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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 3, 2002

Fun, history behind barbershop buzz

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Members of Gotcha! are, from left, Garry Texeira, tenor; Alan Gordon, baritone; Jim Cline, bass; and Chris Vaughn, lead (front).

'Harmony Games'

An evening of barbershop harmonies, presented by the

Sounds of Aloha Chorus

7:32 p.m. today and Saturday

Hawai'i Theatre

$10-$22

528-0506

Also: Pre-show organ concert by John McCreary

Let the games begin. The "Harmony Games," that is.

The Sounds of Aloha Chorus' annual showcase of barbershop harmonies, subtitled "A Fun Look at TV Game Shows," unfolds tonight and Saturday at the Hawai'i Theatre. The game-show flavor production — marking 55 years of harmony — was written by local barbershopper Ralph Brandt; comedian Billy Sage rules as game-show host and Stephanie Curtis-Conching directs.

According to a pair of barbershoppers, the tradition of four-part harmony is steeped in history, provides abundant joy for singer and listener, and involves folks from all walks of life.

Local singer Mark Conching of Tropichords is a marketing consultant. Jim Cline of Gotcha! is a California-based dentist. They shared their views about what they do and why — and shed some light on how barbershop has emerged as an enduring tradition.

Question: Is barbershop quartet singing mostly fun and games?

Conching: "That's all it is. Just a hobby. A fun thing. If I had to make a living singing ... it's not a great job. The common bond in harmony is that you meet the most fun people."

Cline: "Absolutely. I've been singing in Manhattan Beach for 29 years and barbershop singing has been fun all the way. It's enabled me to sing on 'Cheers' twice, on 'Night Court' once, and I've sung at Carnegie Hall, too, and have won two platinum awards singing with Neil Diamond on his Christmas album."

Q: What's the bottom-line appeal, from an audience viewpoint?

Conching: "We sing songs from the time we all were kids, songs that take people back to a simpler time in life. Most of the music comes from the late 1890s to the 1960s. It's wholesome, family fun — with no words that would be construed as risque. And it's affordable entertainment."

Cline: "It's the sound created from four voices and the entertainment value of live singing."

Q: What makes a barbershop quartet — and of all the voices, from tenor to bass to baritone, which type is the hardest to find?

Conching: "The barbershop style means you have a tenor 1 and a tenor 2, plus a bass and baritone. The middle person usually is the lead and is responsible for melody 99 percent of the time. Normally, a baritone often is the hardest part to hear, but it's an important part, even if the baritone gets what's left over in the barbershop sound, where the highs of the tenor and the lows of the bass are prominent."

Cline: "The lead singer is the most important voice in the group and a perfect one is hard to find; it's got to be absolutely perfect and clear and crisp and strong. In Gotcha!, we have the best lead voice who's only 24 and I bet he'll be the best for the next 24 years. He's a phenom."

Q: Why does the concert start at 7:32 (a barbershop custom here to begin a concert a minute or two off the usual curtain time)?

Conching: "Our time frame is designated by the year — 7:30 in 2000, 7:31 in 2001, 7:32 in 2002. We'll go up to 7:39 (in 2009), then back to 7:30 (in 2010). It works. People notice."

Cline: "In California we start at 8 p.m. ... One thing no one can regulate: Our ability to sing those barbershop harmonies."

Q: Groups always have descriptive, sometimes curious, names. The background of yours?

Conching: "We wrote down a bunch of names when we were looking for one; we wanted a name that denoted a group from Hawai'i. We actually stole the name from a group (that no longer sings) from a long time ago. It describes what we do, where we do it."

Cline: "Gotcha! is descriptive of the sounds; we can sing a chord louder than any quartet — ours is the biggest sound you've ever heard from four voices, the most profound voices out there right now. You betcha!"