Gathered in a small practice room on the second floor of the Music Building, nine guys huddle in a group, striving for perfect balance and blend.
“I can’t make you love me if you don’t,” Brian Bakofen sings in a clear, rich tone that’s sure to send shivers down the spines of tomorrow night’s audience members.
Bakofen, an osteopathic medicine graduate student, and the rest of the Accafellas will perform four songs at Accapalooza, a two-day musical smorgasbord featuring each of MSU’s five a cappella groups.
A cappella, an Italian phrase meaning “in a church style,” where groups range from eight to a dozen people strong, all-male, all-female or mixed, singing without accompaniment. Members use vocal percussion, tight harmonies and energetic melodies to create their own interpretation of popular songs.
“The groups differ in style so much,” said Caleb Sandoval, a psychology senior in his sixth year with the Accafellas. “It’s such a treat to get to hear what they’re doing.”
The Accafellas, led by founder Phil Johnson, started Accapalooza in fall 1999 as an attempt to get all of MSU’s a cappella groups to work together. The show was so successful the first year that it has become an annual event.
One of the results of Accapalooza has been a tightly knit a cappella community.
Accafellas, Spartan Dischords, Ladies First, Wicked Kiwi and Capital Green pair up in various combinations during the months following the concert for gigs and double-billed shows, promoting each other, and in some cases, fostering friendly competition.
Sandoval said Accapalooza is ready to deliver an evening that draws audiences seeking spontaneity, good music and quality entertainment.
“It gives each group a chance to put their best foot forward,” he said. “I’m really excited.”
Five unique flavors
At Accapalooza, the vocalists will try to bring out the qualities that set their group apart, be it through entertainment, a dynamic stage presence or just plain good music.
Ben Clements, a music performance junior in Accafellas, said the ’fellas put quality music as their highest priority.
“We’re not as concerned with visual production,” he said.
Sandoval agreed.
“We’ve traditionally done music that’s beyond four parts,” he said. “We emphasize fullness of sound, and blend is always essential.”
After hosting the show in 1999, the Accafellas passed the torch to other groups. Capital Green, MSU’s only coed a cappella group, will host Accapalooza this year.
Capital Green alto Angela Brabant said one of the best things about the concert is the variety.
“At Accapalooza you get to see every a cappella group on campus and what they have to offer,” the family community services junior said. “You get a little taste of everything. They’re all so different.”
Brabant said the interaction between the sexes adds to the group’s appeal.
“It’s a much different interplay,” she said. “The group dynamics are very different.”
Capital Green baritone Patrick Lauher agreed.
“Men and women assert themselves in different ways and likewise are inspired in different ways,” the public resource management junior said. “So when you have both dynamics, it’s a real experience to find a common link in everybody’s inspiration.”
This inspirational link builds and changes over time as members graduate and new singers are added to the group.
“I think that individually we all carry ourselves,” said theater freshman Katie Canavan, a Capital Green newbie.
“It gives us versatility because the males and females are as good as in an all-male or all-female group,” she said.
The all-male Spartan Dischords, the oldest a cappella group at MSU, is “chomping at the bit” to get on stage, says Jesse Lange, a vocal-general music education junior.
“Priority one in our group is that the audience has a good time,” said Lange, a third-year member of the Dischords. “If we can do that through musicianship and general showmanship, we’re going to go all out.”
The Dischords’ members come directly out of Men’s Glee Club and spend time outside of rehearsal “just hanging out.”
“We’re hoping to get experiences to amuse the audience and work as a team,” Lange said.
Ladies First, the parallel subset of the Women’s Glee Club, relies on group friendships to energize its performances.
“We’re all pretty close friends within the group,” said Erin Brooks, Ladies First president and communication senior. “A lot of us have been singing together for at least a couple years. We know each other really well.”
But building those bonds with so many members was daunting at first to coach Jessica Allen, a music conducting graduate student in her first year at MSU.
“You have to connect with each other in a way that takes extra effort,” Allen said. “I really love coaching an a cappella group because you have an opportunity to bring out the best in the music and in the musicians.”
Wicked Kiwi, an all-female, eight-member group, was formed by vocal-general music education senior Randi Bolding as a way for music majors to have fun without being graded or critiqued.
“It’s a way for us to get together and relax and make music,” Bolding said. “A passion for music and a passion to make music made it successful.”
Loving the limelight
When Allen arrived at MSU, she said she was amazed at how many a cappella groups she found on campus.
“I think the reason a cappella is so popular is because it’s risky,” she said. “It’s risky to be unaccompanied.
“It’s all out there, all or nothing - if you don’t do it well, it’s going to be really obvious.”
Allen said people are drawn to a cappella performances because they sense how precarious the situation is.
“It’s exciting for people because they kind of know the risk involved,” she said. “You just have to commit to it and go for it.”
Lauher, a Capital Green member, said audience members - even if they’ve seen a cappella before - don’t know what to expect because the live performance is always something new.
“I think it’s a really assertive and creative thing to stand up on stage and do something with no help whatsoever, no instrumentation,” he said. “You get a really incredible dynamic of 10, 11, 12 people all trying to assert themselves and learning how to rely on each other.
“That’s a dynamic that you just don’t find anywhere else.”
Brabant, a third-year member of Capital Green, said the wide appeal of the music each group chooses also contributes to the popularity of a cappella.
“We appeal to lots of different people because of the music that we do,” she said. “It’s always a different interpretation of the actual song.”
Sandoval, a six-year member of Accafellas, agreed.
“People love to hear a different twist on songs they’ve heard for years,” he said. “It’s interesting, it’s entertaining, and it’s something both men and women can be really successful at.”
Canavan, a Capital Green member, said people enjoy watching groups meet the vocal challenge of re-creating a popular song.
“People are really amused and entertained by people using their voices truly as instruments,” she said.
Clements, a bass Accafella, said when audiences recognize songs, they respond enthusiastically.
“We’re re-creating songs people know with just our voices,” he said. “You’re hearing a song that’s normally with six different instruments with all voices.
“There’s always something new going on.”
The equipment-free nature of a cappella means it can travel easily, going everywhere from the beaches of Panama City in tour buses to the hallways of the dorms.
“You can do a cappella anywhere because you’re just using your voice and your body,” said Brooks, a Ladies First member. “It’s very versatile. Any a cappella group, when performing, has a lot of energy and they’re very engaging.”
That desire to entertain, make music, find a social niche, take risks and grow as a person and musician motivates each individual differently.
“Everybody wants a part of the action,” said Lange, a Dischords member. “Accapalooza gives everybody a bang for their a cappella buck.”
Lange tried to define the draw of a cappella for those who sing it and those who love it.
“It’s the limelight, it’s friendship among the group and groups, it’s music, it’s entertainment, it’s fun,” he said. “It’s fun for the person performing and that translates to the audience.”
Accapalooza will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Auditorium’s Fairchild Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students, $7 for adults and are available at the door and at the Wharton Center Box office or by calling (517)432-2000. For more information, call (517)353-1561.
