Straight No Chaser started at Indiana University in 1996, began when 10 guys realized they had one interest in common: Girls.
Oh, and singing.
After excelling as an a capella group at IU for the duration of their studies, the members graduated and moved on to careers mostly outside of music. But 10 years later, when their video of “12 Days of Christmas” received over 7 million views in one year, Atlantic Records contacted them about getting back together. The rest was history.
“We take our music very seriously. We just don’t take ourselves seriously,” Ryan Ahlwardt, a tenor in the all-male a capella ensemble said.
This could not be more apparent than at their concert at The Fabulous Fox Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 22. The group was pitch-perfect throughout the performance, blending harmoniously and without fail to entertain their fans with funky moves and comedic bits between the numbers.
Straight No Chaser has no single front man, as most members were featured at one point in the show. There are no keyboards, guitars or drum sets to cover up any pitch issues or poor musicality. But Straight No Chaser excelled in singing a full back track, without sounding as if they had any need of instrumentation or additional members.
Highlights of the concert included the Teen Sensation Medley, the I’m Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow mash-up, a Frank Valli mash-up and Toto’s Africa. The arrangements were, for the most part, incredibly elaborate and appealing. Many of the tunes interwove two completely different songs, creating an entirely new feeling and sound.
“People respond most to . . . hearing songs in a completely different way,” Ahlwardt, who writes some of the song arrangements for SNC, said. “Some people even like that better. That’s very rewarding as an arranger!”
Although none of the arrangements were entirely groundbreaking or experimental in terms of what one can do with their voice, they were creative, fun and, at some points, incredibly captivating. Two emotional moments of the show included Coldplay’s “Fix You” and Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” Straight No Chaser unabashedly tackled some of the greatest hits from an eclectic variety of musical genres.
Artists such as Justin Bieber, Rolling Stones, Cee-lo Green, Elvis Presley and Lady Gaga would be proud to hear the new imaginings of their popular songs, with voices only.
Although the group featured these 10 excellent soloists, their biggest strength was their background vocals. Songs switched off between choral-type singing and solo singing with background vocals. With only one of two basses per song, the bass section boomed, providing a steady beat. In songs such as Gaga’s “Bad Romance” the bass was especially important.
The vocal percussion did not experiment with anything too futuristic, but it stayed interesting throughout the concert, as the beat boxers kept switching.
Between songs, SNC even catered to the diehard Cardinals fans in the audience, shouting out the score of the game and asking the audience members to check their phones for updates. Jerome Collins, a tenor and featured soloist of the group, had the guts to announce the score after proclaiming his allegiance to the Cubs in front of the entire auditorium.
To finish things up with a second encore, SNC performed their most popular song, “12 Days of Christmas.” After the show, the group waited in the lobby to meet fans.
All 10 members were incredibly friendly and appreciative of all compliments and babbling fans.
To read more about Straight No Chaser, visit www.sncmusic.com
