MMF A Cappella Month...Starts Now.

I l.o.v.e. a cappella music. With my heart and soul. It is so amazing what people (especially men, those vocal percussing SOBs) can do with their voices. I sang in high school and college, and am now part of a fledgling group in Baltimore. I enjoy the feeling of getting a song right, listening to it progress and grow until sometimes its impossible to tell the difference between the original and the cover. If you can't be impressed by good a cappella music, then forget you man!

The first group I have for you this month is the University of North Carolina Clef Hangers. I first heard these guys on the "Today We Are All Hokies" CD that was made in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. On that CD was a cover by them of "What Hurts the Most" and it is so. so. amazing.

The first video is "I Just Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Buble from their 2010 Winter Jam concert. The background voices are gorgeous. What I like is when groups seem to have a finger on the pulse of the audience, and I think these guys really seem to know what the audience likes to hear, not only judging from this song, but the others I have seen.

The second video is, of course, "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts performed at a 2006 concert. I could listen to this song on repeat for hours on end. Once again, the background=so solid. This is not to say that the soloists aren't awesome, but sometimes I think groups rely too much on the soloist to identify and carry the song and neglect the background. These guys seem to really hone the sound and the logistics (forgive me, I am blanking on the musical term) of the background music.

Finally, the third video I want to share with you is one of the reasons why I love a cappella music-it can cover the spectrum of music. From oldies to today's top 40, from country to rap,  from silly to serious, it's all there. And if you can perform some of this music without taking yourself too seriously, then its all the better and I love you more for it. What do I like about this the most? They're doing this in tuxes. From their Fall 2008 concert, I give you "Dangerous/Whatever You Like" medley, from T.I. and Akon...oh yes.

(note: none of these videos are mine. the second two are from the YouTube account of clefhangerfan and the first video is from moonandstar68. Also, I am not getting paid or anything to do this. I just love a cappella music and want to share with you all.)