve done a lot of soul searching about why I enjoy the CA scene so much, and on top of all of the musical reasons I gave before, I just love seeing college kids having a blast. Its a magical time of life, when you’re young, you have everything in front of you and you’re making life-changing decisions on a daily basis. What better way to fill the spaces on that lovely canvas than with singing?

South Region - Quarterfinal 1

1st Place -University of North Carolina-Greensboro Spartones

2nd Place - JMU Madison Project

Midwest Region - Quarterfinal 1

1st Place - University Illinois Xtension Chords

2nd Place - Michigan Gimble 

West Region - Quarterfinal 1

1st Place - USC SoCal VoCals

2nd Place - Fullerton and Citrus These Guys

 

Northest Region - Quarterfinal 1

1st Place - Brown Jabberwocks

2nd Place - Tufts sQ!

As I sit here staring at the blank page on my computer screen wondering what to write for a first blog entry for Acappella U, my mind is filled with a slew of ideas but there is only one thing I can make myself write about, or maybe I should say rant about. As I go through my a cappella collection on my iTunes list, all but three songs I have rated as five stars have unbelievably perfect pitch and rhythm, and is so produced you sit there thinking “there’s no way they sound this much like a guitar.”

What happened to those groups that can pull off kick-ass performances and release an album that doesn’t actually sound exactly like the song? (Go listen to My Love by the Clefhangers in Episode 42) I’ll admit that all these fancy sound effects are cool, but I can’t help but feel it’s sort of self-defeating. Sure you aren’t technically using instruments, but I find it no different than when girl groups octavise their basses. All female groups use this to make up for the fact that they don’t have men in their group, but what is the point of an all female group if on your recordings you make it sound co-ed? To quote Joey on Episode 40 (in reference to UGA Noteworthy’s Wonderwall) “why not do something that no one else can do? Why octavise your basses and try and sound like men when you can sound like that?” I would have to pose the same question - why not do something that no one else can do? Sound like an a cappella group!

Now as a music major, getting pitches and rhythm right is something I value heavily in myself and in recordings. However, I feel like sometimes the emphasis on this can be stressed too heavily and what we hear is the arrangement punched into a very advanced version of Finale. In other words, where’s the feeling in it? I have a close friend who likes to tell me he thinks collegiate a cappella music isn’t actually music. I obviously don’t agree, but some songs severely compromise their musicality for technical perfection. Jesusland in Episode 40 is a good example of this. There is no denying the BU Dear Abbeys do a great job nailing that arrangement, but there’s not much feeling in it. Actually, in August I played that song, among others, for my college a cappella group to help them get a better idea of what they like and don’t like in a cappella music. Many of the members made reference to a robot of some sort. However, let me take you back in the way back machine to Episode 11 and listen to Echo as performed by the Cornell Chordials. This is one of those three songs in my iTunes library that I was talking about. The arrangement is simple, but it’s rich in harmony, dynamics, emotion, and the best part for me is that - although it is still slightly produced - I imagine it would sound much like that in concert.

Further case in point - Episode 26, the two versions of Alma Mater / Tusk as performed by the SoCal VoCals. The live version kills the studio version, regardless of the fact that the studio version is more together in rhythm and pitch. You can’t even argue that one.

To reality check myself, I realize the chances of the all those heavy-hitter groups turning around and scratching the excessive post production is well… zero, but perhaps I will inspire someone that reads this to appreciate the “less-than-perfect” a cappella music, as well as those groups that say no to excessive post-production (or any at all - hats off to you, Brown Derbies).