Monday Night Practice, December 6, 2010

We had a short practice last night due to one of the guys not feeling well. However, we did have time to practice for our upcoming sing out at Adena Mansion on December 11th and 12th. We will be part of their Holidays at Adena celebration. We're looking forward to it.

Miami Valley Men of Music Practice

I attended practice with these guys last night. The clip above is from their April 2010 competition performance. While they were not dressed quite so formally last night, they made me feel very welcome. The chorus is starting to practice Christmas music. I got to practice a bit and then sing some Pole Cats with them. Then we all got a preview of one of the quartets from the chorus (The Treblemakers). The Treblemakers plan to compete at District this month for the Novice category. We finished the evening with a trip to a local pub for a bite to eat and drink. All in all, a very nice evening. I plan to return next Monday for their formal Guest Night.

JAD Fall Convention and Contest

Here's the latest from the JAD web site.

JAD 2010 Fall Convention & Contest

Date : October 15 - 17, 2010

Place: Lima, Ohio

Headquarters Hotel:

Howard Johnson Lima (formerly Holiday Inn)
1920 Roschman Ave.
Lima, Ohio 45804
Hotel Front Desk: 419-222-0004

Room rate: $89.00 + tax. (Identify yourself as a member of JAD when making reservations)

Cutoff date: September 17th is the cut off date! Make reservations prior to September 17.

Contest Venue:

Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center
7 Town Sq.
Lima, Ohio

For the competitors:

Chorus members should arrive at the Civic Center dressed for stage, and will be directed to their warm -up and ready rooms by host personnel.

A limited number of rehearsal rooms for chorus will be available at the Civic Center at a small fee. Interested chapters should request information for reserving one of these rooms from Terry Reichenbach.

Email Terry Reichenbach at terryr@q1.net. To request a rehearsal room.

Competitor registration Fee:

$35.00 per man, chorus and/or quartet (Fee per man covers both quartet and chorus competitor fees).

Non-Competitor registration:

All-Events ------------------------------------ $35.00
Single Event ---------------------------------$20.00
Student 17 & Below ------------------------$5.00
Saturday night show only ---------------$10.00
College Student (age 18 -24) ----------$15.00
Schedule of Events:

Friday October 15
Noon to 4:30pm --------Registration open @ HQ Hotel
6:00pm --------------------Registration open @ Contest Site
7:00pm --------------------Quartet Semifinals

Saturday October 16
9:00am ---------------------Registration open @ Contest Site
10:00am -------------------Chorus Contest
3:00pm --------------------Quartet Finals
8:00pm ------------------- JADAQC Show

Headquarters Hotel Following Contest Events all weekend:

Woodshedding
Fellowship
Hospitality Rooms (Saturday night)
Notes:

Contest times are subject to change to accommodate volume of registered competitors. Check the JAD web site for any changes.
Questions concerning contest registration need to be directed to Bill Ray, VP C&J.
Questions concerning convention or convention facilities need to be directed to Skipp Kropp, Events VP, or Steve Sommer, Convention Manager.
No advance non-competitor registrations. All non-competitor registrations will be sold at the event.
E-Mail Contacts:

Skipp Kropp, Events VP ------------------ skropp@jacksonkelly.com
Steve Sommer, Convention Manager- steve@caldwellleasing.com
Bill Ray, VP C&J ---------------------------- bray2@neo.rr.com

NOTE: CHANGES OR ADDITION MAY BE MADE TO THIS INFORMATION, AS CONVENTION PLANS ARE FINALLIZED. CHECK THE JAD WEB SITE FREQUENTLY FOR UPDATES.

Miami Valley Music Men Annual Show

Here is "Home Edition", a great quartet from Mansfield, Ohio. They were the guest quartet for the recent (Oct 3, 2010) Annual Show of the Miami Valley Music Men. I really enjoyed their perfomance, especially their version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Their final number, a parody of Roy Orbison's Blue Bayou (Blew By You), was not too shabby either.

Here's a fact about the chorus I found amazing. Out of 36 active members, they have 4 quartets. And to me, singing in a quartet is really what Barbershop is all about. Singing in a chorus is fun, but singing in a quartet is even more fun.

The Miami Valley Music Men have a special guest night coming up on Monday, October 18, and I hope to attend.

Several Barbershop Shows Coming Up

Yep, you could spend each of the next two Saturdays watching and listening to Barbershop. The Dayton Metro Chapter is presenting their Annual Fall Show on Saturday, October 2, 2010. The Delta Kings (Cincinnati) are presenting their 2nd Annual Cabaret show on Saturday, October 9, 2010. Just click the underlined words for links to their respective show flyers.

Prestige - 2010 International Collegiate Silver Medalists

These guys are from JAD. They are fantastic.

Xenia Hospitality Chorus Singout

This is the Xenia Hospitality Chorus recent Singout, under the able direction of Don McAdams. I just love the way Don uses his feet in directing of the chorus.

Mid Atlantic Youth Outreach

Paul, I thought we might be able to show this to the lady who is going to visit us next Monday. I checked the JAD Youth in Harmony, and many of their links weren't working. I think this (the Mid Atlantic region) is an excellent video.

JAD on Facebook

I just discovered JAD on Facebook. Yet another way to keep up to date with the latest happenings.

Heads Up for Lakeside Barbershop Quartet Festival, Sep 4. 2010

Here's a picture of Hoover Auditorium at Lakeside, OH. It's a pretty big place, but last year it was filled for this annual event. Lots of folks like Barbershop!

Here's a link to the Lakeside Show. (Lakeside is located on the Marblehead Peninsula, halfway between Toledo and Cleveland on Lake Erie's south shore.) The 61st Annual Barbershop Quartet Festival will feature three quartets in the historic Hoover Auditorium. The evening is titled, "The Show of Champions." The featured chorus is The Men of Independence (2010 Johnny Appleseed District Chorus Champions), 4 Way Stop Quartet (2009 Johnny Appleseed District Quartet Champions), and Lightly Seasoned Quartet (2009 Johnny Appleseed District Seniors Champions). Directions to Lakeside.

Singing With The Xenia Hospitality Chorus

Having nothing special to do tonight, I drove up to Xenia to sing a bit with the Xenia Hospitality Chorus. Fifty-six miles, took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not too bad a drive! I received a warm welcome from all chorus members. Don McAdams, their director was great. We started with The Old Songs and then spent some time on a Pole Cat, Sweet, Sweet Roses of Morn.
The chorus then practiced a few songs they knew and are going to sing this Saturday at a wedding reception. Next there was some quartet singing and I was reunited with Bobby Knisley. He and I reprised our Apple Corps roles as Bass and Baritone along with a volunteer Lead and Tenor singing Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby.

Don't forget The Xenia Corn Roast: Aug. 7, 2010. Cost is only $10 and there will be plenty of food and singing. This is a picture from last year. Don McAdams, in yellow shirt, is directing his chorus. Everybody had a lot of fun. There are a lot more Corn Roast specifics in the Summer issue of the Cider Press, on page 7. Go to the Jad web site then District then Cider Press on line.

Monday Night Practice, July 5, 2010

Only the diehards tonight. Bob, Paul and Dan. We worked on Beautifull Ohio, Do Lord, and the verse to You Tell Me Your Dream. I guess you really don't need a Bari! LOL

OC Times at The Clay Center, Charleston, WV

What a quartet. What a sound. The crowd really enjoyed OC Times as they performed Friday evening at The Clay Center, Charleston WV. Their performance was part of an evening of barbershop, as they were preceded by the Scioto Valley Chorus (Sweet Adelines) and the Kanawha Kordsmen Chorus. The event was part of Charleston's Festivall, a week-long celebration of the arts.

Of course there was some pick up quartet singing before the show. I managed to get involved.

I'm the guy in the Hawaiian shirt. The guy to my left is "Jeep", a bass, the guy to his left, in the blue shirt is a chorus director, the guy to his left sang a nice tenor, the guy to his left, the left most guy in the picture, is from Germany, at one point he sang with a chorus in Colorado, the guy to his left is a lead, the next two guys are former Dapper Dans. The guy to my immediate right is Paul Hesson, who in addition to being a former Dapper Dan now leads, I believe, The Singing Kernels of Ashland, KY.

National Anthem at the Paints Game, June 24, 2010,

Here's the gaggle at the Paints Game, before we sang the National Anthem. Left to right: Mark Hatfield(Tenor), Paul Hixon (Lead), Bob Cook (Bass), Mark Poyet (Bass), Gene Hoyet (Bari), and Ed Weisenberger (Bari).

Here's Mark Poyet trying to go incognito. He thought he wouldn't be recognized with the sun glasses. Maybe he's really a Bari!!

Chorus to Sing National Anthem at Paints Game

We're going to sing the National Anthem at the Paints game on Thursday, June 24. We'll also be singing a few other songs before the game begins. We're looking forward to it.

Prestige at Apple Corps

These young guys are terriffic. Enough said!

More Than a Hobby and Shining Eyes

If you're a Barbershopper and haven't seen these two presentations, you're missing something amazing. Dr. Jim Henry's presentation to Harmony University in 2007 is phenomenal. If you don't get shining eyes at several points in the presentation, you're not listening. Dave Stevens' presentation, given in about 1983, is hilarious. What a sense of humor!

I was fortunate enough to see both of these presentations at the recent Apple Corps get together at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. You can purchase the DVD from The Harmony Marketplace. And you can actually watch Dr. Henry's presentation here.

More Apple Corps

Here's a picture of Paul Hixon (on left) and Bobby Knisley (Xenia Hospitality Chorus). Note the medal around Bobby's neck. He was 1/4 of the winning Pick Up Quartet.

Here's a picture of 3 of the 4 members of the winning quartet. We never did find the fourth member for a photo, although I believe an Apple Corps photographer may have snapped our picture. I'll be looking for it.

Left to right, Bobby Knisley (Bari), unknown (but he sang Tenor with us late at night) Bob Cook (Bass), and Nathan ("Guru") Gura (Lead). It was Guru's insistence on not singing a pole cat that probably added to whatever it was that led to our being selected Champion Pick Up Quartet. (That or the big bribe we gave the judges.)

APPLE CORPS WINNER

Congratulations to Bob Cook for being the Bass in the winning pick-up quartet at the 2010 Apple Corps. I wonder if the quartet name, "We Bribe the Judge" has any relevancy???

Monday Night Practice, June 7, 2010

We had a good practice Monday night. Seven guys showed up. Mark (bass), Ed (bari), Gene (bari), Paul (lead), Chester (lead), Bob (bass) and our always "lone tenor", Dan. We ran thru all the Pole Cats. We had to get the blue books out once in a while to check on some forgotten notes. I believe we all had a fun time. I even tried to sing a little tenor. We finished up with several tags. We hadn't done that in quite a while. We need practice on them.

Indiana Harmony Brigade

Want to do some high powered quartetting? Harmony Brigade looks like the answer. I guess I was aware of them, but until I saw a few of them in action last night I'm not sure what I thought of them. It looks like tremendous fun! A lot of work, but fun none the less!

Here's a copy of the FAQs from their web site.

Who are "Brigaders"?

Brigaders are Society members dedicated to Extreme Quartetting.freelance quartetting of high quality arrangements made famous by medalist-level quartets. We coordinate music choices Brigade-to- Brigade so that Brigaders from anywhere have a large common repertoire with other Brigaders. We gather at annual Brigade Rallies to pursue Extreme Quartetting. We commit to, and fulfill, the preparation this activity requires.

What's a "Brigade Rally"?

Members of Brigades and prospective-member guests gather annually for Brigade Rally weekends. The 10 to 12-song repertoire for each Rally is selected roughly six months in advance. Sheet music and a professionally recorded learning CD are sent out after a registration is received.

How can I register for a Rally?

Brigade Rally attendance is by invitation only. A Brigade Member who knows both your quartetting ability and your preparation capacity may nominate you to be a guest. Brigade participation is not a woodshed activity, not an average chorus-member activity and not a ride-my- credentials activity. When it comes to Extreme Quartetting, full preparation is everything ... and it's the only way to Brigade Membership.

How are music arrangements selected?

Brigade music teams select combinations of new and old favorites, share their choices with the other Brigades and intentionally create overlapping repertoire. A cornerstone of the Brigade movement is that all Brigaders know a large and expanding number of arrangements in common.plenty of opportunities to enjoy Extreme Quartetting anytime with any Brigaders.

How many Brigades are there?

Currently there are five Brigades dedicated to Extreme Quartetting:

North Carolina Harmony Brigade
next Rally January 2011, Southern Pines, NC

Great Lakes Harmony Brigade
charter Rally June 4-5, 2010, Lansing, MI

Harmony University eXtreme Quartetting Brigade
next Rally ... TBD ... July 31 - August 1, 2010 cancelled

Atlantic Harmony Brigade
next Rally August 20-22, 2010, Wilmington, DE

Indiana Harmony Brigade
next Rally November 12-14, 2010, Indianapolis, IN

Do Brigade Members have to reside in particular states, provinces or districts?
No. Brigades are named for their rally locations, not for territorial constraints. It's common to have attendees from over a dozen states and provinces.

Xenia Hospitality Chorus.....What a Show!

Here's the Xenia Hospitality Chorus. Last night (June 5, 2010) they wore red shirts with the bow ties. They put on a great show. The venue provided by Cedarville University (the Stevens Student Center Theater) was great. Plenty of parking and plenty of seating. I'm already looking forward to next year's show.

Along with the Chorus (red shirts), Four Speed (a quartet made up of guys from the Chorus), The Indiana Harmony Brigade (yellow shirts) and Cadillac Jack (black suits) performed. I can't believe I forgot my camera. I could have taken pictures at the Afterglow, at least.

And this is the MC for last night's festivities, Troy Kaper. I've never seen or met Troy before. He seems to be one of those people who are just genuinely funny. He did a wonderful job. I just sent him a Facebook friend request. Aren't social networking sites amazing? I was trying to find Cadillac Jack on youtube and couldn't. When I searched JAD I found Bustin' Loose Barbershop Quartet competing at the 2010 JAD International Prelims" and thought I recognized the bass. Sure enough it was Troy.

Attention Apple Corps Attendees HOT NEWS

Please forward to your Apple Corps Friends.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM ACMC!!!

To all Apple Corps and IQT:Kenyon participants:

We look forward to having all of you join us on the campus of beautiful Kenyon College next week. We're ready to share a great-extended weekend of barbershop knowledge and fellowship with all of you. In this communication are a few lists you will find very helpful in your preparations for Apple Corps. Please take time to reference them. Most notably, in order to help keep costs for Apple Corps reasonable, we have decided that linens (sheets, pillowcase, towel, and washcloth) will no longer be provided in the registration cost. Please make arrangements to bring your own towels and linens to Apple Corps. Within the past years, Kenyon College has started charging us for these linen packets.


Things to Know

Here are some “things” you may want to take note of.

Bring your own linens as stated above!

Registration will be at Horn Hall. The phone number there is 740-427- 7030.

Emergency contact numbers are 740-427-5250 from 8am-4:30pm M-F and
Campus Security switchboard after 4:30 and weekends at 740-427-5000.

Personal cell phones for Apple Corps staff will be provided at the event.

We will have Harmony Marketplace at registration. There will be a good selection of items available for purchase, such as CDs, DVDs, caps, some t-shirts and jackets and a pitchpipe or two.


Apple Corps Music Camp Packing Checklist

· Pants / shorts
· Shirts (chorus and/or quartet)
· Socks
· Comfortable walking shoes
· Toiletries
· Any medications needed
· Twin bed sheet – flat or fitted (linens not provided this year)
· Top sheet and pillow case (linens not provided this year)
· Duct tape (optional – for sheets)
· Towel and washcloth (linens not provided this year)
· Pillow (optional)
· Pitch pipe
· Chorus name badge
· Pens, pencils, notebooks
· Book bag
· Book of tags
· Camera
· Umbrella
· Small electric fan (optional)
· Extra Undies!!!

Check Out Events in Charleston WV

Take a look at what the Kenawah Valley Kordsmen have planned for late June. Check our their web site for all the particulars. I'm considering making a weekend of it. I'd love to do some street corner Barbershop!!

The Cider Press, Summer Edition Has Been Published

Check your mail boxes. The latest issue of Cider Press is out! It's also available on the web at JAD's site as a PDF download.

Monday Night Practice, May 24, 2010

We had a good practice on Monday. Lots of basses. We even had a visitor from the Xenia Hospitality Chorus, Ron Gunderman (Bass). Ron hand delivered the flyer for The Hospitality Chorus's up-coming show. He also extended a personal invitation for us to attend. I think 3 of us will be attending. We sang a lot of songs, including most of the Barber Pole Cats.

We plan to have a sing out at the Feast of The Flowering Moon, this Friday, May 28, 2010. We're going to meet at 2:30 p.m. in Chillicothe, in front of Lloyd's Sweet Shop. We'll then walk around Water Street and Yoctangee Park and sing. We did this last year at the Feast and we had a good time. Below is a picture of the bridge in Yoctangee. We'll try to keep out of the water!

June 5, 2010 - Saturday; 7:00 p.m. - Annual Show "Let's Take a Trip" Cedarville University, Stevens Student Center, 251 North Main Str., Cedarville, OH 45314 The will be an "afterglow" open to the public for $8. Should be an opportunity for more singing.
This is an easy drive from Chillicothe and environs. Right up US 35 and exit at Cedarville Exit. This should be an enjoyable evening.

Promo for Apple Corps, June 10 - 13, 2010

Apple Corps. Last year was my first year and I had an absolutely great time. I got to sing bass with Real Time. We did a lot of singing for your supper, or any meal, for that matter. There is a hallway on the way out of the dining hall that has super acoustics. A great place to sing. If you've never been, don't miss the opportunity.

Plan Ahead--Apple Corps 2010

It's not too soon to be thinking about attending JAD Apple Corps 2010. It will be held on June 10-13 at Kenyon College, Gambier, OH. I and Gene Hoyet attended last year, and we had a great time. There were educational classes for everyone. Meal times were for fellowship and singing. The food was fantastic, as the the dining hall. What a place! And did I mention I got to sing bass with Real Time, a former world champion quartet. The experience of a liftime.

The Allies Quartet, shown above, will be performing at Apple Corps.

Finally, the latest edition of Cider Press is available at the JAD web site. Go to the site, select District, then Cider Press on line. If you don't have your own copy, you can download it. Enjoy!

Monday Night Practice, March 1, 2010

As you can see, we had a good turn out for practice last night. There were 8 of us, counting me (behind the camera). We even had a new guy show up a second time; Cody Egner (third from left), who sings lead. Cody is a senior at Unioto High School. He's very involved in music. He's also the choir director for St. Peter Catholic Church in Chillicothe. We welcome Cody to the group and look forward to singing with him.

Missing Singing

Singing harmony or even listening to the sound of voices blended together in song is so enjoyable. To me it is like a medicine. No matter how bad your day has been or how tired you may be, when you hear four or more voices singing together, it lifts your spirits.

Recently, I have been too busy to attend the meetings of the First Capital Barbershop Chorus. I can tell the effect it has had on me. I haven't quit singing (I sing along with CD's all the time and continue to practice at home on the charts we are working on). The problem is that I want to be out creating music with others and my schedule has hindered me. Perhaps you have the ability to come out and experience barbershop harmony.

One of the reasons that this chorus formed was because I couldn't see myself living in Chillicothe without the opportunity to sing with a chapter. When I discovered that the closest chapters are an hour or more away from here, we were left with no choice but to put an ad in the paper and start looking for guys that love to sing barbershop harmony.

As you can see I recently made the blog post for not being very regular to the meetings. I hope to get back to singing soon. The point of this post is that maybe you love to sing and you do have the time right now. We are looking for men that love to ring chords and contribute to a vocal group. Don't use me as an example, while I have been absent recently. Come out and sing. Don't miss the opportunity in 2010 to be a part of the chorus and our Society.

Also be sure to check out YouBarbershop.com for great new tools.

Anyone Seen This Man Recently?

When you see Jeff next, tell him the First Capital Barbershop Chorus is really missing him. Implore him to return.

Monday Night Practice, January 18, 2010

We had a good practice on Monday night, with seven guys singing. Ed Weisenberger is now regularly singing with us, adding another baritone to our group. If we could just find another tenor, we'd have two guy on each part. That would be soooooooo nice. If you're reading this and thinking you'd like to join us, please do.

Bill Grogan's Goat

Practice Continues on Monday Evenings at Tabernacle Baptist

I neglected to get our Monday Night practices entered in the Chillicothe Gazette's Datebook section before the end of last year. I entered the notice on line, last night. So we should start seeing them for the practice on Monday, January 18. And we will have a practice tonight, January 11 at the regular time of 7:30 p.m. Please join us if you like to sing. We'll probably be working on Bill Grogan's Goat, and Lida Rose. We will, of course, do a few Pole Cats to warm up.