New A Cappella, or the Michael Humphrey Manifesto

Those that knew me in the UK know that one of the things I loved was a cappella singing. After mucking around in college with a barbershop group (the comically camp Fitz Barbershop) I missed it enough when I moved to London to join another. After a chance meeting with a couple of ex-"Out of the Blue" and "In the Pink" chaps, we set up "In the Smoke" as a help group for graduated and recovering aca-holics.

Three years on, I'm now unfortunately no longer in London, and no longer a member. However, album three has just dropped into my inbox ("No Smoke without Fire", probably available by emailing these nice people: inthesmoke@gmail.com) and I'm driven by nostalgia and jealousy to try and define why I'm so excited!

One of the greatest things about ITS is that it is driven by both a huge passion for close harmony singing and a desire to push the boundaries. Not change or newness for the sake of it, but not conforming to traditional expectations for the sake of it either - doing things that make the music better. To this end, they (we) have to thank the talents of all the various arrangers in the group - people who take a song they enjoyed, find something new in it, bring it out in an arrangement for six/seven/eight parts, and make the music come alive again.

Undeniably (and I hope the rest of the arrangers will forgive me for this) the hero is Michael Humphrey. He couples outstanding musicianship with occasional slapstick, scholarly understanding of what he is doing with off the wall experimentation, and deep thought with childish wonder. I've lifted the quote below from an email of his about a particular arrangement (Don't Stop Believing by Journey, and recently popularised by the TV show Glee) but it gets across what he believes in.

"Yes, it's nothing more than a derivative but catchy piano riff with a sing-a-long chorus at the end, made by a 70s stadium rock but mostly studio-based band (modern equivalent is Coldplay without the endearing home-county-ness and popular politics).  The kind of thing fat white Americans crushed half-empty beercans to and clapped their hands on the beat to, repackaged and sold to their kids a generation later.  Obviously the kind of thing any self-respecting US college a cappella group must have in their repertoire.

Just search on youtube, and you'll find so many pedestrian versions that seem to please the crowd.  Most of them insist on having some walking nothing come to the front and attempt to vocalise the guitar solo.  [...]

As of tomorrow night, we make this an In The Smoke song, not a Glee song (it's long since ceased to be a Journey song).  And I think we should nail our colours to the foreheads of the front row by building in some heavily sarcastic choreo, all the while bossing the singing.  Come with ideas and opinions.  (and a glucking pencil)

A small part of me really cares about this.  A different small part of me that wants to be this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIoSTbPt_PI&feature=related

What bollocks :)
Michael

PS - I do think it'll be good though"

It's not just about style, although the reaction against over polished, over produced, cliche ridden (mainly American) collegiate a cappella is real. It's about making a studio album represent the live performance, communicating the same passion/emotion that the front (and back) row experiences at a gig through vocal painting as well as facial expression. It's about realising that the most critical audience member is yourself, and you're singing - if you don't believe in and love what you are doing, what is the point?


P.S. If any Smokies actually read this - I apologise!