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I hadn't heard about this project, but as a huge Ben Folds fan and a former a capella singer, listening to some of the performances gave me chills. Sounds excellent, can't wait to hear the album. Thanks for the show.

I'm not sure it's fair to dismiss acapella as "nerdy"--there's some pretty great, creative arrangements and some amazing voices in college groups. One of my faves is the University of Virginia Hullabahoos. I'm way beyond college age, but I am a big fan.

During the show you mentioned men's groups and women's groups, but not coed groups. My nephew is in the Tufts Amalgamates, a coed group. Also, you said groups have one or two really musical members who sing lead, but in The Amalgamates everyone sings lead on something. Check them out: http://ase.tufts.edu/mates/

Great segment, bringing back many memories. Like today's last caller, I'm old enough to have participated in the doo-wop days (the Explorers on Coral, where I sang bass) before going to college. At Columbia, my Glee Club-centered musical experience kept me from the Kingsmen, who were signed in the late 60's and became Sha-Na-Na. What would Jon "Bowser" Bauman do with a capella today? And for anyone in Fairfield County, check out an Ivy A Capella concert (groups from Princetown, Brown, Yale and Harvard) at St. John's in Stamford on April 4 (tix online only at https://alumni.brown.edu/alumni/Bravo/Events/Registration.aspx?event=453)

Jon-- that tunnel thing, at Brown they did that in arches and called them Arch Sings. There were so many damn a capella groups at that school that the arches were packed with a capella guys and their even nerdier admirers ALL THE TIME! Imagine every time you want to get back into your room you've got a wade through moony-eyed a cappella fans sitting indian style in your doorway.

I sing with the Holy Myrrhbearers Women 's Choir and we sing Russian liturgical music. Beside the fantastic repertoire available, and the long tradition of a capella singing in the Russian church, there is pure pleasure in the harmonization of human voices... harmony indeed.

My son, a Jr. in HS, got into beatboxing after hearing an a capella group in 7th grade. He just won a big talent contest. He is a sax player since 4th grade and has a strong music background, but he's definitely taken with beatboxing and is interested in being part of an a capella group in college. He will definitely put it on his resume, and hopefully it'll help him get into one of his top choice colleges.

at Univ. of Mich in ann arbor there was a kind of tunnel like passage leading into campus which i guess had great acoustics because there was always an all male accapla group singing away - it was weird and fun to walk through on ur way to class and get a little accapela to start your day

the acapella group in the movie the break up "the tone rangers" continues to offer some of the most hilarious movie scenes ever.

YES!!!
I first learned about Ben Folds in High School Show Choir (college a capella's younger cousin) back in the 90's. I've been following ever since. In fact the new album Way to Normal has a song about traveling through in Illinois which immediately took me back to being in a midwestern traveling show choir.

I was unfamiliar with the college a capella group concept until a friend went to Tufts, where I first heard the ’Bubs and then the school’s co-ed group. I LOVE the idea of these folks recording the music of one of my favorite artists!
Ben, keep promoting the music YOU think is important (yours included)! Can’t wait to see you tonight at The Wellmont…where we fully expect you to rock the suburbs!

I sing in a women's a cap. choir (Holy Myrrhbearers Women's Choir) and we sing Russian liturgical music. Beside the amazing repertoire and a long long tradition of a cap. singing in church, the pure joy of harmony and harmonization... that perfect blending of human voices is a great pleasure in and of itself.

thanks.

Any suggestions on how post-college-age people
can form their own a cappella group? For example, are there books with arrangements?

My roommates sang their way through graduate school in Syracuse, NY in the 1980's as "The Phots". They were four guys who did a cappella doo wop and were very popular, making local radio often. Who knew that today it might have been a career instead of a really fun way to pay your term bills.

There are also Acapella groups doing T-Pain- I can't remember which University- but they're ...impressive

To whet your appetite, the Tufts Beelzebubs doing Ben Folds' "Cologne" live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL7VULP7Ofg

Enjoy!