By ANDRIA WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
 

The attendance at the a cappella groups' Parent's Weekend concert was outstanding. Their fans lined the walls and squeezed into the aisles of Olin, seemingly oblivious to the fire danger they surely posed blocking exits, in an attempt to listen to the groups sing. The days following the concert saw an increase in sales of the groups' CDs as well as an increase of interest in who these groups are and how they got to be so good.

The Deansmen
The Deansmen, at one time called the Heidi-Hos, have been a part of the Bates scene since their debut in the 1920s. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that the Deansmen put down a constitution, wrote many arrangements and "took off from there," says senior Deansman Jay Pringle. Pringle believes that since the 198Os, "a level of musical integrity has prevailed, and the group has seemed to get better and better since."

This year the Deansmen consist of 11 members, with three additional members currently off-campus. Sophomore Deansman Chris Staecker likens the group to "an overbooked airplane," explaining that "if everyone was on campus at once we'd be too full. We sort of depend on people leaving."

A cappella can be a challenging genre to perform. "A lot of the [popular songs] nowadays you can't do, just because they use weird instruments that are hard to reproduce vocally. The stuff we use has gotta be mellow to some extent," Staecker says. "We couldn't really sing Guns 'N Roses or anything; we're limited by the size of the group. A lot of the music you hear has about 20 different lines going on at the same time, but there's only 11 of us. In general, guitar stuff is hard to sing, so that cuts out a lot of stuff."

On average, the Deansmen rehearse no less than three or four times a week. "We try to stay in constant shape for performance, constantly performing songs and learning new songs, and to some extent improving our own voices and dynamics as a group," Pringle says. "Very often we have to get down to business and just pound out parts, but the outcome after one boring rehearsal is well, well worth it."

Staecker agrees that the group works hard in practice, but admits, "Sometimes we get along too well and don't get any work done."

Both Staecker and Pringle had sung in high school. But, Pringle says, "I consider most of my training to have just been in front of my mirror."

Staecker became a member of the Deansmen last year as a firstyear and reports that the auditioning process had him a little nervous. "I was extra-intimidated because I went to the audition about two days after arriving at school, and saw this big line of people sitting outside," he recalls. "When I got there I saw an old friend two years older who I used to sing with in high school sitting there. It was good to see him but I was like, `I have to beat this guy now--' he was one of my elders back home." However, Staecker admits, "I don't think it was any worse than any normal audition. I guess any audition process is gonna be like that."

The Deansmen have a long list of plans for this year. They will be releasing their newest CD in December after what Staecker describes as a "long" recording process. They tour yearly during April break and have hit many East Coast colleges, including Georgetown, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Saint Lawrence, and Vassar. "The guys seem to prefer going to womens' colleges," laughs Staecker, adding mischievously, "We have lots of crazy Tour stories which I'm not allowed to tell. We have fun together -- we try to keep that as our main goal."

Pringle mentions that the group is hoping to tour in Atlanta as well this year because three of the group's members are from the same high school in that city. "It all depends on money," he says. "We're struggling to see if we can get enough places to give us money, and for the school to give us money. It would be a good thing for Bates for recruiting, the more we travel."

The Deansmen participate annually in a national a cappella tournament that consists of three rounds of competition. The finals take the top group from each of the six regional categories to Carnegie Hall in New York for the national competition. Last year, Bates hosted the regional competition and won, then finished second at the semifinals, just barely losing their chance to go to the national finals. The way the Deansmen have been performing this year, finals may not be such a long shot.

Pringle and Staecker attest that the experience of singing in an a cappella group has been highly rewarding. When asked what was the most enjoyable aspect of being a Deansman, Pringle responded, "It's a combination of three things. I enjoy performing; I just love doing that. I enjoy almost equally the fellowship with the rest of the guys. But probably just as much as that, if not more, I enjoy the sound we make and I'm proud of the fact that I'm a part of that."

The Merrimanders
The Merrimanders is another group with a right to be proud of the music they make. According to president Jordan Funke '98, "We're very active this year. We have already been to Bowdoin to sing, and [have had] numerous concerts here. We're going to Skidmore on November 21; they're having an invitational." "We're trying to get more involved in the community, singing at local schools," Funke says.

The Merrimanders want to host an invitational here in the winter, as well as another one in March; they also plan to tour in April. Like the Deansmen, they have 11 on-campus members this year, with three abroad.

Among the songs the Merrimanders are singing this year "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me," and "The Tracks of My Tears," Funke believes that the strength of the group "lies in its diversity. We sing a lot of different songs, and all of the people in the group are really different." The Merrimanders practice two to six nights a week, spending about one and a half to two hours in each session. "We're pretty social, but this year we've been really focused," says Funke. "We've had a lot to do."

Like Staecker, Funke says that the auditioning process made her "pretty nervous. The auditioning process is always hard because there are so many good singers here. We really encourage people to try out. We didn't get a good turnout this year."

At an average audition, the prospective Merrimander is asked to do some warmups. "We listen to your range and intervals, and then ask you to sing a song with the group," says Funke. "We teach everyone the same part, and they sing it with us and we test for blend."

Funke has noticed a definite increase in the Merrimanders' popularity with the student body over the last four years. "Now we pack the place," she says. But there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in Funke's voice as she says, "It's nice to have a musical outlet in a place where music is not that valued."

The Crosstones
The newest of the three a cappella groups on campus is the Crosstones, which came into being about halfway through last year. Music Director Eric Haglund '00 describes the Crosstones' beginnings: "The two people that started [the Crosstones] made it into the Deansmen and the Merrimanders, so a few of the remaining people took charge. Last year we were finally recognized as an official group. This is our first year with a full budget."

Haglund finds the challenge of changing instrumental parts into vocal parts exciting. "What interests me is the idea of conveying instrumental parts in voices -- songs that have a lot going on, especially with the size of our group [19 members]. A lot of times people just say, `This is a favorite song of mine,' and we try to work on it from there."

Among the Crosstones' pieces this year are the "Bumblebee Tuna Song," "Earth Angel," the "Lion Sleeps Tonight," and "Octopus' Garden." A new addition to the group is percussionist Mark Annotto '01, who Haglund says "adds another dimension to the group."

Haglund describes the ensemble as "a really fun group. It's easy to get together and joke around. I have to try to keep it serious. A lot of us are friends outside the group."

While the Crosstones may have been formed out of those who did not make it into the Merrimanders or Deansmen, they are gaining in popularity in their own right, partly because their musical style is different from the other two groups.

"We'd like to be kind of an eclectic group," says Haglund, "and a group that is more entertaining -- more on a humorous and comical side but not exclusively so. We have a lot of fun. After the Parents' Weekend concert, people told us that while we're probably not as musically experienced and are newer, less talented singers, we try to make up for that by having fun, making it really entertaining."

One can conclude that despite the technical differences between each of the three groups, there is one unifying theme: a genuine love of music and the unique sound that can be made by voices alone. Pringle expresses a feeling shared by all the groups: "Sometimes we rehearse because we have a performance coming up or whatever. But sometimes we just sing. Not because it's for a performance or anything like that, but just because we love to sing."