Friday, November 23, 2012

Have Yourself an A Cappella Christmas

Photo from Christmas Cheers


It's that time of year again!  Here are some SNC QN reader and staff suggestions if you would like to add some a cappella to your Christmas playlist!  Is your favorite missing from this list? Tell us in the comments!

Straight No Chaser
@SNCmusic

Holiday Spirits
Christmas Cheers

The video that started it all!  
"12 Days of Christmas" (1998)
http://youtu.be/2Fe11OlMiz8

"The Christmas Can-Can"
http://youtu.be/7E-47VmFopE

"Who Spiked the Eggnog?"
http://youtu.be/M7byjAaLcRM

Some Chaser favorites:
"O Holy Night"
"Carol of the Bells"
"Indiana Christmas"
"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch!"
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard on High"

New this year!
Guest vocals on Cee Lo's Magic Moment:
"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!"
  
Cadence 
@cadencetweet

Cool Yule

Chanticleer 
@ChanticleerSF

Our Heart's Joy: A Chanticleer Christmas
Psallite! A Renaissance Christmas
A Chanticleer Christmas
 
Let It Snow* (parts of this album do include instruments)
Our Favorite Carols

Eclipse 
@EclipseSingers  

It's Christmas Time
Three Kings

First Call
 
An Evening in December

Gentleman's Rule
@GentlemansRule

New this year!

"White Christmas" (at the Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting)
http://youtu.be/Y10jTXNvxrQ

"Silver Bells"
http://youtu.be/ZFdRJXvZBu8

And here's kind of a fun flashback for the Luke Mechling fans:
Acapellicans, "White Christmas"
http://youtu.be/dlPtMtq2Qj8

Glad

An A Cappella Christmas
Voices of Christmas 

m-pact
@mpactmusic

The Carol Commission

Naturally 7  
@Naturally7

Christmas... It's a Love Story

Overboard
@OverboardVocals

Tidings

"Sleigh Ride"
http://youtu.be/ydtOgv8yzcU

 
Pentatonix
@PTXofficial 

New this year! 
PTXmas

"Carol of the Bells"
http://youtu.be/WSUFzC6_fp8


Peter Hollens
@PeterHollens

"The Christmas Song"
http://youtu.be/P8FlF8mst2Y
 
Point of Grace

"In the First Light"

Rockapella
@RockapellaMusic  

Christmas
Out Cold
Comfort & Joy
 
Take 6
@Take6Official

He is Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The Sing-Off

A Sing-Off Christmas
Harmonies for the Holidays

The Swingle Singers
@swinglesingers

Christmastime
The Story of Christmas
Unwrapped
 
Tonic Sol-Fa
@tonicsol

Christmas 
March of the Kings 
On Top of the World 
Sugarüe 

"Do You See What I See?"
http://youtu.be/_AtMQhjXYGQ

Songs in a wetsuit (don't ask, just watch!)
http://youtu.be/57M3o42-vNE

Songs in tights (ditto)
http://youtu.be/Wq-76uoil5Y


You can also check out our 2011 Holiday Playlist for more great music!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Gentleman's Rule

By Carla "blameCarla" Rodriguez


Photo from GentlemansRule.com


The comparisons between Straight No Chaser and Gentleman's Rule are going to be inevitable. Both groups are alumnus of IU's Another Round (formerly IU SNC), both groups genesis involve Dan Ponce, and both groups are ten guys (both groups even include a Mechling). But if you ask Will Lockhart and Dan Ponce, that's where the comparisons will stop. Gentleman's Rule has ten very different voices and personalities and the sound, although it will have the same high levels of professionalism and genius as SNC, has morphed them into their own entity very quickly.

So "How did TJ Breen, Corey Frye, Drew Kipfer, Will Lockhart, Brent Mann, Luke Mechling, Andrew Morstein, Holland Nightenhelser, Jasper Smith, and Jesse Townes all get together?" and "How did Dan Ponce become involved?" you ask. Well, let me tell you!

According to Will Lockhart, the group was started last summer, in May of 2011. Half of them were still in IU SNC preparing for the 15th anniversary concert when Will saw a few audition notices for The X Factor and The Sing-Off and decided to send a mass email to singers from IU SNC past and present imploring them to audition with him. TJ Breen, the music director of IU SNC at the time, got a call from a Sing-Off producer personally inviting them to come to Chicago and audition for the show, and so they formed a group of great singers who had all been in IU SNC at one point in time.

"We rehearsed every night for a few weeks, gearing up for the audition," Will explained. "Our original name was TBA because we honestly could not think of a name that was better. Finally, tenor Corey Frye came up with Gentleman's Rule while he was in the shower and it immediately stuck. We auditioned for The Sing-Off and made a great impression on the judges, and honestly thought that we were going to make it on. We signed contracts and everything, but I think the fact that we got together just to be on the show turned the producers off a bit. I think they were looking for more of a back story from us. Something that would bring more ratings to the show.”

Imagine their surprise when they didn’t make the show.  They thought they would never sing together again as a group until, cue a bit later, they were called individually by Dan Ponce asking them to pursue the group full time. After a few small lineup changes, they met with Dan last August.  He played them his arrangement of "The Pachanelly Canon" and told them that he had backing/management/label for them. “Basically," said Will, "he gave us a once in a lifetime opportunity that none of us could turn down. Since three of our members were still in IU SNC at the time, we decided to let them finish strong and then we would dive headfirst into Gentleman's Rule."

Cut to Dan Ponce, who said he was looking for an outlet for his musical creativity. Not only did he create a label to sign Gentleman's Rule to, but he is co-managing and producing them along with Charlie Blum (the father of the bride in the "Pachanelly" video who also manages/produces male vocal quartet Under the Streetlamp). Dan also made his directorial debut on the "Pachanelly" video, which received over 200,000 views in the first six days. The directing experience, he said, was harder than he had expected, but a lot of fun and "(The video) came out exactly as I envisioned it ." Dan, his mom and his dad all have cameos in the video. Of course, Dan also arranged songs for Gentleman's Rule, and co-wrote the original song "I'm Coming Home" along with Mike Luginbill and Jerome Collins of Straight No Chaser.

The "Pachanelly" video was meant to be the opening salvo, the teaser if you will, in the career of Gentleman's Rule, and what an opening shot it was! I Googled the video five days after it was released and came up with 20 pages of reviews, including Mashable, MSN.com, Fresh Musik, Carbonated TV and many others - some from around the world! Today it sits at 335,041 views.  Their second video “I Wish/Play That Funky Music” was released on September 3rd, and the video for "I'm Coming Home" was released on November 1st. (All videos were produced by Winky Productions.)

Cover image from GentlemansRule.com
Gentleman's Rule released their debut album this week! Act Accordingly, which can be purchased on their site, features songs by a wide range of artists including Stevie Wonder, The Script, Peter Gabriel, Nelly, Bruno Mars, One Republic, B.o.B., Outkast, Gavin DeGraw, and more. I don't know about you all, but I couldn't wait for November 13th (the day before my birthday *hint* )!

There is a 16 date run at the Royal George Theater in Chicago going on now until Nov 25th, and a tour with labelmates Under The Streetlamp to look forward to. Chasers, let’s see them out on the road and welcome them Chaser style to the a cappella fans' world!

(A huge thank you to Dan Ponce and Will Lockhart for all their time and help with this post. I'm sure we will hear more from them very soon!)


Twitter: @GentlemansRule
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GentlemansRule

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Aca-Album Releases

This Tuesday we celebrated the release of two highly anticipated a cappella albums!!!


Gentleman's Rule released their debut album, Act Accordingly!  
http://gentlemansrule.com/
 
A note to Chasers: If you've been wishing for a recording of Dan Ponce's "All My Life" you can buy it now on Act Accordingly.

Cover image from GentlemansRule.com
Track Listing
Titanium
Good Life
I'm Coming Home
Marry You
The Pachanelly Canon
I Wish / Play That Funky Music
In Your Eyes
Hey Ya
Barefoot Blue Jean Night
For the First Time
Airplanes
Not Over You
All My Life
Three Little Birds
Titanium (Club Remix)





And Pentatonix released their first Christmas EP, PTXmas!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ptxmas-ep/id572957637
 
Cover image from iTunes
Track Listing
Angels We Have Heard On High
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Carol of the Bells
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)
O Holy Night
This Christmas







Congratulations to Gentleman's Rule and Pentatonix! We're so excited for you!


I also wanted to remind everyone to check out Straight No Chaser's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!" guest vocals on Cee Lo's Magic Moment - now available!

Cover image courtesy of @CeeLoGreen
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ceelos-magic-moment/id564392095












Have you listened to any of these yet? Which song is your favorite? Tell us in the comments!