#Napa Valley A Cappella Festival

[jules-has-notes]

2013 Napa Valley A Cappella Extravaganza — VoicePlay live performances

In January 2013, VoicePlay were the professional headliners to a roster of collegiate and high school a cappella groups at the 8th annual Napa Valley A Cappella Extravaganza. The event is a yearly fundraiser for Napa High School's choral program, hosted by their Vocal Music Workshop a cappella ensemble. These audience-view videos give a taste of the live concert experience.

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As indicated by the "Hello!" screen, this song is often their opening number for live shows. It's a great, energetic introduction to their playful sound, but doesn't get too far into the shenanigans that might startle the uninitiated.

Details:

title: Don't Stop Me Now

original performers: Queen

written by: Freddie Mercury

arranged by: VoicePlay

My favorite bits:

the slow build that gently eases you into things

Their choreography's not elaborate, but they do it well, and it allows for a bit of individuality to shine through.

the breakdown section culminating with ♫ "Any tiiii-IIIIME" ♫

the driving triplets in the ♫ "No one can stop me" ♫ section

Earl's soaring riffs

That big finish!

Trivia:

This song was the closing section of VoicePlay's Queen in 5 Minutes medley almost six years later.

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As much as mainstream pop culture might turn up its collective noses at boy bands when they're at their height of popularity among tween girls, there's no denying that a lot of beloved oldies have their origins there. And no wonder. Pop music is darn catchy and fun by design. VoicePlay makes these selections even moreso with their antics.

Details:

title: boy band medley

original songs / performers: "ABC" by The Jackson 5; [0:50] "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles; [1:30] "My Girl" by The Temptations; [2:18] "Sherry" by The Four Seasons; [3:16] "YMCA" by The Village People; [3:50] "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block; [4:12] "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys; [4:52] "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC; [5:23] "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction

written by: "ABC" by Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, & Deke Richards; "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by John Lennon & Paul McCartney; "My Girl" by Smokey Robinson & Ronald White; "Sherry" by Bob Gaudio; "YMCA" by Jacques Morali & Victor Willis; "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by Maurice Starr; "I Want It That Way" by Andreas Carlsson & Max Martin; "Bye Bye Bye" by Kristian Lundin, Jake Schulze, & Andreas Carlsson; "What Makes You Beautiful" by Savan Kotecha, Rami Yacoub, & Carl Falk

arranged by: VoicePlay

My favorite bits:

thirty-something Earl being able to recreate the sound of preteen Michael Jackson, holy heck

the way the choreography gets more complex as they move through the eras of music

making hand gestures to signify members of the Village People during YMCA

"I hate you guys." :(

the ♫ "wah-wah-wah-wah" ♫ harmonies transitioning from NKOTB to BSB

hamming up their roles in the "Boy Band 101" section

🎉 Party poppers!!! 🎉 (Which they got in trouble for a year later.)

Trivia:

Having this medley in their repertoire may have given them an advantage when "Bye Bye Bye" was chosen as the battle song for their first episode of The Sing-Off.

Tony was, in fact, the first one from this configuration of VoicePlay to leave. Not to go solo, though. He wanted to be home with his family and focus on growing PattyCake.

The guys updated this medley and filmed a full music video for it as the result of a Patreon poll in 2019.

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What happens when you take a country music classic, kick up the tempo a bit, and infuse your performance with an air of competition between bandmates? You get this, a favorite among VoicePlay fans.

Details:

title: Elvira

original performers: The Oak Ridge Boys

written by: Dallas Frazier

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

My favorite bits:

the opening harmonies from the trio

Eli nudging Earl to take the lead, resulting in Geoff going to pout next to Layne

Layne pointedly staying out of whatever's happening, but still keeping an eye on things

everyone's feigned surprise for the "Earl can sing low, too" gag, especially Geoff giving his best dramatic chipmunk

Earl's breath control on that long note and the ensuing huff to refill his lungs

Geoff's wide stance and shoulder wiggle to prepare for his high notes

those lush ending chords

Trivia:

Home Free liked this version of the song so much that they asked Geoff to help create an arrangement for them to record with The Oak Ridge Boys.

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You'd think a cappella fans might be sick of this song, given how frequently it was used on Glee. But, as usual, VoicePlay bring their own talented twists to this classic rock song and make it something fresh. This recording is missing the first verse, but it still has most of the best parts.

Details:

title: Don't Stop Believing

original songs / performers: "Don't Stop Believin'"; [0:54] "Open Arms"; and [1:02] "Any Way You Want It" by Journey; [0:46] "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

My favorite bits:

the gradual layering in the polyphony section, using other Journey / Steve Perry songs to fit inside the rhythmic gaps…

…culminating in that huge chord (Are we sure there are only five of them?)

their use of silence during the unison section

the camera panning around to take in the well-deserved standing ovation

Trivia:

VoicePlay filmed a full video for "Don't Stop Believin'" a few years later when they were the featured guests at Camp A Cappella 2016.

They later did a full version of "Any Way You Want It" as part of the second round of their Partwork series.

For a couple years, Eli also sang with a Journey cover band called Raised On Radio in between VoicePlay gigs.

[jules-has-notes]

2017 Napa Valley A Cappella Extravaganza — VoicePlay live performances

VoicePlay on stage in Napa — photo by Haley Olson

Three years after their previous appearance, VoicePlay returned to northern California as the professional headliners for the annual high school and collegiate vocal festival in Yountville.

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J.None was excited to hit the road with the guys after performing with them at Disney World for the previous two months.

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When you're singing for other a cappella singers, it's hard to go wrong with a little musical theater. VoicePlay has plenty of Broadway material in their repertoire, and this was the most recent addition at the time.

Details:

title: Seasons of Love

original performers: cast of Rent (1996)

written by: Jonathan Larson

arranged by: VoicePlay & AJ Rafael

performance date: 28 January 2017

My favorite bits:

J.None's smooth timbre on the opening lines

the way they seamlessly pass the lead vocals around (But why doesn't Layne get a turn? 😞)

that momentary silence before they start the first chorus

when the rhythm section really kicks in 🥁🎸

Earl's crystal clear high tone on the second verse

that jazzy harmonized riff from Eli, J, and Earl

the layers of sound in the final chorus

such a lovely ending chord

Trivia:

As Geoff mentions in the intro, the guys had recorded this song as a collaboration with AJ Rafael in October, and the video premiered on his YouTube channel a couple weeks before this performance.

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VoicePlay refuse to be confined to any one genre of music. They've tackled everything from barbershop to hard rock, country to sea shanties, pop ballads to orchestral pieces. So why not revisit the rap hits of their youth?

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 – Old School Rap

original songs / performers: "La-Di-Da-Di" by Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh; [0:16] "Going Back to Cali" by LL Cool J; [0:32] "Push It" by Salt-n-Pepa; [0:56] "Parents Just Don’t Understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince; [1:09] "Bust A Move" by Young MC; [1:32] "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC; [1:49] "Just A Friend" by Biz Markie; [2:12] "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice; [2:21] "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground; [2:44] "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang; [3:10] "Walk This Way" by Run-DMC & Aerosmith

written by: "La-Di-Da-Di" by Douglas "Doug E. Fresh" Davis & Richard "Slick Rick" Walters; "Going Back to Cali" by Rick Rubin & James "LL Cool J" Smith; "Push It" by Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor & Ray Davies; "Parents Just Don’t Understand" by Pete Harris, Will "Fresh Prince" Smith, Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes; "Bust A Move" by Marvin "Young MC" Young, Matt Dike, & Michael Ross; "It's Tricky" by Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Doug Fieger, & Berton Averre; "Just A Friend" by Marcel "Biz Markie" Hall; "Ice Ice Baby" by Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle, Mario Johnson, Queen, & David Bowie; "The Humpty Dance" by Earl Humphrey, Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs, & George Clinton; "Rapper's Delight" by Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers, Sylvia Robinson, Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright, Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien, Curtis "Grandmaster Caz" Brown, & William Hankshaw; "Walk This Way" by Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Steven Tyler, & Joe Perry

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 28 January 2017

My favorite bits:

Layne kicking things off with some old school beatboxing

Earl recreating the breathy part in "Push It"

Eli handling the scratching in the back during "Parents"

the middle three busting some lowkey moves as the lyrics instruct them to do

everybody bouncing to the beat during "Tricky"

Geoff continuing the "Ice Ice Baby" bass line under "The Humpty Dance" after the other guys leave him hanging

Eli showing off some slides in "Rapper's Delight"

J's little wave in response to the "hello" in the lyrics

the record skip effect at the end of "Walk This Way"

Trivia:

The guys originally recorded this countdown live in the studio, where they could do as many takes as they wanted. It's even more impressive seeing them perform it in front of an audience.

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This video is missing the very beginning because the fan who recorded it got over-excited about them actually performing the song live. But how could they possibly resist singing the theme to one of the most beloved TV shows set in San Francisco when they were just north the city itself?

Details:

title: Everywhere You Look

original performers: Carly Rae Jepsen & Butch Walker for Fuller House (2016)

written by: Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay, & Jeff Franklin for Full House (1987)

arranged by: Layne Stein

performance date: 28 January 2017

My favorite bits:

the bouncy descending bass line leading into the chorus

Eli and J grooving along to their own harmonies

Earl's scooping crescendo as a transition into the second verse

the call and response of ♫ "never go away" ♫ "like the Olsen twins" ♫ 👭

that quick crisp diction of the ♫ "how do you know… " ♫ section

hearing a few audience members shout "Hey!" in time with the guys

that big coordinated descending riff at the end

Trivia:

This song was the second entry in VoicePlay's PartWork series, performed entirely by multiple versions of Earl and Layne.

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Additional photos

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Before they flew out of San Francisco the next day, J.None took a side trip to meet up with a friend, see a bit of the city, and get some fresh air.

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