Video Spotlight: Still Alive by VoicePlay

2017 is off to quite a start, I must say. There's good news and not-so-great news. The good news is that if you're a male who sings in the baritone/tenor 2 range and have dreamed about being in VoicePlay, well, you just might be in luck.

I imagine that most of the people who come across this have already heard and those of you who haven't can probably guess. The not-so-great news is that that means that someone has left. If you've been paying attention over the last year, it shouldn't be too hard to guess who. Here's their announcement.

Yeah.

Tony is no longer with VoicePlay. It's funny because this was obviously coming and yet the news still managed to hit like a ton of bricks. I was going to write this a couple of days ago, but decided to wait until I got myself in a better frame of mind. This more or less cause a tidal wave of feels. I've cried. I've been upset. I've cussed. I've prayed. I've said goodbye, shook my fist and asked God why. I've...launched into a Lee Brice song.

Get it together, Alexander.

Okay, so maybe I didn't actually do all of those things. There's been no fist shaking involved, for instance. There have been tears. A lot of them. What can I say? I'm an emotional person. I cry every time I watch Tangled, for heaven's sake. But that's okay. I have a habit of getting attached to groups as evidenced by many of the posts on this blog. I've had groups I loved break up and I've seen members come and go. It happened with Home Free last year and now it's happened with VoicePlay. I will say that if there was one group I hoped that this wouldn't happen with, it was VoicePlay. But it is what it is.

Does this mean I've given up on VoicePlay? Um, no. I don't mean a regular ole no either. It's a big, fat, resounding heck no! Give up on my guys? Never! If anything, this has renewed my commitment to the group. Am I still sad that Tony left? Yes. But I know that it'll be okay. The important thing is that Geoff, Eli, Layne and Earl are still together and looking for a "new Tony".  I have a lot of love for these four men and am not about to abandon them now. I'll miss Tony's voice and what he brought to the group. I'm so grateful for all of the music and videos he helped create. It's definitely not going to be the same, but you know what? That's okay. It's still going to be wonderful. It'll just be wonderful in a different way.

We already know that Geoff, Eli, Layne and Earl are crazy super talented. Today's video is just one example of that. I don't think it's possible for these four men to get together and not come up with something great. I have so much faith in these guys. I have no doubt that I will end up loving "new Tony", whoever he turns out to be. I'm looking forward to meeting him and I'm so excited to see what VoicePlay does in 2017.

Still feeling unsure about all of this? Maybe today's video will help.

Their cover of "Still Alive" is the 5th episode in their Partwork series and involves our fantastic foursome. This one also stars apron Geoff. If you haven't been introduced to him yet, you might want to brace yourselves. But I think you'll like him. "Still Alive" was #7 in my countdown of my favorite VoicePlay videos from 2016. You can find the rest of that list right here. 

In the meantime? Here's Geoff, Eli, Layne, Earl and apron Geoff.

If you've ever watched their ACA-Top 10 Video Games, this is the song that's playing at the end. I suspect that's one of the main reasons why this was apparently one of their most requested songs. Anyone familiar with the song recognized the snippet at the end and wanted more. The rest, as they say, is history. I'll be honest and admit that as one previously unfamiliar with both the song and the game that it's from, Portal, this seemed like an odd choice. 

Herein lies the magic of VoicePlay. "Still Alive" doesn't do much for me as a song, but I can say the same for a few of the others songs they've done. But somehow they always find a way around it and I end up liking it anyway. In this case, the video has a lot to do with it. How can you not be entertained by apron Geoff? Even though his cooking technique is a little questionable, to say the least. Or is it? Considering that the cake is, apparently, a lie. So, questionable to anyone else, but part of apron Geoff's fiendish plot to get rid of the others. 

Okay, so maybe apron Geoff isn't exactly what you'd call trustworthy. Unless you don't mind being zapped out of existence, that is. But you still gotta love him. His expression after "Except the ones who are dead". His reaction when Layne picked the vanilla cake mix over chicken. That glare from the cupboards. I did feel a kind of kinship with him while he was drumming on the bowl as that's something I would do. He had a nice little beat going too. There's the face he makes after tasting the batter before going to grab what looked like a Twinkie to fix it. The dancing. 

Surely I can't be the only one out there who wouldn't mind seeing apron Geoff again. Though, if it did happen again, how about not zapping the others out of existence? Hmm? I'd just as well like the each of them to stay in one piece, if no one minds. 

In any event, once the news broke and a fellow VoicePlaya and friend posted this video, it seemed like the obvious choice for my first VoicePlay post of 2017. Things are changing and change can be tough. But everything is going to be okay. Hopefully watching this helped. Keep in mind, too, that Tony didn't do any of the Partworks and look how great they've all been. That's not meant as a slight against him, so don't take it as one. More like a reminder that if any of these four men - Geoff, Eli, Layne and Earl - are involved, it's going to be great. No matter the configuration and especially when they all sing together. So much of that wonderful VoicePlay sound is going to stay exactly the same. It's going to be fun to see what "new Tony", wherever he is, brings to the table. 

Now is the time for all of us VoicePlay fans to rally around them. Let's make sure that they know that they're still just as loved as they've been. If not more so. Let's show them that we have faith in them. I know I certainly do. 2017 is going to be a great year for them. I feel it. I really do.

You're going to want to be a part of it. Trust me on this. Or actually, trust them. We've seen what they can do and it's my belief that it's only going to get better from here. See where you can stay in touch with them below.

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