#erik winger

[jules-has-notes]

2017 VoicePlay fall activities — go, go, go ’til you ho-ho-ho

The last few months of the year are usually a busy time for singers, and this year was no exception for VoicePlay. Once they had wrapped up their summer projects, they rolled right on.

.

And they're off

The boys leaped into autumn by heading north once more for shows in NYC and Reading, PA.

They also threw their hats in the ring for a Hostess snack cake giveaway. (They didn't win, but that's okay. Some of the fans always made sure to keep them well supplied with sugar anyway.)

.

Back home, it was time to start rehearsing for their third and final year of residency at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They also needed to prep for their upcoming trip to the west coast, and film their next music video. Eli did manage to sneak in a bro brunch with their old friend, Jeremy James, though.

.

A little West Coast swing

For the third weekend in October, the guys embarked on a fast-paced trip to Los Angeles. They crammed a concert and three video shoots into just three days.

They kicked things off with a Saturday night show in Palos Verdes (and teased the locals a bit by calling it by the translated name "Green Sticks").

Stacy watching sound check before tonight’s show of #VoicePlay. | By Twins Talk TheatreFacebook

Stacy watching sound check before tonight’s show of #VoicePlay.

.

On Sunday, they packed in two music video shoots. They started with one of their two Christmas tunes for the year and new collaborator Shoshana Bean. Then they hopped over to reunite with Kurt Hugo Schneider for a little Broadway music.

.

Monday was time to get silly and messy with the pocket.watch ladies and some Taylor Swift.

.

Keep it going

When they flew home, the boys were met by Rachel Potter once again for their second Christmas song of the year.

.

Merry Hallowee-mas

All the preparation the guys had been doing for the upcoming holiday season didn't mean that they would ever neglect spooky season. After a few days of rest, sound guy Paul Kaleka and J.None kicked off the weekend by winning Indaba Music's Spooky Jams contest with a song called "Ghosts and Goblins".

VoicePlay released their video for "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas on the day before Halloween, and used it as a segue into their new holiday EP, "Warm Up", which they announced at the beginning of November.

The tracks are a combination of revamped tunes from the previous year with J.None's vocals added into the mix, this year's three new offerings, and one more new song that received a video during the following holiday season.

Note that J.None is credited as a member of the group, not a featured guest.

.

One more spin

Just over a week after they'd gotten home, the boys headed out of town again for a student workshop and a concert at Western Illinois University.

.

Off to the races

One week after that, it was time to kick off their MVMCP schedule in the Magic Kingdom.

With sixteen shows per week for the rest of the year, it would be reasonable to think that job would be their sole focus. However, persuing a career in the performing arts isn't usually a path for sensible folks. There were still plenty of other engagements to keep them busy. For the second night of the residency, VoicePlay handed the reins to their backup guys and scooted up to Ohio.

.

But wait, there's more

The reason for their visit to Dayton was headlining the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. The trip there didn't go nearly as smoothly as they would've liked.

Once they actually reached their destination, though, the concert went off without a hitch, and the audience had a grand time.

.

The next weekend, they took a drive down to Avon Park for a show at South Florida State College. Because it was close to home, Kathy and Geoff decided to bring little William along for the first time.

Uncle Earl always seems to end up holding the babies in group photos. 😁

.

Having the week of Thanksgiving free from their Disney World duties didn't mean that they just kicked back and relaxed. First they hopped on the middle leg of a Disney Magic cruise for a three-day jaunt to The Bahamas and back.

Then on the evening of Thanksgiving itself, they gathered up Erik Winger and scooted down to the southeast coast to perform at the annual tree lighting ceremony for the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

.

On another day off from MVMCP in early December, the PattyCake guys teamed up with their friends at Entertainment Central to film a very beachy Christmas romp for their Atlantic City Boys group in Cocoa Beach. The final "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" / "Here Comes Santa Claus" mashup video was originally posted to Michael Evans's channel a week later, then reposted to the group's channel a year and a half after that.

.

That weekend, Winger joined VoicePlay for a two-show day at Mariner Church in Sping Hill, FL.

important preparations — ear plugs and power naps

.

When Rockapella came to town on their holiday tour near the end of the month, Layne and Cyndi took little Doris to see some of their pals.

.

J.None spent both the weekend before his birthday and New Year's Eve rocking out at local shows with Paradigm Party Band.

.

That's all, folks

With the year coming to an end, the VoicePlay guys finally took the chance to relax, spend time with loved ones, and prepare for the coming months. But those are tales for another post.

[jules-has-notes]

2017 VoicePlay winter activities — ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

With a new year came new projects and collaborators, as well as several personal milestones for the guys.

.

Auld Lang Syne

VoicePlay started the year on someting of a bittersweet note, finally making the offical announcement of Tony's retirement from the group. Fans had been remarking on his increasing absences from VoicePlay's content and concerts over the preceding year, so the formal confirmation that he had left was sad, but certainly less upsetting in knowing that it was an amicable decision.

Five years of frequent, extended travel had taken their toll. Tony wanted to spend more time at home with his family, and refocus his creative energies on new projects through PattyCake Productions, the studio he and Layne had been building over the previous year.

.

On a happier note, Eli and Ashley entered the home stretch in preparing for their wedding.

.

Hot and cold

As they said in the audition video, the remaining guys didn't let a vacancy disrupt their other plans. They continued to alternate between Erik Winger and J.None as their stand-in baritones as they hit the road almost immediately.

First they picked up Winger and headed south for a stylish wedding in the Florida Keys.

Then they scooped up J.None and returned to snowy NYC for the annual APAP conference after skipping it the year before.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J.None 🧈🎶 🎙📝🎬🎹🎸📽🤣 (@itsjnone)

.

Once they got home, it was time for some more rehearsals before they performed at a couple local private events and filmed their next video.

This song wasn't fast enough already, guys? Yeesh!

.

Jacobson nuptials

And of course everyone gathered to celebrate at Eli and Ashley's wedding.

.

From the road to the air

Toward the end of the month, Layne and Tony gathered up a few family members and friends and headed to southern Florida for their next PattyCake project.

When they got home, VoicePlay snagged J.None again and flew out west to "crash Eli's honeymoon" and headline the annual Napa Valley A Cappella Extravaganza.

.

Part of the extended family

During their week at home between road dates, Earl got to meet Jodi Benson, voice of the animated Ariel, during a Nemo post-show meet and greet session.

.

Round and round

The next weekend, the guys and Winger headed up to New Jersey for a show in Rahway with opening act Garden State Sound Quartet. The concert received some preliminary hype in the local press, and a very nice recap.

photos by Love Imagery, via New Jersey Stage ; and by Garden State Sound Quartet

.

Then they popped home long enough to pick up J.None and Max Herskovitz for a five day trip to the Bahamas aboard the Disney Dream. While the other guys were at sea, Layne got into some tech geekery for an interview with Lens Depot as part of their customer spotlight series.

Once they disembarked, they bade farewell to Max and scooped up Layne for a quick jaunt to Maryland.

.

Making a name

After a few quiet days at home, they met up with Winger again to sing the national anthem as the opening to Full Sail University's annual alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

During a shopping trip the next day, Layne found a hat with surprisingly accurate embroidery. He joked that it "should have a question mark at the end", and his sister noted that a needle and thread could easily amend it. I'd argue that, like a lot of performing artists, they're more "situationally famous".

.

Frozen treats

The weekend took VoicePlay (again with Winger) north to St. Joseph, MN for a show attended by several longtime fans and local gent Chris Rupp.

sleepy Layne, Paul, and Erik heading north very early in the morning

.

Home time

Over next week, Layne, Tony, and Earl were busy filming PattyCake's next project, "Beauty and the Bieber", at several locations around Orlando. Meanwhile, Geoff and Kathy took advantage of the slight lull in their schedules and had a babymoon date night at a Take 6 / Manhattan Transfer concert.

But, of course, the VoicePlay momentum picked up again at their weekly planning meeting.

.

Ahoy-hoy

The week after that, they gathered up J.None and Max again for another loop around the Caribbean on the Disney Dream.

.

When they got home, they headed over to a local art school to perform at a fundraiser for their theater program. The lineup for the evening also included Brian Fortuna from Dancing with the Stars and Orshi Horvath, and a newly formed local boy band called the Beatline Boys.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cyndi Ansley Stein (@cyndiansleystein)

VoicePlay accompany Brian and Orshi for a dance

.

Family time

The next few days were spent doing their own thing and marking some big milestones. Geoff and Kathy had their baby shower. Earl and Nick bought a new home.

.

Back to work

The final weekend of the season was bookended by video shoots with new collaborators. Friday saw them team up with theme park pal Matthew Darren for a club jam mashup, while Monday brought a peppy breakup song with Broadway performer John Pinto, Jr.

.

Once those were in the can, it was time to hit the road again, but that's a story for a another time.

[jules-has-notes]

2016 VoicePlay fall roundup — projects galore, frequent travels, and holiday cheer

As summer rolled into autumn, VoicePlay just kept rolling on their various creative fronts.

While the other guys were cruising in the northeast, Tony and Layne were hard at work back home, prepping and filming PattyCake's first Halloween video.

.

California schemin'

Once the sailors were rested up, most of the guys headed for the west coast. They spent two days in Los Angeles filming collaboration videos, first with Kurt Hugo Schneider and then with AJ Rafael.

On the upside, their absence from Florida meant that they didn't have to take shelter from Hurricane Matthew. Unfortunately, Tony wasn't involved in the videos (for reasons that would soon become clear) and was supposed to be on a later flight than the others. He didn't make it out of Orlando before the airport was shut down.

From L.A., the guys hopped up the coast to San Francisco to perform at a benefit concert for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation hosted by the Alpha Epsilon Phi fraternity at Stanford University. With Tony stuck at home, the fellas called in their old buddy Paul Sperrazza from Vox Audio to pinch hit as their baritone for the night.

.

Squeeze me in

After a few days at home, the guys hit the road again. They started with three days of student workshops in eastern Ohio.

During the week, they set their social media followers the challenge of finding them among the crowds of students and faculty at some of the schools. (Can you spot them all? The kids make surprisingly good camouflage.)

New Philadelphia, OH — East Elementary // West Elementary

Zoarville, OH — Tuscarawas Valley Elementary School

On the final day, they worked with the choirs from two local high schools, who then joined them for a show at Kent State Tuscarawas the following night.

.

From there, the guys headed south to West Memphis, AR for another concert and a workshop at the local high school the day after that. One crafty fan brought them homemade VP logo cookies.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

students at West Memphis High School

.

Next they flew up to NYC to perform at a fundraiser for the Lupus Foundation of America.

.

Then they scooted upstate to Rochester for a show at Nazareth College before finally heading home.

.

Happy holiday-ween

Once they returned to Orlando, it was time to buckle down on rehearsals for their second year at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, so that they'd all be able to hit the stage running in November. (Layne did take the time in the middle of the week to have dinner with their old friend Jeff Thatcher and introduce him to Doris, though.)

The extra twist this year was that, on top of getting themselves and their backup guys ready to perform their holiday setlists, these performances would also be their next step toward formally acknowledging Tony's departure. He wouldn't be joining the other guys on stage in Tomorrowland this season. Instead, they would alternate between two replacement baritones, Erik Winger and J.None, who would continue performing with them into the new year, until the group could decide on a new permanent member.

.

No trick, all treats

At the end of the month, Geoff & Kathy announced that baby Castellucci was on the way at long last. They shared a short video documenting some of their challenging road to parenthood on Geoff's personal YouTube channel.

and baby makes three… er, five?

WARNING: This video contains footage of Kathy receiving many injections in her belly and buttocks. As a result, she engages in some pain-induced swearing. Understandable, but probably NSFW.

.

One of the pumpkins from the baby reveal was then repurposed to create VoicePlay's social media posts for the day of Halloween.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

.

North to South (Carolina)

After a week and a half at home, the guys moseyed up to South Carolina for a pair of shows in Aiken, this time with Erik Winger as their substitute baritone.

A group of fans, perturbed by some negativity they'd been seeing directed toward the guys in YouTube comments and on social media, had been conspiring amongst themselves to counteract that energy. They'd created a book of positive messages and images. The two friends who had volunteered to collect and deliver everyone's submissions also documented the presentation during the post-show meet and greet on the first night so that all the contributors could see the guys' initial reactions.

Ashley and Nancy present the book of fan love

.

The second day also held a few surprises.

It can be nice to have fans in the service industry.

Aiken, SC show — pre-show chatting // post-show group hug with fan Ashley // prezzies!

.

Sing, laugh, and be merry

And then it was off to the races. VoicePlay began their second annual residency in Tomorrowland for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World in early November. For nearly 100 performances over the course of six weeks, they once again entertained thousands upon thousands of visitors to the Magic Kingdom.

.

Hardcore mode

In between MVMCP shows, the guys continued doing their other jobs. Among other things, that meant Earl was lucky enough to be playing Crush in the Nemo live show when iconic professional wrestler Mick Foley was in the audience.

Earl meeting Mick Foley // the VP MVMCP B-team — Tony F., Antonio, Deejay, Joey, & J.None

Having a full cast of replacement singers came in handy during the second week of Disney World shows. VoicePlay had also booked a holiday concert down in Delray Beach for the Friday before Thanksgiving. So, while Winger filled in for Tony on the road, J.None and the rest of Echo took to the Tomorrowland stage in full force.

Eli and Ashley even left a day early and took a detour to attend a Carrie Underwood show in Tampa on the way.

.

VoicePlaying for Gamecocks

At the beginning of December, VoicePlay headed up to South Carolina with Winger once more for their last non-Disney holiday concert of the year at USC.

.

Bubblicious

In early December, some of the guys finally got to meet the British music blogger who had been singing their praises for several years when his vacation itinerary brought him to the Magic Kingdom.

.

Caroling we roll along

Their final video shoot of the year was also the final entry in their first set of PartWork videos, a gentle rendition of "O Little Town of Bethlehem". With the announcement of Tony's departure drawing closer, the other four guys were all featured in this video in their usual roles, and Geoff did double duty to cover the baritone part.

.

VoicePlates

As a fun little end-of-year treat, their pal (and former 4:2:Five tenor) Danny Alan stumbled upon some holiday paper goods that bore a surprisingly familiar looking design.

.

The guys finally took the last few days of the year to relax and rest in preparation for their hectic start to the new year, but those are stories for another time.

[jules-has-notes]

2016 VoicePlay summer fun — campers, cruises, costumes, charity, and… cops?

The excitement of the spring months rolled right into the summer. After he'd had a few weeks of concentrated new-dad time, the other guys gathered up Layne and headed to Ohio.

They first returned to Port Clinton for a show at the Lakeside Chautauqua Auditorium, and spent the night at a vintage (possibly haunted) hotel. From there, they scooted down to Dayton to be the featured artists at Camp A Cappella.

.

Ahoy, mateys

A week later, while the others took care of things at home, Geoff and Earl teamed up with three of their buddies from Echo — Erik Winger, Antonio Fernandez, and Deejay Young — for a quick cruise on the Royal Caribbean Allure to the Virgin Islands. During their time at sea, they crossed paths with Us the Duo, who had just finished opening for the North American and European legs of Pentatonix's world tour.

.

No rest for the ambitious

They arrived home to an exciting milestone: 100K likes on Facebook! In the meantime, Eli did some session recording work, while Layne and Tony prepped for their next PattyCake video, and Layne worked on an additional side project. (Paternity leave was supposed to be less busy, dude!)

.

Runnin', runnin'

Once the guys were all together again, they got into production on projects for both PattyCake and VoicePlay for most of August. In between location shoots for "Will.of.Oz", they reunited with Emoni Wilkins to film their video for "I Love Me".

.

Cruisin'

At the end of the month, the guys grabbed Winger again, and boarded the Royal Caribbean Oasis for yet another voyage. Since they set sail on Geoff's birthday, they had a toast on board.

.

Almost as soon as they got home, they traded one guest for another, snagging Antonio for the middle leg of an eastbound Panama Canal trip on the Disney Wonder. (Though it seems that they were possibly getting weary from so much travel.) They also seem to have run afoul of the Mexican police on their way home, but I'm pretty sure the getting arrested part was just a joke.

.

Hop, skip, and a jump

After a few days of rest, they embarked on a series of quick trips. First they flew up to New Hampshire for the UNH A Cappella Fest. Next came a show in Iowa, and then a charity fundraiser in Chicago.

.

All about those babes

During their next stint at home, they made time for a little hanging without working. Most of the guys let someone else do the singing for once when they attended a local Meghan Trainor concert. The group included Layne, Cyndi, and their older girls; Cyndi's sister Steph and her elder daughter; Earl and Nick; and Tony.

Meanwhile, Eli spent some time with his own family to celebrate his sister's birthday, and Geoff got his domesticity on at home with Kathy.

.

Back to woOOOork

As summer wound down, VoicePlay prepared for their favorite time of year by finally filming a music video for their arrangement of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" off of their 2012 album "Once Upon an Ever After".

.

All eh-board

They closed out September with a cruise on the Disney Magic from Nova Scotia to NYC and back. Since Tony and Layne were deep in production for their next PattyCake project (and Layne understandably wanted some more time at home with the baby), the rest of the guys called on both Winger and Antonio to fill in again.

[jules-has-notes]

2017 VoicePlay spring travels — all over the map

VoicePlay were some busy bunnies in early 2017, and they continued to get by with some help from their friends, particularly their three substitute singers for live shows.

.

The guys started their spring with a mini-tour through Georgia. They picked up J.None and traversed the state to play four shows in five days.

Some auditions go more smoothly than others, but they're always amusing.

.

Howdy, fellas

When their pals Home Free came to town, the guys couldn't resist seeing them do their thing.

.

Then they grabbed Erik Winger and hit the road again for a whirwind weekend. First they hopped over to Texas for a student workshop and a concert in Lake Jackson. (While they were there, Winger also earned cool points with some fans' kids via backstage shenanigans.)

Next they flew up to Pennsylvania to headline a local high school a cappella festival. Then they headed down to Washington, DC for a private event.

.

Workin' day and night

After they got home, Layne, Tony, and sound guy Paul Kaleka spent most of the next week working on PattyCake's next project, "Michaeleficent", at a couple different locations in the area.

Geoff and Kathy spent some time making final preparations for the impending arrival of their little one, and VoicePlay brought in his paternity leave replacement — Bryant Vance, member of Vocalosity and Rockapella, and then-fiancé of their frequent collaborator Hannah Juliano — to get him up to speed.

Meanwhile, J.None was a busy bee. He recorded some vocals for a friend's EP; squeezed in a quick cruise gig with one of his other regular groups at the time, Paradigm Party Band; volunteered at an annual event to uplift unhoused people; and then met up with Paradigm again for an electrifying night at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Once J was available again, VoicePlay scooped him up for a private event at Disney World.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J.None 🧈🎶 🎙📝🎬🎹🎸📽🤣 (@itsjnone)

clips of "A Whole New World", "I Want It That Way", & "Hound Dog"

.

Here comes a son

And then it was time to meet the newest, tiniest member of the Castellucci family (a couple weeks sooner than expected).

Geoff's announcement on Twitter // the Steins' first visit // wrangling the baby and the fur baby

Kathy posted a video on Instagram for William's seventh birthday that includes footage of them in the hospital before and after his birth. The kid's become quite a little bundle of energy, as Geoff predicted.

.

Bright lights, several cities

Bryant started his subbing duties the next week with a corporate gig in Fort Lauderdale. A couple days later, the guys pulled Geoff out of the house for one day to film their next video with J.None.

The week after that, they gathered up Winger and met Bryant in Washington, DC for a private event at the Library of Congress.

Back at home, J.None and his friend Daniel provided a live serenade for another friend's marriage proposal. (She said yes.)

Some of the gang followed Bryant home to NYC, and had a bit of an aca-reunion with Hannah and former 4:2:Five tenor Danny Alan. The Edge Effect's Instagram account joked that they were forming a supergroup called the RockaLocity PlayEffect. (They do have all the vocal parts covered…)

.

From the seas to the plains

In the middle of May, the guys set sail for the Bahamas on the Disney Dream once more, again with both Winger and Bryant. (Some high seas hijinks ensued when Erik fell asleep in the wrong cabin.)

During their week at home in between trips, Eli and Ashley bought a new house.

Then VoicePlay finished the month by hitting the road again with J.None and Geoff back in the mix for a show in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo, OH show — photos by Mary D. Fox

.

Functioning privately

June was a bit quieter, allowing the guys to do some work at home in preparation for future projects. Layne, Cyndi, and the girls even recorded a family music video of "Dear Theodosia" from Hamilton for Doris's first birthday.

VoicePlay did have a couple of private events booked for the middle of the month, though. The first was at a marina in Vancouver.

The second was at the top of a hotel in Miami Beach.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stephanie Ansley (@stephansley)

sound check of "Don't Stop Me Now"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

backstage shenanigans (No, I don't know why Earl is saying "fish".)

.

Ships in the morning

They closed out the season with one more trip on the Dream, where they crossed paths with their pals The Edge Effect.

[jules-has-notes]

A Cappella at the Rock (Newtown, PA) — VoicePlay live performances

The annual pop a cappella festival at Council Rock High School North consists of a day of workshops and master classes, followed by an evening competition, then a concert from a professional group that includes a special group number with all the students. In 2017, the featured professionals were VoicePlay (with Erik Winger as their substitute baritone). This event was the middle of a whirlwind weekend for the guys, but they always enjoy doing educational outreach.

NOTE: The video quality for most of these recordings isn't great because the audience member was trying to be discreet and respectful of their neighbors. The audio is okay, though.

.

This clip is missing the very beginning of the song and a view of the guys, but you can definitely hear them.

Details:

title: Ride

original performers: Twenty One Pilots

written by: Tyler Joseph

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 1 April 2017

My favorite bits:

Eli, Earl, and Winger pulling off that fast harmonized patter live

that rapid-fire percussion Layne does behind ♫ "bullets coming through" ♫

Geoff wandering into the basement on ♫ "I'm falling sooooo" ♫

the gradual layering in the bridge

Eli's big old belts in the last section

Trivia:

This arrangement was originally the third video in their PartWork series, with just Eli, Geoff, and Layne covering all five parts.

.

The videographer managed to get a view of the stage in this one, albeit upside-down. The guys still sound as fantastic as always.

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 – Broadway

original songs: [0:07] "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q; [0:35] "Sherry" from Jersey Boys; [0:50] "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast; [1:14] "Seasons of Love" from Rent; [1:33] "Master of the House" from Les Miserables; [1:50] "All That Jazz" from Chicago; [2:11] "He Lives In You" from The Lion King; [2:28] "Popular" from Wicked; [2:50] gentle mockery of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; [2:53] "Phantom of the Opera" from Phantom of the Opera; [3:18] "Hello!" from The Book of Mormon

written by: "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx; "Sherry" by Bob Gaudio; "Belle" by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, & Tim Rice; "Seasons of Love" by Jonathan Larson; "Master of the House" by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, & Jean-Marc Natel; "All That Jazz" by John Kander & Fred Ebb; "He Lives In You" by Lebohang "Lebo M" Morake, Mark Mancina, & Jay Rifkin; "Popular" by Stephen Schwartz; "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, & Mike Batt; "Hello!" by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, & Robert Lopez

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 1 April 2017

My favorite bits:

Layne's fun scampering percussion run at the end of Avenue Q

Winger and Eli doing their villager voices in "Belle"

the rising crescendo in "Seasons of Love"

the Spider-Man gag

Geoff's growled drop in "Phantom"

that big final ♫ "Hellooooo!" ♫

Trivia:

The guys recorded their video for this medley in September 2014, and performed it on the 2015 Sing-Off tour the following spring.

.

Although the view is peeking between other audience members, you can still see a bit of the guys' antics during this romp through nonsense lyrics and phonations.

Details:

title: A Crimpella

original songs / performers: [0:55] "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was); [1:11] "Witch Doctor" by Alvin & the Chipmunks; [1:19] "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; [1:23] "We Go Together" from Grease!; [1:30] “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men; [1:38] "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas; [1:46] "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard; [1:49] "Shoop" by Salt N Pepa; [1:53] "Jock-A-Mo" (aka "Iko Iko") by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford; [2:03] "Mahna Mahna" from The Muppet Show; [2:14] "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin" by Journey; [2:38] "Goofy Goober Rock" from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie; [2:41] "MMMBop" by Hanson; [2:53] "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede; [2:57] "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock; [3:02] "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka; [3:10] "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen; [3:25] "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga; [3:30] "Can't Get You Outta My Head" by Kylie Minogue;[3:36] "Limbo La La" by James Lloyd; [3:40] "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie; [3:57] "Wanna Be Starting Something" by Michael Jackson; [4:04] "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam

arranged by: VoicePlay

performance date: 1 April 2017

My favorite bits:

Geoff's extensive list of social media accounts before they start singing (and whoever clucks)

Eli getting launched into the air

the audience joining in with Winger before the rest of the guys return to their mics

using the final ♫ "Good-byyyyye" ♫ as their exit line

Trivia:

This medley was one of the earliest videos on their YouTube channel, and a staple of their live shows for many years.

.

For the final number of the night, the guys were joined on stage by the student groups to create an ocean of sound. (And this videographer was much less shy about capturing it for posterity.)

Details:

title: Don't Stop Believin'

original songs / performers: "Don't Stop Believin'"; [2:36] "Open Arms"; and [2:45] "Any Way You Want It" by Journey; [2:29] "Oh Sherrie" by Steve Perry

written by: all songs written by Steve Perry in collaboration – "Don't Stop Believin'" with Jonathan Cain & Neal Schon; "Oh Sherrie" with Randy Goodrum, Craig Krampf, & Bill Cuomo; "Open Arms" with Jonathan Cain; "Any Way You Want It" with Neal Schon

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 1 April 2017

My favorite bits:

all the kids dancing and connecting with each other

the guys turning around and dropping out during "on and on" to let the chorus shine

Earl's opt-up at the end of ♫ "searching" ♫

the layering of the polyphony section

Trivia:

This song has been part of their catalog since their 4:2:Five days. The earliest concert performance I've found is from a 2009 benefit concert at the University of Rochester.

They finally recorded a video for it when they were the featured artists at Camp A Cappella 2016.

This video was originally posted to Facebook by one of the parents of a student at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, PA.

.

Additional photos

pre-show naps // post-show smiles (except grumpy Layne)

[jules-has-notes]

2017 Full Sail Hall of Fame ceremony — VoicePlay live performance & peeks behind the scenes

After they filmed several music videos at the REBL HQ studio on the Full Sail campus over the previous year, VoicePlay were invited to open the university's annual alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Eli documented parts of the day in real time, livestreaming on VoicePlay's Facebook page. This first one is the guys and some of their spouses being escorted to their seats in preparation for singing the national anthem.

Full Sail Hall of Fame - Red Carpet | By VoicePlayFacebook

Full Sail Hall of Fame - Red Carpet

.

The whole ceremony is almost three hours long, but our guys got their job done in the first few minutes.

Details:

title: U.S. national anthem (Full Sail University's 8th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony)

original song: The Star-Spangled Banner

written by: lyrics from the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" by Francis Scott Key; sung to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song" by John Stafford Smith

arranged by: VoicePlay

performance date: 16 February 2017

My favorite bits:

Eli starting off solo, then everyone gradually layering in

passing the lead around

the unusual harmonies on ♫ "perilous fight" ♫

Layne, Eli, and Erik's lovely unison for ♫ "were so galantly streaming" ♫

putting a little decoration on ♫ "bursting in ai-ai-aaair" ♫

upward modulation leading into another cool chord progression

Earl's big old belt on ♫ "braaave" ♫ followed by the other guys traveling up to resolve with him

Trivia:

VoicePlay had done a number of collaborations involving Full Sail over the previous year, primarily through their REBL HQ video production studio, including their 1-Minute Musicals series, "My Shot" from Hamilton, and a trio of audio production tips.

J.None (their other rotating baritone at the time) had performed "America the Beautiful" for the opening of the 2015 Hall of Fame event. He was a recent graduate, and had just competed on American Idol.

.

The robot presentation Eli mentioned in the first FB livestream happened later in the evening, so he provided a peek into the designer's intro and the performance itself, complete with immersive light effects, dancers, and wire work.

VoicePlay was live. | By VoicePlayFacebook

VoicePlay was live.

[NOTE: The second video includes some flashing light effects, particularly starting at ~6:00]

VoicePlay was live. | By VoicePlayFacebook

VoicePlay was live.

.

The guys were excited to meet legendary recording engineer Bruce Swedien, whose work with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson earned him multiple Grammy awards, and who had been presented with the school's Industry Icon Award during the previous year's Hall of Fame week.

[leekiings]

I’ll be home for Christmas. 🌟