thank you so much...


--- In bbshop@yahoogroups.com, "The McAlexanders" <bradnann@...>
wrote:
>
> --- In bbshop@yahoogroups.com, "ektenor" <ericandcheriking@> wrote:
> > As someone not in Nashville, I would really enjoy hearing more
> about the things everyone liked... rather than the things you
didn't
> like.
>
> Eric,
>
> Thanks for the great comments and suggestion. We're sitting here
> discussing our favorite moments from the last few days, and have a
> few things to contribute.
>
> Great Moments in Nashville (as of Friday morning) as seen by The
> McAlexanders (or "them calexanders" as Joaner calls us):
>
> THE NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
>
> Wow! You gotta sing a tag after you walk through the iron "lyre
> logo" gate. This little space right in front of the main door is
> designed to be "tag heaven," and it is. We even managed to grab
> Lorin May away from his camera for a minute to sing a tag. (He
sings
> lead, but woodshedded a pretty good baritone with us!) The spiral
> staircase, pictures, and murals are all really cool, and the layout
> of the office areas has the shape of a barber pole. (The walls are
> set at a diagonal, so if you looked at it from the air with an
> infrared camera, you'd see the shape of a barber pole.) The
picture
> of Lunch Break on Drew Ellis' desk is nice, but much smaller than
> expected considering the size of the one in the Harmonizer.
(Private
> joke -- Love ya', Drew! Brad, bass, The Edge. See Jan-Feb 2008
> Harmonizer.) Boxes of music line the shelves in the Old Songs
> library, as do rows of videos in the archives. In the conference
> room, large portraits of O.C. and Rupert stare down from the wall
to
> keep everyone in line when making those important decisions that
> influence the future of the Society. As you walk up to the
building
> from the north, the bigger-than-life painting of Norman Rockwell's
> quartet on the outside wall provides a colorful greeting.
>
> THE DIXIELAND BAND
>
> While the kids and Ann's mom hung out at the hotel, Brad and Ann
> actually had a night out "on the town" -- A great dinner at a West
> End brew pub. (The Blackstone Brewery for those of you in
Nashville
> who might like to try it. Fish and chips are their specialty and
are
> really good.) After dinner we headed down to the Rennaissance (in
> the courtesy shuttle provided by the Marriott Vanderbilt - a very
> nice touch) to see friend Ev and his dixieland band play a few. We
> arrived about halfway through their set, and, in our fourties, were
> some of the youngest in the room, which made it even more fun, to
> observe how our "barbershop elders" hang out and have fun at
> internationals. The band was REALLY good. Check out the Tuesday
> daily bulletin (link available on the BHS web site) for a list of
> members, plus add Brad (Spencer?) on banjo. It was one big sing-
> along, with all the old favorites. We just wished they'd played
for
> another hour.
>
> AMERICAN HARMONY - THE MOVIE
>
> We all assembled in the arena at 9:00am (see description of Lunch
> Break's performance below ... We were slow, slow, slow, slow, very
> slow, slow, slow ... after the night before). The movie is very
> entertaining, and very well done. Lots of things that made the
whole
> crowd laugh. Great anthology of a quartet as we watch Max Q's
> ongoing frustration through their contest journey, leading up to
> their ultimate triumph. Great interviews of people well known to
> many barbershoppers, along with those of people only a few will
> recognize. It was interesting the way the emphasis at the
beginning
> was on the traditions of barbershop, featuring more of the older
> members and the old songs, then subtlely shifts to the youth
movement
> and the up-and-coming stars. There were even a few "in their own
> home" scenes which were fun to see, to give us a all glimpse of
some
> of our beloved barbershoppers' real lives. Oh, and for those who
> stayed for the credits, the answer is Four Statesmen. (Yeah, he
had
> to look it up!)
>
> THE QUARTER-FINALS ROUND
>
> Hot Shots - The new FRED (uproarious humor, subtlely executed)
>
> One of the funniest things we've ever seen in our barbershop lives
> was Hot Shots' "We are not a quartet, we're just four chorus guys
on
> the risers" set. Picture a single section of chorus risers, with
one
> guy in the front row and one on each step, staggered. (That is,
> until they "column up down the tiles" to do some of their moves.)
> They were dressed in traditional black tuxes with shiny red vests
and
> bow ties. How many of you have sung in a chorus contest dressed
like
> that? How many of you haven't? (Probably not too many!) As they
> sang (quite well, especially impressive considering how far spread
> apart they were on the risers, and the fact that Andrew, the lead,
> was up on the second riser step) they ARE four guys on the risers.
> Their hands gestured in that well-practiced, "we're stiff, but by
> gosh we're all doing it at the same time" choreo style. They did
> ripples from one side to another, and even up the risers from the
> front. When one guy missed a move, he just kind of tried to slip
it
> in a little late, and we all noticed. (Exactly the effect they
were
> going for.) The front row guy ran forward in the dramatic,
overdone
> longing-yearning-body-angle-and-style we all used to think worked
so
> well. Every little nuance of their performance screamed, "My
chorus
> has done that! Oh, my gosh, how did they know? Did we really look
> that silly?" I (Ann) laughed so hard I cried, and I felt so sorry
> for the lady ahead of me who had to listen to my guffaws! I
noticed
> a couple songs later she'd moved over a seat ... I wonder why?
>
> Lunch Break - The New Freestyle (madcap, in-your-face humor)
>
> Four guys sitting around the breakfast table after too much
partying
> the night before. (Sunday morning at district convention?) Lots
of
> funny, funny lines and sight gags. Finally Drew plummets off his
> chair to the floor at the end of the song. For song two, they pep
up
> and pull out their boxes of Lucky Charms ("Magically Delicious!"),
> and cereal bowls, one by one. Drew's, Mike's, and Eddie's boxes
and
> bowls are standard sized. Shane's were super-sized. (I kept
> thinking of Goldilocks looking at that bowl, saying, "This one's
> TOOOO big!") They pour the cereal into the bowl, and Shane keeps
> pouring, and pouring, and pouring, and it overflows, and pouring,
and
> pouring ... Finally they get him to stop. Then he starts shoveling
> food toward (sometimes actually in) his mouth. A little, "ewww,
> gross!" but very, very funny.
>
> OC Times - They have the whole package
>
> Wow, wow, and wow. This group is the best overall unit we see all
> day. They look, act, and sing like one well-orchestrated wave of
> energy. They're smooth yet bitey, powerful, rolling and driving
with
> loads of forward momentum, and full of ringing chords. They seem
to
> be on the top of the pack after the first day, although several
other
> excellent performances ensure that the door's still being kept open.
>
> Old School - Honoring the past with a twinkle in their eyes
>
> The whole package was great, but especially the first song. There
> wasn't a detail missed here. They sang the old songs, complete
with
> the old interp, in a chord-worshipping, hall-ringing blast of
power.
> This was the barbershop we'd all grown up hearing and loving, with
> proof that it still could bring a crowd to its feet, wildly
cheering
> and applauding. We hung on and strained forward on each milked
> chord. We threw our heads back as the chords rang into the
rafters.
> We chuckled as Jack executed the very familiar and musically lovely
> baritone tiddly. It was just an absolutely stunning performance,
and
> an interesting contrast to the style of OC Times, powerful proof
that
> there are many ways to "do" great barbershop, and they all can be
> equally moving and respectful of the craft.
>
> Redline - Wow, we've missed that lead voice on competition stage!
>
> The new sound of the former Flipside with Chris Vaughn on lead is,
in
> a word, unbelievable. What a difference one voice can make. They
> were really, really good before, and now their sound is absolutely
> stratospheric. They'll be near the top if they keep singing like
> this through all three rounds, or maybe even higher.
>
> Ringmasters (SNOBS) - The Swedish Invasion
>
> These four young guys are competing in both the regular and college
> contests, one of three quartets doing so this week. Placement-
wise,
> they're the best affiliate quartet in 17 years. Performance-wise,
> thanks to the raising of the bar over the years, they're probably
the
> best affiliate quartet ever. Loved their clean, exciting, almost
> giddy sound. They tried and succeeded on two (and later two more)
> really difficult songs. And they were absolutely adorable to look
> at, kind of like the Beatles when they first broke onto the British
> music scene. (Ann added that one!) They reminded us of The
Growing
> Girls when they first hit the international Sweet Adelines scene --
> young, attractive, very energetic, and extremely skillful and
musical.
>
> Men In Black - We all had so much fun with Honey Bun
>
> Honey Bun is a song we never expected to hear on the contest stage,
> but we did, and it was really, really fun (and done very well).
How
> Oliver could become Hunny Bun, giving us the essence of her curly
> hair and twirly and whirly hips without being too girly-man about
it,
> was a clear indication of his talent as an entertainer. And the
unit
> sound these guys produced was remarkable. They've truly come of
> age. We're just disappointed they didn't make the ten, although at
> least we get to hear them one more time as mic testers for the
finals.
>
> Storm Front - That front keeps rollin' rollin' rollin'
>
> They opened with a repeat of last year's performance of "Don't
Fence
> Me In," but with some fun new twists. Their parody of "Ballin' the
> Jack," about the champs all coming back into competition, was
clever
> and all-out fun.
>
> We're off to the chorus contest ... More later tonight about round
> two.
>
> Brad, Ann, and Patrick McAlexander
> The Edge Quartet (CAR)
> Timeless Quartet (CAR)
> Circle City Sound (CAR)
> Capital City Chorus (SAI R4)
>