Boston U Interview

Joey was recently interview by a Boston University student for a newspaper there. Here’s the transcript for anyone who cares!

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?