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!!!