So as Chris has told you through a very thorough recap of what has gone on over the past couple of months in our world, i'm hoping I can update you on how the idea for this blog came to be and what we hope to accomplish with it. First off I will start by explaining our encounter with Blue Jupiter just the other night which inspired us to put this together.
If you don't know who Blue Jupiter is I will just say that they are a Pro A Cappella Quartet based out of NYC and have toured both the US and Asia and in a few simple words they're amazing at what they do. They put on a great show, they're music is solid, and they're very down to earth and incredibly generous people. Of course if you want to find out more about the group definitely check out either their website, myspace, or facebook which I have provided links to below:
That being said you now know a little bit about who Blue Jupiter is and what they're all about. (Especially if you check out these sites, which you definitely should!) So before they began their set on our CCSU campus, I actually got into a conversation with Johnathon Minkoff of Blue Jupiter who simply approached me and asked if I sang a cappella. This conversation turned into a discussion on Chris and I's forming of Love Note Sentiment and what we had planned for the future. Johnathon mentioned the SingStrong event and convinced us that it was something we should definitely check out. As the website states:
SingStrong is a vocal music festival, an a cappella summit, with talent from across the world. Profits go to the fight against Alzheimer's Disease and the support of local music programs!
Also, Blue Jupiter is a co-producer of the entire event and in explaining the details of the event we found out that not only was this event affordable, and the funds went to a great cause, but it was definitely something we didn't want to miss. Check out the website for more details if you're interested!
Then Chris and myself sat through probably one of the most energetic and "real" a cappella performances I've ever witnessed. The great thing about Blue Jupiter is they love what they do and it's contagious. It's inspiring to see a group get on stage and just rock out...especially with no instruments!
After the show Chris and I immediately approached Blue Jupiter's merch table and got into a lengthy conversation with the group and they got us really pumped up about SingStrong, and creating our own group, and pretty much all of the work we've been doing thus far in trying to make Love Note Sentiment a reality. Diana Preisler of Blue Jupiter was just awesome to us after the show and made us feel so much more confident about what we're trying to do and excited about the big steps we're trying to take in the a cappella world.
The one thing that I did not mention earlier was the reason behind the creation of this blog. Before the show began when we we're having our conversations with Johnathon we we're discussing the master classes and seminars that are to take place at the upcoming SingStrong event. He mentioned that he would actually be teaching a class on creating new a cappella groups and said that he would be interested in tracking our progress in the creation of our own group. He gave us the idea of creating this blog and tracking the milestones, trials and tribulations, and overall journey of Love Note Sentiment as it happens. Hence the creation of Making A Cappella the official LNS blog.
Now I realize that this post has gotten a little lengthy but I will try and simply sum up very quickly in the next couple sentences what else we hope this blog can do. We hope that through our experiences in creating a new group and all of the things that go into it we can both inspire others to do the same and also serve as a reference on things that are helpful in our journey and in the a cappella world. We also hope to take notice of great resources that can be used along the way.
Chris and I are very big fans of the a cappella podcast Mouth Off which is free and has a wealth of information about a cappella groups both collegiate and professional and about the genre in general. So in hoping to honor it's influence we decided it might be fun to play around with coming up with our own segments that might appear every couple of weeks similar to the many segments the show has. Some of our early ideas include:
Men At Work: what arrangements we may be working on and our progress or ideas about them
I Should Arrange That: songs that either we're thinking about doing or we think might work well a cappella
Don't Try This A Home: things that we come across in our journey as a group that we don't suggest trying yourselves
Need A Little Inspiration: groups/performances that inspire us as a group and should definitely be checked out
The Vocal BIZ: ideas we may have of how to get your name out there or find your group gigs, how to advertise yourself effectively
These are just some early ideas we have come up with. Now I would just like to say that Chris and I do not define ourselves as experts in any way when it comes to the world of a cappella. We don't want the reader's of this blog to get the wrong impression. Love Note Sentiment is a group that we are in the process of creating and we're just two guys with the passion and drive to take a cappella beyond the collegiate world within our own lives. That being said any advice or ideas we present on this blog are simply our attempt to try and inform our readers exactly what it is that we go through as a group.
Ok so in closing this post I would like to try out two of the new segments we have come up with!
Men At Work: I am at the moment working on an arrangement of the Sultans Of Swing as performed by Dire Straits and am very excited about how rhythmic it's going to be when it's done
Official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS9aY41G9EQ
Need A Little Inspiration: Just to bring it to your attention again since being an english major I know the last thing you read is one that you remember. Check out Blue Jupiter! They are an inspiration on and off the stage and their event SingStrong is an inspiration for what a cappella and music in general is capable of if it only tries.
-Ryan
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