London A Cappella Festival 2013
This coming weekend - should the UK capital's increasingly snowy weather not interfere - sees the arrival of the fourth London A Cappella Festival.
As a type of performance - singing unaccompanied or 'without' instruments - a cappella isn't too hard to define, but as a genre of music it can't be pinned down: Groups can be found performing virtually every kind of music there is, whether it usually comes with instruments or not. And the LACF brings together the cream of the international crop, as well as some superb foyer acts, fringe activities and a warm, enthusiastic audience that is growing every year.
Teaching English Language and cooking dominate my time now I've moved out to the Italian countryside, but I've spent the last 20 years singing professionally and the last 15 performing with a cappella groups.
Yes, that's me in the hat.
I've been lucky enough to sing with some of the very best - including The Magnets, The Vocal Orchestra and The Swingle Singers, who are now the founders, presenters and star act of the LACF. I sang with the Swingles from 1998 to 2007, providing the odd harmony note (many of them correct) and a mouthful of vocal percussion/beatboxing, as well as working as the ensemble's Technical Director in later years. And they were great years: Touring most of the Northern hemisphere (and some mad incursions into the Southern); performing to enthusiastic crowds in some of the most prestigious halls, arenas and school basketball courts in the world.
I fell into The Swingle Singers - and the world of a cappella - almost by accident (though some very good people and fate can take a good share of the credit). I was at a crossroads in my life - singing professionally in an Anglican cathedral choir, working in a bar, crooning (and downing Guinness) with a quartet for a local hotel's Jazz Brunch every Sunday. I'd considered and applied to go back to music college but I couldn't afford the fees. So I thought I should start auditioning for music jobs - pro choirs and singing groups, maybe some session work - to build my experience, put my name about and pull myself out of a rut.
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| Onstage with The Swingle Singers in Seoul, South Korea - 2004 |
At almost the same time, during what I recall was one of the cathedral services on Easter Day, a note was passed back from the boy trebles to me in the choir stalls. It came from what turned out to be the younger brother of one of the sopranos in the group, Joanna Forbes (later to become the Swingles' Musical Director). And it said (something like): "This note could change your life!"
The Swingle Singers had been hunting for a new baritone and it seemed their desperation had coincided with mine. I called the number on the note, agreed to an audition and thought nothing more than "Well - it'll get me into practice for when the real jobs within reach come along...".
My audition wasn't the best. Any Swingle old or young will tell you that it's a nerve-wracking process for the most talented and well-prepared singer. I wasn't well-prepared. I was very late (my much-loved but poorly maintained '72 Beetle dropped it's alternator on the M25 motorway) and the nerves set my audition persona to 'wise-cracking carefree singing hippy' mode.
I bluffed most of the notes (I was singing from memory alongside the other members of the ensemble - which is easier when you've actually memorised the music), commented how phallic the handheld mics looked (snap this sleek little set up while you can), sang a solo in my Guinness-croon and went on my way, Beetle spluttering into the Hertfordshire traffic. And they offered me the job.
There are nine years' worth of stories to follow ...but those are for another time.
The Swingle Singers had been hunting for a new baritone and it seemed their desperation had coincided with mine. I called the number on the note, agreed to an audition and thought nothing more than "Well - it'll get me into practice for when the real jobs within reach come along...".
My audition wasn't the best. Any Swingle old or young will tell you that it's a nerve-wracking process for the most talented and well-prepared singer. I wasn't well-prepared. I was very late (my much-loved but poorly maintained '72 Beetle dropped it's alternator on the M25 motorway) and the nerves set my audition persona to 'wise-cracking carefree singing hippy' mode.
I bluffed most of the notes (I was singing from memory alongside the other members of the ensemble - which is easier when you've actually memorised the music), commented how phallic the handheld mics looked (snap this sleek little set up while you can), sang a solo in my Guinness-croon and went on my way, Beetle spluttering into the Hertfordshire traffic. And they offered me the job.
There are nine years' worth of stories to follow ...but those are for another time.
Here's me, talking about LACF 2012.
LACF and The Swingle Singers celebrate the group's 50th Anniversary in 2013 and I'm proud to be one of many alumni. I can't make it to the LACF this year, so I won't be able to catch up in person with the legions of ex-Swingles who nag for comp tickets, clog up the foyer bar, walk in late, hassle the sound engineer when he's trying to concentrate, heckle and generally make a nuisance of themselves.
But the group - and the London A Cappella Festival - goes from strength to strength and it won't be long before they'll come back to this part of Italy for a show. We'll be sure to meet up afterwards - to share stories and create new ones.
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