1992 Participating Groups
 | | 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.Members: Emiko Okada, Martin Puryear, Dan Dermer, Beth Puryear, Scott Douglas
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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.Members: T. Jack Foster III, Gene Groen, Rob Bell, Alex Hargrave, Jack Rogers
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 | | 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 FavoriteMembers: Suszi Luri, Hal Brunette, Keith Barlow, Jon Spencer, Kara Broderick
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House Jacks
The House Jacks of San Francisco are the original rock band without instruments. Using nothing more than their five voices (and mouths), they deliver everything from blistering funk to screaming rock to heart-melting ballads for their ever-growing legions of fans.
These pioneering musicians have performed over 1,000 shows and have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music, having performed for live crowds of 100,000+, with appearances on at least 3 continents each year.
They can be heard on movie soundtracks and their jingles for everything from radio stations to theme parks have been heard (and seen) by millions around the world. The House Jacks of San Francisco are the original rock band without instruments. Using nothing more than their five voices (and mouths), they deliver everything from blistering funk to screaming rock to heart-melting ballads for their ever-growing legions of fans.Members: Andrew Chaikin, Marty Mahoney, Bert Okpokwasili, Tristan Bishop, Robert Penn, Deke Sharon
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| | 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. Members: Epheann Lloyd, Greg Cobbs, Janice Cobbs, Shawn Lloyd, Lisa DeVore, Michael Nelson
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| | 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.Members: Larry Moore, Peter Sly, Doug Boyd, Tom Carpender, Don Kelley
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| | Sirens
The Sirens are one of New York City's premiere female a cappella groups, dedicated to musical excellence and quality performance. A group of fabulous and talented women, they strive to break new music ground by choosing songs that have never been attempted by others in the cappella world in order to challenge themselves and surprise the audience. They balance fresh and innovative songs with numerous well-known and recognizable favorites. The result is a diverse repertoire including contemporary, pop, jazz, rock classics and oldies, ensuring that there is something for everyone.Members: Danielle Nice, Pamela Nissley, Lilli Oldfield, Mary Ann Boyd, Tina Osinski, Doni Tamblyn
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 | | 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.Members: Larry Walton, Steve Thoms, Michelle Jacques, Louise Robinson, Darlene Spears
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Vocal Point SF
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.Members: Chris Miller, Billy Craig, Mike Blanchard, Tony Riechoure, Lisa Dowling
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1992 Judges
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Keta Bill
A Five time BAMMIE nominee for best vocalist, Keta Bill's outstanding voice can be heard in jingles, commercials and voice-overs all across the country. Presently singing with "Big Bang Beat," the hot local band of which she was a founding member. |
Martin Frick
A revered vocal teacher director, Martin Frick has piloted numerous musical and theatrical productions in the Bay Area including College of Marin, Dominican College, the Mountain Play, and the Winefred Baker chamber choir. |
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Jeff Kaliss
Jeff Kaliss has featured and reviewed classical, jazz, rock, and world music and other entertainment for the San Francisco Chronicle and a host of other regional, national, international, and web-based publications. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, is a published poet, and is the author of I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone (Backbeat Books) and numerous textbook and encyclopedia entries, album liner notes, and festival program notes. Jeff is also a frequent contributor to SF Classical Voice. |
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Laura Moody
Known on air as "Laura in the Livingroom", Laura is a veteran of Bay Area radio. She has had a show for 20 years on UC Berkeley's KALX (90.7 FM) Radio, one of the nation's most influential college radio stations, where she did an extended stint as music director. Laura has a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science specializing in Music Librarianship. As an undergraduate, Laura studied voice and percussion at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Il. An avid music lover with a seasoned and critical ear, Laura enjoys all types of music from Ayler to Zappa. |
 
Complete list of 1992 participants
Interested
in
Performing?
We are always seeking groups who would like to participate
in our events.
Groups of any style are welcome, but you must have between
3 and 12 members. We have a rule book which explains many of the
details of the event, which you can see by clicking here. All groups must audition in
order to compete. Generally this is done by sending a current tape
and photo, although live auditions are sometimes arranged. The
purpose of the audition is to make sure the group is appropriate for
the Festival and to help the Director determine the performance
order. If a group has competed previously, the audition process may
be waived.
How to enter
Please send music and photos to the
regional director :
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John Neal (Bay Area)
Beginning as a local event the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, under Neal’s guidance, has grown to become the most significant live showcase for a cappella music in the nation and attracts hundreds of groups and thousands of audience members every year. The Harmony Sweepstakes was the original inspiration for the NBC prime time series The Sing-Off and Neal was hired as a consultant to the series. Neal is president of Primarily A Cappella - (www.singers.com) which is the nation’s leading vendor of a cappella music including recordings, arrangements, DVDs, songbooks and instructional material for singers. Neal writes the informative blog at www.acappellanews.com which has a large and loyal readership.
PO Box D, San Anselmo, CA 94979
415-455-8602
festival (at) harmony-sweepstakes.com
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