Quick heads up: this post will be fairly media heavy. There's some of my pictures from the show and there will be some of their videos included for your viewing pleasure. Please be advised that one or more of these songs might end up stuck in your head and could stay there for quite a while. Infectious music is infectious. If you missed part 1, it's just some thoughts I have about a cappella music in general. You do not need to read that in order to read this, but if you want to check it out you can find it here.
Now.
The Exchange. VoicePlay. Street Corner Symphony. They are what this post is about, but before we get to that I'm afraid that I have a serious confession to make. My name is Kim and I am an a cappellaholic. Yes, I have what you might call an aca-addiction. I'd say I suffer from it, but that would be a lie. The truth is that I enjoy it. Which is good since I'm pretty sure I'm beyond help by now. If I've learned one thing lately it's that once you go a cappella, there's no going back. I say this for two reasons. The first is to offer up a warning that if you choose to keep reading, if you choose to watch all these videos, than you too might develop an aca-addiction. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The second reason I bring this up is because I've recently realized that there's two people in particular that I can blame thank for this. VoicePlay's Geoff Castellucci and Layne Stein. Everything kind of revolves around VoicePlay here for me. They were my original reason for wanting to go to the Sing Off tour in the first place. I was introduced to Street Corner Symphony through a video they did together to promote the tour. The tour that introduced me to The Exchange. If you read my article about Home Free (found here), you might remember my mentioning that finding them was kind of like falling into a magical rabbit hole into the magical world of a cappella music. I blamed them for this since liking them is what led to my VoicePlay discovery, but turns out it wasn't entirely their fault.
See, Home Free just released a hauntingly beautiful cover of Jake Owen's "What We Ain't Got" - which you need to check out if you haven't already done so because it's stunning. Afterwards it occurred to me that I'd been kind of neglecting them since falling into what will henceforth be known as the VoicePlay vortex. I decided to remedy this some by going back to my a cappella Snow White i.e, the one that started it all. The first Home Free video I ever saw: their CMA 2014 Single of the Year Medley. Don't ask me what made me look in the description box as I usually only read it the first time, but look I did. Most of Home Free's arrangements are done by either Tim Foust or Chris Rupp. Not this one. This one was evidently done by, you guessed it, Geoff Castellucci and Layne Stein. Seems I've been stuck in the VoicePlay vortex from the beginning and didn't even know it. Their medleys, people. That's how they get you. Prior to getting into a cappella music, my main two musical weaknesses? Country and Broadway. My first Home Free video: the CMA medley. My first VoicePlay only video: their Aca Top 10 Broadway medley. Clearly I never had a chance. Geoff and Layne are some kind of musical evil geniuses.
We'll get back to them and their cohorts later, but first: The Exchange. Out of the three main groups, I knew the least about these guys going in. I did watch a couple of their videos before the show, but those didn't prepare me for what they'd be like live. What were they like? Two words...
Holy smokes. Some acts take a song or to get going, but these guys come out ready and rearing to go. The amount of energy they have is just insane! There's an electricity about them that makes them so exciting and fun to watch. So who are they? Starting from the top and working our way down we have: Aaron Sperber (tenor I), Alfredo Austin (tenor II), Jamal Moore (baritone), Christopher Diaz (bass) and Richard Steighner (vocal percussionist). It's hard to put these guys into any one genre since you hear elements of a bunch of different musical styles. This is true for all three of these groups - in fact, this might be true for most a cappella groups. It's kind of like they are everything and nothing at the same time if that makes any sense to you. Whatever. Ultimately, music is going to be one of two things: good or bad. You can stick these guys solidly in the good column.
Good time for a video break? I say yes.
Good time for a video break? I say yes.
What I appreciate and respect the most about The Exchange is the way that they view music, which is as a way to connect people who otherwise might not have anything in common. It's been said that music speaks when words cannot and that it is so true. It's universal - you can listen to a song in a foreign language and it can still touch you. It's magical that way. These guys understand that. What you have with this group is five pretty diverse individuals who are united in their love for music and
their desire to share it with the world. Something that they've managed to do quite well. These guys exude so much positivity and light and it's wonderful to watch. We could use more acts like this. We could use more people like them. One of my favorite things about their set was watching people in the crowd reacting to it. People of all ages spent this set smiling and dancing and obviously enjoying themselves. It was one of the most fun sets I've watched in my life - and then a few songs in, they did an off-microphone rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" with Jamal Moore on lead that was just beautiful. Any doubts anyone may have had about them until that point surely must have disappeared after that. In fact, watch a version of it and see for yourself.
Whoever decided to have them perform first out of the three main groups certainly knew what they were doing. The openers, Timothy's Gift and the Vanderbilt Melodores, got the crowd good and warmed up and then The Exchange, VoicePlay and Street Corner Symphony did a pretty great version of "Under Pressure" which built it up more. The Exchange's set right afterwards kicked it into another gear entirely and it was the perfect lead in for everything that followed. The energy level in the Ryman was just insane. Fun fact: the balcony of the Ryman shakes a little when people jump on it. We learned that during their set.
This was followed by what, if you read part 1, is what I called one of the most ridiculous things I've ever watched. The ping pong match which served (ha) as a way to showcase the beat boxers/vocal percussionists. On that note, I'm so confused as to what to call these guys. Maybe there's a beat boxer and/or vocal percussionist that can enlighten me here. I'm serious. What do y'all prefer to be called? Is it at all correct to say that beat boxing is more of the club like sounds and vocal percussion is all your drum/percussion sounds? I'm genuinely curious about this. One thing I know for sure is that I'm am continuously surprised by the sounds these guys can make. They are the heartbeats of their respective groups. I'd love to know who came up with the idea for the ping pong game because as ridiculous as it was - there was slow motion climbing involved, people - it was also absurdly entertaining and funny. Such a creative way to show what these guys are capable of, so kudos to whoever thought of it.
Next up: my primary reason for attending this show. VoicePlay. If you read my mini-novel about them (found here) you know who they are already. For those who did not, at the top we have high tenor Earl Elkins, Jr. aka "Earlsa" - no, I did not come up with that myself. Next we have the oh so soulful second tenor Eliezer "Eli" Jacobson, followed by baritone Tony "the Phantom" Wakim. Rounding out the group are the aforementioned musical evil geniuses Geoff Castellucci (bass) and Layne Stein (vocal percussionist). I was so excited to see them live for the first of what will hopefully be many times and they did not disappoint. Their show is not a typical one. It's a blend of theater and comedy mixed with great vocals and it's wonderful. Their set included a satirical tribute, for lack of better word, to the WOW hits commercials that I'm sure we've all seen. This was a medley of recent hits that included snippets of songs by Justin Bieber, Dierks Bentley ("Drunk on a Plane") Nicki Minaj and part of Frozen's "Let It Go" and others. Featuring Earl as Elsa (hence Earlsa) which was hilarious. These guys are too much.Their set also involved an audience member getting to audition for the group, which I imagine made everything sitting in the balcony grateful that they were sitting up there and thus out of range. The guy they picked was a good sport and you know the audience is always pulling for them, but man. Fun to watch at least. Meanwhile, VoicePlay proved that they do, in fact, have my number. Their set included their "Elvira" cover. I knew they did this song and had seen a video of it, but was not expecting them to do it at this show. Also, what is up with bass singers and their ranges? Pretty sure that Geoff hit four octaves during that. Did this satisfy my desire for them to do an ACA Top 10 country countdown? No. No, it did not. If anything, it made it worse. I'm so hoping it happens at some point down the road. I mean, they can sing country music and Layne and Geoff have arranged country music. I'm just saying. Come on, guys, you know you want to do it. Again: at some point. You know, at your convenience. I'll even say please with extra Twinkies on top.
Speaking of their ACA Top 10 countdowns, they happened to do one. My favorite, in fact. The Aca-top 10 Broadway countdown. Because of course they'd do that one. It's basically the musical definition of the word awesome, after all. In all honesty, that alone made going to the show worth it for me. The video is great, but it's incredible live. The standouts being Eli and Tony. First, Eli. "Seasons of Love" and especially "He Lives In You", ridiculously good. His voice is perfect for those songs. And Tony. My goodness. His face is a show in and of itself; his might be the most expressive face I've ever seen. And his Phantom solo, well. So good. So flippin' good. Props to Geoff for the bass bomb he drops in the middle of that too. Meanwhile, I've recently figured out why I have such an We need another video, I think. There was no way I could have left this one out. My introduction to Nashville based Street Corner Symphony. Gotta say that the fact that things like this can happen nowadays is pretty awesome.
I'm going to honest and admit that Street Corner Symphony had some pretty big shoes to fill after all of that. But here's what was so special about the show and what is so special
about these groups: they are all at the same level of goodness. Each has their strengths and each brings something different and unique to the table. The Exchange has their infectious energy.
VoicePlay has their immense showmanship. And Street Corner Symphony? They have their incredible musicality. Don't get me wrong: all three of these groups have musicality and have it in spades. It's just that this is kind of where Street Corner Symphony excels. The amount of sound that these six guys generate is unbelievable. There were times where, if you weren't looking you would think there was a full choir of people singing. This might sound weird - in fact, I know it will - but it's like you get washed by beautiful harmonies while listening to these guys. Sometimes it almost feels like you just got punched in the face by said harmonies. You know, punched in a good way.
about these groups: they are all at the same level of goodness. Each has their strengths and each brings something different and unique to the table. The Exchange has their infectious energy.
VoicePlay has their immense showmanship. And Street Corner Symphony? They have their incredible musicality. Don't get me wrong: all three of these groups have musicality and have it in spades. It's just that this is kind of where Street Corner Symphony excels. The amount of sound that these six guys generate is unbelievable. There were times where, if you weren't looking you would think there was a full choir of people singing. This might sound weird - in fact, I know it will - but it's like you get washed by beautiful harmonies while listening to these guys. Sometimes it almost feels like you just got punched in the face by said harmonies. You know, punched in a good way.
The lineup. Again, going from the top and moving downwards, we have Mark McLemore (tenor I), Jeremy Lister (tenor II), Johnathan Lister (tenor III), Richie Lister (baritone), Adam Chance (bass) and Kurt Zimmerman (vocal percussionist). I've gotten the impression that members sort of come and go depending on the time of year; I might be wrong. In any event, this was the lineup we saw. You might have noticed that three of these guys have the same last name and if you'd assumed they were brothers, you assumed correctly. These guys win for imitating the most instruments - they might just be the most technically proficient of all the groups. These guys have a kind of laid back coolness that was an interesting contrast to the other groups. Don't get me wrong: these guys can rock as well as any of them when they want. Their set ended with a cover of "Uptown Funk" that practically brought the house down.
Hard to choose a solo video of theirs. I went with this one for two reasons. This song, originally by Muse, keeps getting stuck in my head and I love the way they did the video. It's perfect. So kudos to Adam Chance, who apparently directed it, and also to Mark McLemore for the arrangement. Well done, gentlemen.
Hard to choose a solo video of theirs. I went with this one for two reasons. This song, originally by Muse, keeps getting stuck in my head and I love the way they did the video. It's perfect. So kudos to Adam Chance, who apparently directed it, and also to Mark McLemore for the arrangement. Well done, gentlemen.
As enjoyable as that was, my favorite part of that set is a tie between their original song "Voodoo" which includes a pretty sweet "horns" solo and is also one of the coolest songs I've ever heard. And then at one point, Adam Chance made a comment about how it seemed appropriate to do a classic country song seeing as how we were at the Ryman. I have two words to say about that: heck yes. They did "Ring of Fire" and it was great. You know, I could not have asked for a better venue to see this show. What better place to see a show like this than at the Mother Church? One thing I appreciated about all of the groups was the respect they showed to the Ryman. They all treated it like the honor that it was and you could tell that getting to perform on that stage meant something to each of them. That earned them all some nice brownie points - not that they needed them.
The show ended in the same way it began. With these three groups joining forces again for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", which was wonderfully done. The highlight of the evening, however, was the encore. An off microphone cover of Coldplay's "Fix You". You know, earlier I mentioned how it's been said that music can speak where words cannot. I've also heard it said that music can speak to places that words can't reach. I agree with both. "Fix You" is a powerful song to being with; it's a song that can apply to any kind of relationship and I think to any kind of hurt as well. What a perfect song to be done off microphone. The message is loud enough that it doesn't need the extra amplification. It is not an exaggeration to say that this was probably the most powerful musical performance I've ever seen. There is not a part of me that didn't feel it.
There are moments when music is at its most magical. There are times when a song can penetrate through any and everything. It's not about getting an entire audience to get on their feet and dance. In fact, these moments are recognized by a marked lack of reaction. It's when an audience goes very quiet and gets very still. Because they are so transfixed, so caught up in the music that nothing else matters. Because it's that powerful. "Fix You" ended and there were a couple of seconds of silence between the the last note and the beginning of the applause and cheers. That's where the real magic lives. In the silence. These moments don't happen all that often. They're pretty rare - and that it what makes them so very special. That's what made "Fix You" so very special. That's what made the entire evening so very special. As an added cherry on top, I got to meet all of the guys afterwards and they were all very nice. Good group of men here. There's slightly less than a month left on the Sing Off tour. If you live in or near any of the cities they're going to, do yourself a favor and go. I promise you will not regret it. You can get more information here: http://singofftour.com/.
Two more things. I know it's been a long journey, but there's we're almost to the end. First, a social media blitz. If you've enjoyed what you've read and heard and would like to follow one or all of these groups, you're in luck because you can find them all over the place.
The Exchange
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
VoicePlay
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Street Corner Symphony
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Whew. I'll add that many of these guys have individual accounts on twitter and Instagram as well.
Finally: an announcement. I believe in these groups and their music. I believe that more people should get on board with them and what they're doing. I've done my very best to convince you with my words. But I've decided to do a giveaway. I'm still figuring out the details, but one of you will get the following albums: The Exchange's Pursuit, VoicePlay's Collide, Street Corner Symphony's Southern Autumn Nostalgia *and* I'll even throw in Home Free's Crazy Life. If you have any suggestions about the best way to do it, please let me know. Either on here or you can find me @countrymusicATK on both twitter and Instagram. Or you can shoot me an email at countrymusicatk@hotmail.com - just put something about this in the subject line. I'll do a another post once I get the details worked out.
Thanks for reading!
There are moments when music is at its most magical. There are times when a song can penetrate through any and everything. It's not about getting an entire audience to get on their feet and dance. In fact, these moments are recognized by a marked lack of reaction. It's when an audience goes very quiet and gets very still. Because they are so transfixed, so caught up in the music that nothing else matters. Because it's that powerful. "Fix You" ended and there were a couple of seconds of silence between the the last note and the beginning of the applause and cheers. That's where the real magic lives. In the silence. These moments don't happen all that often. They're pretty rare - and that it what makes them so very special. That's what made "Fix You" so very special. That's what made the entire evening so very special. As an added cherry on top, I got to meet all of the guys afterwards and they were all very nice. Good group of men here. There's slightly less than a month left on the Sing Off tour. If you live in or near any of the cities they're going to, do yourself a favor and go. I promise you will not regret it. You can get more information here: http://singofftour.com/.
Two more things. I know it's been a long journey, but there's we're almost to the end. First, a social media blitz. If you've enjoyed what you've read and heard and would like to follow one or all of these groups, you're in luck because you can find them all over the place.
The Exchange
Website
YouTube
VoicePlay
Website
YouTube
Street Corner Symphony
Website
YouTube
Whew. I'll add that many of these guys have individual accounts on twitter and Instagram as well.
Finally: an announcement. I believe in these groups and their music. I believe that more people should get on board with them and what they're doing. I've done my very best to convince you with my words. But I've decided to do a giveaway. I'm still figuring out the details, but one of you will get the following albums: The Exchange's Pursuit, VoicePlay's Collide, Street Corner Symphony's Southern Autumn Nostalgia *and* I'll even throw in Home Free's Crazy Life. If you have any suggestions about the best way to do it, please let me know. Either on here or you can find me @countrymusicATK on both twitter and Instagram. Or you can shoot me an email at countrymusicatk@hotmail.com - just put something about this in the subject line. I'll do a another post once I get the details worked out.
Thanks for reading!
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