AcaPolitics: A Novel About College A Cappella by Stephen Harrison

Premise: Ben Jensen is a freshman at Brighton University who wants to branch out into some new experiences in college. Why not try out for a college a cappella group? In the dorms he meets Caroline Cooper through an impromptu guitar jam session. When he finds out she can sing and that she is trying out for an a cappella group, his mind is made up: he simply must try out. However, Dani Behlman is the fiercely competitive president of the co-ed Harmoniums who might already have plans for both of them. Taylor Stuart is the TA from International Studies class who also happens to be the neurotic president of the Chorderoys, the other co-ed group on campus.

Not only are there these singing groups pitted against each other, but these a cappella people also encounter betrayal, find love, and discover who they really are. Caroline is the girl of Ben's dreams, but she is still dating her hipster boyfriend from high school. Dani has plans to recruit Ben for her rise to stardom and is willing to do anything to get it, but ends up finding more in the process. Taylor discovers his true self, along with Nicole, Renee, Akash, and the rest of the college gang.

When it is learned that Student Government is going to have to cut singing groups due to budget cuts, the presidents go into overdrive to recruit the best singers, pick the best songs, and perform to their fullest. Dani pulls out no stops to make the Harmoniums safe from cuts, while pushing the Chorderoys closer to the chopping block. Of the six groups on campus who will come out on top, and will it matter after a year of forming friendships through music?

Themes: As said in my description of the book's premise, this is a book about discovery. College is definitely a place of finding your true self, and these characters are no different. Especially with the freshmen like Ben, Akash, Nicole, Renee, and even Ben's non-aca roommate Wilson, each character has to overcome their parents' expectations to discover who they are and who they want to be while having new experiences, finding love, and shedding their past disappointments.

Forming strong bonds and finding your people in something like an a cappella group may seem silly, but I can attest that it is possible. When you come across something special you know it, and Ben spots it from the moment those first groups perform at the recruitment concert. Something may be geeky, but if it speaks to you it might just grab you by the heart and have you for life.

Dani gives us an example of the throes of ambition and the lengths someone is willing to go in order to achieve their goals. But when she encounters something better does that change her goals or does it give her perspective on the people around her that she might be hurting?

Pros: The main characters are interesting and their interactions were fun to read. I really started to hate Dani and her scheming until she became a real person with flaws and feelings. By the end of AcaPolitics I wanted to know more about her and Ben and Caroline and the possible love triangle there. The camaraderie between all the singers and their groups is palpable and, as I can attest to it, realistic.

Cons: Describing characters by their voice parts and their defining quality, such as "the petite soprano" and "the theatrical alto", were sustained through the story and these character trope descriptions bordered on annoying. Many of the characters were defined well enough that these became unnecessary later in the story. Also, adding "aca" to anything does not necessarily make them special to the a cappella community. I still have no idea what "acaflirting" is.

Recommendations: As an avid a cappella junkie and reader I thought AcaPolitics was a fun and fresh novel, and the only story I can think of set in the college a cappella realm. While the book has its flaws, it is fun and flirty (but not acaflirty), and full of relational conflicts. A cappella fans will love AcaPolitics as they reminisce about their glory days, while this novel will make high school grads give a second thought about dismissing a cappella group auditions in college. Non-acas may not connect with the subject matter, but the characters make the story work. If the rumors I hear about a sequel are true, I am looking forward to knowing what will happen next on the Brighton University a cappella scene. But that's easy for me to say because I am an acanerd.

Stephen Harrison's AcaPolitics website
AcaPolitics on Goodreads

As posted on Tim's Book Reviews

New Album From Cadence: Cool Yule

Last year Cadence gave us Speak Easy and this year they grace us with their first Christmas album: Cool Yule. My opinion is that a Christmas album should feel like a Christmas album, and Cadence doesn't disappoint. I am thankful that the quality is in line with their usual music, but it still has the forethought of staying simple with some of the arrangements and keeping that Christmas feel, such as on Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Christmas Song. With that said, there are some songs that I haven't heard before, such as the title track, River, The Carpenter's Carol, and the French song Petit Papa Noel, which makes this album stand out, along with Cadence's innovative arranging even on familiar songs and their distinct jazz sound.

The track list on this album is almost perfect. The album has bookends of Silent Night, with a prelude at the beginning and the full song at the end. We then get an upbeat playful Sleigh Ride that then leads us into the very jazzy and very Cadence Cool Yule. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is warm and cozy, which then leads us into Baby, It's Cold Outside with a lovely duet (Who is the woman singing? She's great!) We then move into a rock feel with the lead on River sounding like a rock ballad, then I Saw Three Ships as a rock anthem. The moving Carpenter's Carol is worth the album price alone. When we hit Carol of the Bells we get back into the jazzy Cadence sound. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree sounded out of place on a Cadence album until it hit the bridge and the guys go into a signature old timey breakdown that brought it back around for me. Petit Papa Noel made me break out my French, but it is quite lovely, especially leading into the Christmas Song. Finishing with Silent Night is a good touch, wrapping things with a traditional song with Cadence's amazing a cappella instruments.

Thank you, Cadence, for making a Christmas album. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The Sing-Off Season 3 Premieres Sept. 19

Groups for the third season of The Sing-Off have been announced! The show premieres September 19th on NBC. Sara Bareilles will join returning judges Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman and the show has been extended to a full season and has increased from ten groups to sixteen

I was a little annoyed to see returning acts, especially since it sounds like at least one of the groups will have people from both season one and two combined in one group. Let's have new groups, please! Some of the groups are familiar to me, while most I have never heard of, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The sixteen groups are:
► Afro-Blue: A nine-man ensemble from Howard University
► The Cat’s Pajamas: An energetic all-male group based in Branson, Mo.
► The Collective Nashville: troupe formed by season-two contestant Jeremy Lister (Street Corner Symphony)
► Dartmouth Aires: 14 quirky guys from the New Hampshire Ivy League school
► Delilah: An L.A.-based all-female group including members from the first 2 Sing-Off seasons
► The Deltones: Longstanding ensemble from The University of Delaware
► Fannin Family: An octet of relatives from the Midwest
► Kinfolk 9: A professional group out of L.A. with members who all share lead vocals
► Messiah’s Men: Liberian refugees on a mission to serve God through music
► North Shore: A Boston-based streetcorner ensemble tackling music from the '40s to today
► Pentatonix: Five-member group from Arlington, TX with eclectic musical tastes
► Sonos: Well-known professional a cappella group who have collaborated in the past with Bareilles
► Soul'd Out: Co-ed high school club from Wilsonville, OR
► Urban Method: Newly-formed act from Denver including a rapper
► Vocal Point All-male ensemble from Brigham Young University
► The YellowJackets: Contemporary crew from the University of Rochester known for wearing yellow blazers

More information can be found on the announcement website.

Video Tutorial #5: Microphones

In this video I talk about choosing microphones by showing off some of my own.

Video Tutorial #4: Learn New Sounds

Elaborating on a recent post, here I talk more about learning new sounds and adapting to changes. Notice the shiny smile.

The Sing-Off Season 3 Auditions

NBC and Sony Pictures Television and Tenth Planet and Outlaw Films announced that it will be holding auditions beginning May 5 for Season 3 of The Sing-Off.

The audition cities are:
Boston, MA • May 5, 2011
New York, NY • May 7, 2011
Nashville, TN • May 14, 2011
Chicago, IL • May 21, 2011
Los Angeles, CA • June 4, 2011
The prize for the winning a cappella group is $100,000 and a Sony recording contract. Visit the casting website for details on registration.

Donations to World Vision

Events such as the disasters in Japan should be an eye-opening experience for everyone that none of us are safe from suffering on this earth, but also giving us hope in that we have opportunities to help others during those times. In the wake of a disaster, World Vision is often one of the first organizations to begin relief work by distributing pre-positioned emergency supplies and sending highly-trained staff to assess and respond to the most urgent needs. They remain on the ground for the long haul, rebuilding communities and restoring hope.

In addition, they continually strive to keep their overhead rate low. In 2010, 85 percent of their total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. No matter how little we have, we have opportunities like this to help with what we do have.

In trying to find a way I can help with the disaster relief in Japan and to help fight poverty worldwide I have decided to donate $5 of every t-shirt sold here to World Vision. It's not much, but every little bit helps. Tell your a cappella loving friends to get what I think are cool T-shirts, and in the process give money to a wonderful organization helping people around the world.

Do Something New

So far, my video tutorials have been about making sounds that sound like the drums in a drum kit. The temptation for vocal percussionists may be to mimic the sounds of percussion we find in popular music, which means that when we translate instrumental songs into a cappella we may tend to limit ourselves to a smaller range of sounds. As with any creative endeavor, when we are making music we should push the boundaries, make new sounds, and be willing to try to do something that no one else has done before.

In a time where there is so much pre-packaged, repetitive stuff coming from the entertainment industries, don't be afraid to stand out. Be willing to put yourself out there to stand out from the rest of the crowd. That is what will endure and be remembered as something unique on its own. Several years ago, when attempting to replicate a sound that I heard someone else making, I actually ended up creating a new sound that I had not heard anyone do before, and eventually practiced it enough to make it consistently, adding it into my own collection of sounds.

There is nothing wrong with taking a great song, sound, or rhythm and recreating it. It can a tribute to the original artist, and putting a new spin on a great song can be refreshing. Making something new, however, can be even more refreshing, and doing so can put you ahead of the rest. Be bold! Do something new.