Baysics

Baysics has been making a cappella funk/jazz music since the summer of '89. They are a group of reserved yet passionate musicians, and as such, have assembled a repertoire that is both sophisticated and gutsy. Last year, after winning the Best Original Arrangement award at their Harmony Sweepstakes debut, Baysics went on to win the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival.

Full House

Full House was formed in 1991 and consists of five active vocal group singers with a wide range of musical interests. The group's sound features the use of five and six part harmonies as much as possible, and the use of jazz oriented syncopations. The rich sound of the group is due largely to the fact that we have five in our quartet.

House Jacks

The House Jacks met each other while working in Neil Diamond's road crew. In 1991, feeling that Mr. Diamond's career was waning, they decided to move to San Francisco to pursue a cappella professionally. Since their formation in September, they have performed regularly at such venues as the Cannery, the Anchorage, and Freight & Salvage; made frequent television appearances; released their first recording, "The House Jacks Sing Naked," won the 1991 San Francisco International Holiday Caroling Competition, and were featured guests of the world-famous Persuasions at their bay area performances. Their next big project is to figure out the lyrics to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Joyful Noise

Joyful Noize is music made by vocal instrumentation. It is gospel; it is fresh, jazzy-rap a cappella! The group has performed with Bill Cosby, the Winans, Commissioned, Tramaine Hawkiins, Mario Van Peebles, Gladys Knight, and on the Arsenio Hall Show.

Sh’Boom

Sh'Boom! Pure a cappella onomatopoeia, evolved from the Pacific Mozart Ensemble to the stage at Vacaville Prison. They have also sung at Freight and Salvage, Foothill College, the Firehouse, WPLJ's, the War Memorial Green Room and on Television. Top tenor Doug Boyd is a studio musician with a thousand voices. Peter Sly began singing a cappella harmony at the age of three. Baritone Tom Carpender is always retooling Sh'Boom arrangements. Bass Don Kelley croons, booms, and blows a mean sax (but not tonight!) Sh'Boom stars in 57 home videos, all shot from the top of Lombard Street during the 1991 San Francisco Hillstride.

Sirens

Sirens is six from at least as many backgrounds--jazz, opera, stand-up comedy, musical theater, and cabaret. Early on they discovered they had three things in common: 1) a decided tendency toward musical spoofs, 2) A marked taste for monologues and skits, and 3) a hopeless weakness for the visual gag. On rare occasions Sirens get a hairsbreadth away from taking themselves seriously. Audiences report that these instances are rather like a freeway pile-up; you want to look away, but you just can't. In the search for a term to define their work, currently Sirens hover between "satire/revue" and "guerrilla cabaret." Overall, they figure they're not hurting anybody, which is more than a lot of people can say.

Street Sounds

Street Sounds was founded in 1989 by Louise Robinson, a founding member of the acclaimed vocal group Sweet Honey In The Rock. Street Sounds performs a mixed bag of jazz, gospel, blues, civil rights anthems and African Hymns. The Group gained immediate recognition with their strong combination of talent and spirit, winning featured appearances with Pete Seeger at the Middle East Children's Alliance benefit concert, and with the San Francisco Symphony's "Adventures In Music" program, representing the most primal of all instruments, the human voice.

The Harmonic Convergents

This vibrant group sings a variety of fun a cappella and has been entertaining since May of 1990. The Convergents met while performing in various singing groups at U.C. Berkeley. You may remember them as "Moonlighting," last year's Harmony Sweepstakes Audience Favorite

Vocal Point

Vocal Point was founded in 1989 by Chris Miller and Mike Blanchard of Grass Valley. After several personnel changes, the group has had the distinct pleasure of performing in the Soviet Union, Italy, and Germany as well as standing-room-only concerts in their hometown and various clubs in the Sacramento area. In addition to their own arrangements of today's jazz, pop, rock and R&B, the group also benefits from original compositions from the songwriting tandem of Miller and Craig.

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