Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to do something different. See, as much as I love me some country music, I listen to and enjoy all kinds of music. I've always had a hard time understanding people who really only listen to one style and one style only, whether that be country or something else. Why would you ever want to limit yourself like that when there's so much great music out there to discover? I truly believe that every genre has something worthwhile to offer. You can have your favorites. In fact, you will have favorites. Nothing wrong with that. But it's good to branch out every now and then. It's good to keep an open mind.
I enjoy this because it gives you more of a taste of their personalities. Hint: these guys do not take themselves too seriously. It shows their creativity and it shows what sets them apart. I couldn't see anyone else doing this or at least not anywhere near as successfully. I meant it when I said that they could sing anything. Also, as it turns out, it's not just Home Free's Rob Lundquist that can make me enjoy whistling. I liked it in here too. Plus the pong game is pretty amusing. It goes to show that they have fun with what they do. Something I find quite refreshing.
You know what? I think we need another video break. I'm imagining that many of you are wondering what exactly is going on here. Well, what we have here is a countdown of songs from last summer. It's good. I promise. I'd like to give Layne and Geoff a special shout out for their arrangements. I have a ton of respect for anyone who can arrange music as well as these guys can. As you'll see in the next couple of videos, they manage to make songs that shouldn't work together work. I've watched all of these an insane of times and it still impresses me how well they all flow from one song into the next one. So keep up the great work, guys.
So we've talked about Layne and we've talked about Geoff. Next up? Earl. You know, sometimes you look at a person and think you can tell what their voice is going to sound like. And then you hear them sing and discover that you were wrong. Earl, as previously mentioned and as you can tell from all these videos, is the high tenor of the group. I was trying to think of a word to describe it and honestly, the first one that came to mind was sunshine. He has a brightness to his voice that I really like and that makes it so distinctive. It's pretty hard to think of anyone else I've heard with a voice like his and I can't think of anyone. It's one of the things that makes VoicePlay stand out.
You know what every vocal group needs if they're ever going to be great? A little soul, that's what. VoicePlay has their soul and his name is Eli. My goodness, he has some soul. It adds such a great texture to the harmonies and what makes it better is that his voice has a kind of excitement in it as well. This means that his solos are going to always have either a lot of emotion or a lot of energy in them. As best evidenced by "All of Me" and "Am I Wrong" in the above video. I also appreciate how Eli evidently favors interesting vocal ones over the run of the mill runs you hear so often. This is not to say that none of the other guys don't do interesting vocal runs themselves, mind, but Eli's just seem to stand out the most for me. I dig 'em.
Meanwhile, I'd like to take a second to talk about the very end of the video when Earl is talking about them wanting suggestions for future aca-countdowns. Notice how country was included in his examples. I gotta say that I'm so curious about what songs they'd include if they did one and what they'd do with the songs they chose. So if any member of VoicePlay stumbles into here, I'm going on record as wanting an aca-country countdown. I want it a lot. No, not want. Need. This is something I need in my life. Seriously Though perhaps ix nay on the "agon-Way eel-Whay". Although if anyone can make me like that song again, it might just be VoicePlay. Hmm.
I digress.
So now, you have (hopefully) watched each of the previously included videos and by now probably assume that you have a handle on each of their voices. I have news for you. You do not. Oh sure, you have a pretty good feel for Geoff's voice by now. As you also do for Earl's voice and Eli's voice. This next video is going to really show off all of their voices and you'll even get to hear Layne sing a bit. But there's someone we haven't talked about yet. Tony. AKA the person who is about to blow your mind.
Now wait, some of you are thinking, we've already heard Tony. He had a solo in the first video and we could hear him in the others. We know what he sounds like. You do. What you don't know, however, is what all he is capable of. So at this time I urge you all to please fasten your seat belts and prepare yourself accordingly. I'm not going to tell you when it'll happen. You'll know when it does. Get ready for your life to become a little more awesome.
You're welcome. All I can say is dang, Tony. Holy dang even. That's not an expression I've ever heard anyone use, but I'm sticking with it. Why? Because he impressed me to the point where I needed to invent a new expression for it. Now his vocals have been very good in all of these videos. His harmonies, and this is true for each of guys, are never anything short of rock solid. But then you get to #2 and you realize that he hasn't been singing anywhere near his full capacity, for lack of a better word. In those moments, he's not just singing a song, he momentarily becomes the Phantom. The best part of this whole thing though, musically speaking, might actually be the transition between #2 and #1 - go back and watch it again. The way his voice changes just between the "inside your" and "number one"is wonderful. Also, his facial expressions - always entertaining - are pure gold in this. The best part is that it's so obvious that he genuinely loves performing. It makes you want to watch him.
Other honorable mentions for this video include the fact that they used songs from some of my favorite musicals (i.e Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Mis, and The Lion King). Plus they went with my favorite song from The Lion King which Eli completely knocked out of the park. Bonus points for the Spider-Man dig. Though my favorite non-music related part of this is easily the smile on Earl's face at the end of the Phantom bit. I love it because not only does it say something about VoicePlay, it says something about the a cappella community as a whole. I'm still pretty new to the a cappella world, but one thing that's impressed me about it is how supportive everyone is of each other. It reminds me of the country music community, but closer. Especially lately. But that's a rant for another time.
See, all of the VoicePlay guys clearly love music and they love making it with each other. You watch any of their videos or you watch clips from live shows and you can just tell that they all genuinely enjoy what they do. VoicePlay especially. I appreciate it, especially considering that so many singers seem to value attitude more than connection these days. Not the case with these guys. They're are all about the music and all about the connection. They are a joy to listen to and an even greater joy to watch.
And that's the magic word: joy. That's what VoicePlay brings me. I've loved music for as long as I can remember. It was always a source of comfort, a source of strength and, yes, a source of joy. I've spent a large chunk of my life singing. What does any of this have to do with VoicePlay, you wonder? Well, at some point over the past couple of years, singing stopped bringing me joy the way it always had before. I never stopped singing because people like me can never really stop singing. But it wasn't the same. At all. And then I discovered Home Free and through them found VoicePlay and those discoveries have completely reignited my love for music. Music never quite stopped being a source of comfort for me in all this time, but now I can say that it has become a source of joy once again. How appropriate that I fall for a group named VoicePlay when that is exactly what they have inspired me to: to play with my voice the way that I used to. I can't even begin to explain how much that means to me. Or how grateful I am for it. It is a wonderful gift and I thank them for it.
Speaking of Home Free, they did a collaboration with VoicePlay a while back and so I figure, why not include it? Both of these groups deserve your attention and it is not an exaggeration for me to say that right now, I play both of them above just about every other artist. That's how much I love and believe in them both.
I hope that this has inspired at least a few of you to give VoicePlay a shot. I honestly think that other artists could learn a lot from them. Namely that musicality matters. There is more musicality in just one of these videos than there's been in several songs coming out of Nashville lately. Connection matters, too. It's the difference between being indifferent to an artist and loving them. And you know what else matters? Joy. Enough with projecting nothing but attitude. Let's have a little more joy. Stop taking yourselves so seriously and don't be afraid to be silly every now and then. These guys certainly aren't!
Check 'em out further:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
iTunes
How about one more video for the road? This one felt appropriate...you'll see why. Enjoy!
So in saying that, I'd like to introduce you to what will be an ongoing thing around here. This is, and will remain, primarily a country music blog. It's just that every now and then I'm going to pick an artist from another genre to focus on. This was something I wanted to do back when I started this blog a few years ago, but it just never happened. And then I discovered Home Free and that was a bit like falling down a rabbit hole into the magical world of a cappella music. Magical because a cappella music speaks to me on a level that other genres can't. Instruments are great and there are so many incredible musicians that I love; I'm not trying to take anything away from any of them. But nothing compares to the power of the human voice. Nothing. What you have to understand is that a cappella performers don't simply create or merely perform music. They are the music. A cappella performers have no choice but to embody the music. It won't work otherwise.
This, I think, is what makes it so effective. One of my biggest pet peeves in music is when the lead vocal gets drowned out by the instruments and/or background singers. But with a cappella music, you eliminate the instruments. That cuts out a lot of the possible clutter right there. Plus as versatile as the human voice is, a singer can only do so much at a time. You know an a cappella group is good when you don't even care or notice that there's no instruments. Hard to accomplish that if you waste one of the voices on a part that's nonessential. For the audience, it's easier to connect with a person than it is to connect with an instrument. When the other sounds you hear are coming from human voices, it's nearly impossible to lose the lyric - which makes it easier to connect with the lyric. And when you can connect with each of the performers and the lyric, well, that's really something special. You feel it on a deeper level. If an emotional lyric, you feel it more emotionally. If it's a fun, uptempo song, you're going to feel it on more of a physical level. In other words, it becomes nearly impossible to stay still. Which makes it good for both your ears and your waistline.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way these performer move while they're performing. Remember: they become the music instead of just singing it. This apparently makes for a more physical performance, Seriously, just watch any of their hands while they're singing. Be forewarned: you might start finding yourself moving your own hands in similar ways.
Now. VoicePlay. I have to say that I have never come across a group with a more appropriate name. Because it perfectly describes what these five guys do, namely, they play with their voices. It's hard to put these guys into one specific genre because they're more than capable of singing many different styles from many different eras. I think of them as musical chameleons. I believe that these men can sing absolutely anything. I believe it because they've proven it. I encourage everyone to watch each of the videos included and you'll be surprised at the amount of styles covered. I'm also going to go ahead and strongly encourage wearing headphones since there's a whole lot of things you'll miss if you don't. Though I'm adding a friendly PSA reminding you to check your volume levels beforehand. Now that all said, just who is VoicePlay and why should you care about them? Lots of reasons.
I'm guessing that some of you may be here because you already like VoicePlay and like reading things about them. To you all, I say welcome. To all of my fellow country fans, I ask you again to keep an open mind as we get off of that blasted dirt road everyone and their mother is singing about lately and step out of the country for a little while. I recognize this will be quite the departure for some of you. Worry not. We're going to ease into this. It'll be fine.
Let's start, as always, with the line up. Using the video below as a reference. Going from left to right, in the back you have baritone Tony Wakim, high tenor Earl Elkins, Jr. and second tenor Eliezer "Eli" Jacobson. In the front, you have bass singer Geoff Castellucci and beat boxer Layne Stein - these two seem to do pretty much all of their arrangements with the latter acting as their producer as well. VoicePlay was started, I believe in the early 2000s by Earl, Geoff and Layne and they would pick up Eli and Tony along the way.
I promised that we were going to ease into this and so we will - with a mouse. Mickey Mouse, that is. This is also pretty appropriate seeing as how VoicePlay is based out of Orlando, FL. Disney recently celebrated 20 years of Broadway and collaborated with various artists to help them celebrate. VoicePlay being among them. The result was pretty wonderful. Watch for yourself.
Now if that didn't make you smile at least once, I'm not sure what to say to you. This video flat out makes me happy. It's become one of my go-to videos to watch when I need a little pick-me-up. Meanwhile, did any of you take my advice and watch any of their hands while they were singing? It's kind of like they're using their hands to "play" what they're singing. I think it's so interesting to watch.
Whenever I do a post like this, I always like to highlight each person separately since they all bring something unique to the table. Understanding that each person is needed to make the group work as well as it does. So we'll start with the man who provides the heartbeat for the group, Mr. Layne Stein. He beat-boxes, he writes, he produces, he arranges, he raps and he even sings every now and then. I'm a little tired after just listing all of that! I've determined that beat boxers are basically another kind of human. I have such a hard time comprehending how Layne and people like him can make most of the sounds that they make. His beats are always solid and help form a great foundation for the others. I'd say that in many ways he's the glue that holds it all together, musically speaking.
Well, him along with Geoff. The latter being the other part of the foundation for the other three. One of my favorite things about a cappella music is how much easier it is to hear the bass. I've often felt that bass singers and/or players never quite get the credit they deserve. This doesn't seem to be the case in a cappella music and I love that. Geoff is really who you need the headphones for, although they also help bring out Tony's harmonies too - but we're not talking about him yet. You really don't know just how much of the bass lines you're missing without the headphones. In my recent post about Home Free (which you can find here), I said you needed the headphone to get the full Foust experience which I described at getting properly Fousted. When listening to VoicePlay, you need them to be properly, well, Castelluccied (go with it). He has what I'd call a rich voice. Rich and velvety. Use the headphones. You want the full Castellucci experience. Trust me.
Time for a video break, yes? Here's something different.
This, I think, is what makes it so effective. One of my biggest pet peeves in music is when the lead vocal gets drowned out by the instruments and/or background singers. But with a cappella music, you eliminate the instruments. That cuts out a lot of the possible clutter right there. Plus as versatile as the human voice is, a singer can only do so much at a time. You know an a cappella group is good when you don't even care or notice that there's no instruments. Hard to accomplish that if you waste one of the voices on a part that's nonessential. For the audience, it's easier to connect with a person than it is to connect with an instrument. When the other sounds you hear are coming from human voices, it's nearly impossible to lose the lyric - which makes it easier to connect with the lyric. And when you can connect with each of the performers and the lyric, well, that's really something special. You feel it on a deeper level. If an emotional lyric, you feel it more emotionally. If it's a fun, uptempo song, you're going to feel it on more of a physical level. In other words, it becomes nearly impossible to stay still. Which makes it good for both your ears and your waistline.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way these performer move while they're performing. Remember: they become the music instead of just singing it. This apparently makes for a more physical performance, Seriously, just watch any of their hands while they're singing. Be forewarned: you might start finding yourself moving your own hands in similar ways.
Now. VoicePlay. I have to say that I have never come across a group with a more appropriate name. Because it perfectly describes what these five guys do, namely, they play with their voices. It's hard to put these guys into one specific genre because they're more than capable of singing many different styles from many different eras. I think of them as musical chameleons. I believe that these men can sing absolutely anything. I believe it because they've proven it. I encourage everyone to watch each of the videos included and you'll be surprised at the amount of styles covered. I'm also going to go ahead and strongly encourage wearing headphones since there's a whole lot of things you'll miss if you don't. Though I'm adding a friendly PSA reminding you to check your volume levels beforehand. Now that all said, just who is VoicePlay and why should you care about them? Lots of reasons.
I'm guessing that some of you may be here because you already like VoicePlay and like reading things about them. To you all, I say welcome. To all of my fellow country fans, I ask you again to keep an open mind as we get off of that blasted dirt road everyone and their mother is singing about lately and step out of the country for a little while. I recognize this will be quite the departure for some of you. Worry not. We're going to ease into this. It'll be fine.
Let's start, as always, with the line up. Using the video below as a reference. Going from left to right, in the back you have baritone Tony Wakim, high tenor Earl Elkins, Jr. and second tenor Eliezer "Eli" Jacobson. In the front, you have bass singer Geoff Castellucci and beat boxer Layne Stein - these two seem to do pretty much all of their arrangements with the latter acting as their producer as well. VoicePlay was started, I believe in the early 2000s by Earl, Geoff and Layne and they would pick up Eli and Tony along the way.
I promised that we were going to ease into this and so we will - with a mouse. Mickey Mouse, that is. This is also pretty appropriate seeing as how VoicePlay is based out of Orlando, FL. Disney recently celebrated 20 years of Broadway and collaborated with various artists to help them celebrate. VoicePlay being among them. The result was pretty wonderful. Watch for yourself.
Now if that didn't make you smile at least once, I'm not sure what to say to you. This video flat out makes me happy. It's become one of my go-to videos to watch when I need a little pick-me-up. Meanwhile, did any of you take my advice and watch any of their hands while they were singing? It's kind of like they're using their hands to "play" what they're singing. I think it's so interesting to watch.
Whenever I do a post like this, I always like to highlight each person separately since they all bring something unique to the table. Understanding that each person is needed to make the group work as well as it does. So we'll start with the man who provides the heartbeat for the group, Mr. Layne Stein. He beat-boxes, he writes, he produces, he arranges, he raps and he even sings every now and then. I'm a little tired after just listing all of that! I've determined that beat boxers are basically another kind of human. I have such a hard time comprehending how Layne and people like him can make most of the sounds that they make. His beats are always solid and help form a great foundation for the others. I'd say that in many ways he's the glue that holds it all together, musically speaking.
Well, him along with Geoff. The latter being the other part of the foundation for the other three. One of my favorite things about a cappella music is how much easier it is to hear the bass. I've often felt that bass singers and/or players never quite get the credit they deserve. This doesn't seem to be the case in a cappella music and I love that. Geoff is really who you need the headphones for, although they also help bring out Tony's harmonies too - but we're not talking about him yet. You really don't know just how much of the bass lines you're missing without the headphones. In my recent post about Home Free (which you can find here), I said you needed the headphone to get the full Foust experience which I described at getting properly Fousted. When listening to VoicePlay, you need them to be properly, well, Castelluccied (go with it). He has what I'd call a rich voice. Rich and velvety. Use the headphones. You want the full Castellucci experience. Trust me.
Time for a video break, yes? Here's something different.
I enjoy this because it gives you more of a taste of their personalities. Hint: these guys do not take themselves too seriously. It shows their creativity and it shows what sets them apart. I couldn't see anyone else doing this or at least not anywhere near as successfully. I meant it when I said that they could sing anything. Also, as it turns out, it's not just Home Free's Rob Lundquist that can make me enjoy whistling. I liked it in here too. Plus the pong game is pretty amusing. It goes to show that they have fun with what they do. Something I find quite refreshing.
You know what? I think we need another video break. I'm imagining that many of you are wondering what exactly is going on here. Well, what we have here is a countdown of songs from last summer. It's good. I promise. I'd like to give Layne and Geoff a special shout out for their arrangements. I have a ton of respect for anyone who can arrange music as well as these guys can. As you'll see in the next couple of videos, they manage to make songs that shouldn't work together work. I've watched all of these an insane of times and it still impresses me how well they all flow from one song into the next one. So keep up the great work, guys.
So we've talked about Layne and we've talked about Geoff. Next up? Earl. You know, sometimes you look at a person and think you can tell what their voice is going to sound like. And then you hear them sing and discover that you were wrong. Earl, as previously mentioned and as you can tell from all these videos, is the high tenor of the group. I was trying to think of a word to describe it and honestly, the first one that came to mind was sunshine. He has a brightness to his voice that I really like and that makes it so distinctive. It's pretty hard to think of anyone else I've heard with a voice like his and I can't think of anyone. It's one of the things that makes VoicePlay stand out.
You know what every vocal group needs if they're ever going to be great? A little soul, that's what. VoicePlay has their soul and his name is Eli. My goodness, he has some soul. It adds such a great texture to the harmonies and what makes it better is that his voice has a kind of excitement in it as well. This means that his solos are going to always have either a lot of emotion or a lot of energy in them. As best evidenced by "All of Me" and "Am I Wrong" in the above video. I also appreciate how Eli evidently favors interesting vocal ones over the run of the mill runs you hear so often. This is not to say that none of the other guys don't do interesting vocal runs themselves, mind, but Eli's just seem to stand out the most for me. I dig 'em.
Meanwhile, I'd like to take a second to talk about the very end of the video when Earl is talking about them wanting suggestions for future aca-countdowns. Notice how country was included in his examples. I gotta say that I'm so curious about what songs they'd include if they did one and what they'd do with the songs they chose. So if any member of VoicePlay stumbles into here, I'm going on record as wanting an aca-country countdown. I want it a lot. No, not want. Need. This is something I need in my life. Seriously Though perhaps ix nay on the "agon-Way eel-Whay". Although if anyone can make me like that song again, it might just be VoicePlay. Hmm.
I digress.
So now, you have (hopefully) watched each of the previously included videos and by now probably assume that you have a handle on each of their voices. I have news for you. You do not. Oh sure, you have a pretty good feel for Geoff's voice by now. As you also do for Earl's voice and Eli's voice. This next video is going to really show off all of their voices and you'll even get to hear Layne sing a bit. But there's someone we haven't talked about yet. Tony. AKA the person who is about to blow your mind.
Now wait, some of you are thinking, we've already heard Tony. He had a solo in the first video and we could hear him in the others. We know what he sounds like. You do. What you don't know, however, is what all he is capable of. So at this time I urge you all to please fasten your seat belts and prepare yourself accordingly. I'm not going to tell you when it'll happen. You'll know when it does. Get ready for your life to become a little more awesome.
You're welcome. All I can say is dang, Tony. Holy dang even. That's not an expression I've ever heard anyone use, but I'm sticking with it. Why? Because he impressed me to the point where I needed to invent a new expression for it. Now his vocals have been very good in all of these videos. His harmonies, and this is true for each of guys, are never anything short of rock solid. But then you get to #2 and you realize that he hasn't been singing anywhere near his full capacity, for lack of a better word. In those moments, he's not just singing a song, he momentarily becomes the Phantom. The best part of this whole thing though, musically speaking, might actually be the transition between #2 and #1 - go back and watch it again. The way his voice changes just between the "inside your" and "number one"is wonderful. Also, his facial expressions - always entertaining - are pure gold in this. The best part is that it's so obvious that he genuinely loves performing. It makes you want to watch him.
Other honorable mentions for this video include the fact that they used songs from some of my favorite musicals (i.e Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Mis, and The Lion King). Plus they went with my favorite song from The Lion King which Eli completely knocked out of the park. Bonus points for the Spider-Man dig. Though my favorite non-music related part of this is easily the smile on Earl's face at the end of the Phantom bit. I love it because not only does it say something about VoicePlay, it says something about the a cappella community as a whole. I'm still pretty new to the a cappella world, but one thing that's impressed me about it is how supportive everyone is of each other. It reminds me of the country music community, but closer. Especially lately. But that's a rant for another time.
See, all of the VoicePlay guys clearly love music and they love making it with each other. You watch any of their videos or you watch clips from live shows and you can just tell that they all genuinely enjoy what they do. VoicePlay especially. I appreciate it, especially considering that so many singers seem to value attitude more than connection these days. Not the case with these guys. They're are all about the music and all about the connection. They are a joy to listen to and an even greater joy to watch.
And that's the magic word: joy. That's what VoicePlay brings me. I've loved music for as long as I can remember. It was always a source of comfort, a source of strength and, yes, a source of joy. I've spent a large chunk of my life singing. What does any of this have to do with VoicePlay, you wonder? Well, at some point over the past couple of years, singing stopped bringing me joy the way it always had before. I never stopped singing because people like me can never really stop singing. But it wasn't the same. At all. And then I discovered Home Free and through them found VoicePlay and those discoveries have completely reignited my love for music. Music never quite stopped being a source of comfort for me in all this time, but now I can say that it has become a source of joy once again. How appropriate that I fall for a group named VoicePlay when that is exactly what they have inspired me to: to play with my voice the way that I used to. I can't even begin to explain how much that means to me. Or how grateful I am for it. It is a wonderful gift and I thank them for it.
Speaking of Home Free, they did a collaboration with VoicePlay a while back and so I figure, why not include it? Both of these groups deserve your attention and it is not an exaggeration for me to say that right now, I play both of them above just about every other artist. That's how much I love and believe in them both.
I hope that this has inspired at least a few of you to give VoicePlay a shot. I honestly think that other artists could learn a lot from them. Namely that musicality matters. There is more musicality in just one of these videos than there's been in several songs coming out of Nashville lately. Connection matters, too. It's the difference between being indifferent to an artist and loving them. And you know what else matters? Joy. Enough with projecting nothing but attitude. Let's have a little more joy. Stop taking yourselves so seriously and don't be afraid to be silly every now and then. These guys certainly aren't!
Check 'em out further:
Website
YouTube
iTunes
How about one more video for the road? This one felt appropriate...you'll see why. Enjoy!
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