2005 Bay Area Regional Winners: Mood SwingMoodswing is the newest configuration of some of the Bay Area's most moody jazz singers. Sweeps award winners and +4db founders Dave Duran and Juliet Green have put aside their differences to team up with mercurial couple Paul and Julie Ford of the Renaissance-Jazz sextet Without Measure. They have sung together, in brief stints in such groups as InFusion, Vocal Flight, Vocal Underground, Oarkland Jazz Choir, Siemens Microelectronics Stealth Band, and on Ward Swingle's Instructional video "Swingle Singing." Combined, Moodswing brings almost 20 years of community college vocal jazz experience to each performance. Photos, mp3s, and anger management techniques are available at www.moodswing.us. 2005 Bay Area Regional: Second Place House Blend'HouseBlend' is the new and exciting sound that has sprung up recently in the Bay Area. What exactly is 'HouseBlend?' They will tell you, 'We're four guys, we sing songs.' Sing indeed - a rich a cappella harmony with an abundance of rhythm and humor. They will sing anything from jazz, doo-wop, country and big band o opera, classical, barbershop and gospel. To our delight, their sleek delivery is becoming infectious to many groups in the area. 'HouseBlend' came together through the music ministry at Concord United Methodist Church and they have been creating and defining their unique style for five years. 2005 Bay Area Regional: Third Place Samsara'Samsara' is an A Cappella women's trio who unite fierce, extraordinary vocal music with passionate struggles for justice. They strive to connect the music of struggle, freedom and tradition, creating the new generation of the culture of resistance and empowerment. 'Samsara's' repertoire ranges from traditional folksongs, sea songs, worksongs and spirituals with new arrangements, to original music on current issues, all with tight, searing, dissonant and bittersweet harmonies and intricate vocal percussions. Other 2005 Bay Area Regional CompetitorsAncora PiccolaThese six high school-age singers have trained in the Piedmont Childrens Choirs organization for many years and they have performed individually or together in festivals around the world as members of various PCC ensembles. They are all members of the 15+ voice Ancora ensemble, and have met regularly outside of the normal Ancora schedule to select and prepare their Sweeps program.  Dis Moi'Dis Moi' is a powerfully soulful A Cappella trio of women (Samantha Keller, Tamar Fogel and Heather Houston), who enchant their audiences with songs sung straight from the heart! Their musical repertoire incorporates a wide range of styles from around the globe, as well as inspired originals, with themes of love, hope, healing and unity. 'Dis Moi' means 'tell me' in French, and reflects the members' belief and hope that their music will open people to expressing themselves as they feel called. As a visionary trio, they feel that their calling is to be an integral part of the healing movement of the planet. Their radiance is intoxicating, as they shine their deep love for one another, for their music, and for humanity as a whole; inspiring the crowd to open their hearts to the healing harmonies. Their thought provoking lyrics, and grounded words of wisdom, uplift spirits, stir souls, and inspire movement in consciousness. This is not your typical A Cappella music. Let the harmonies of these lovely women take you on a journet of heart, mind and soul as they weave their voices in a unique tapestry of spirited song.  Flying Without InstrumentsEclectic is the word for 'Flying Wihtout Instruments," a.k.a. FWI (say "fwee!"). This seven-year-old San-Francisco-based ensemble performs a refreshingly diverse repertoire that includes Renaissance and classical music, swing, jazz, country, folk, pop, and rock. "Our tenors have really short attention spans." said one member who declined to be identified, "so we sing lots of different kinds of music to prevent them from wandering off." Usually boasting eight members, FWI is taking advantage of the temporary absence of soprano and new mother, Beth Crocker, to qualify for the Harmony Sweeps.  O-Face'O-Face!' started on a fateful cold day in October of 2001, when a cople of verterans of Bay Area musical groups grew tired of lugging heavy equipment to innumerable gigs. The 5 members of 'O-Face!' come from a variety of non-musical backgrounds: a lawyer, a photographer, a student, a CPA and a database designer. What they have in common is a love of singing. Their eclectic a cappella repertoire includes straight-ahead rock and roll and the syncopations of a Latin groove, but they're at their best when they indulge their sense of humor: screaming Aronauts attack, a jilted boyfriend performs surgery on himself, and winsome bullfrogs are wooed. The broadly appealing result is what 'O-Face!' calls 'ear-catching entertainment' for everyone. 'O-Face!' has brought their vocal mayhem to festivals, charity events, and venues of just about every kind around Northern California  Ready, Willing and MabelReady, Willing and Mabel sounds like it should be a trio but it isn't. It is a quartet but it has 5 people in it. It is not a traditional SATB group either as it has no sopranos. I suppose it could be thought of as AATBB. We could best be described as chord freaks. Harmony is the thing with Ready Willing and Mabel. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
