Hi Octet Fans. I believe there was a technical problem with the more official version of the video. Below is the complete concert, which was recorded (not by me) on a video camera from the computer. It's a pretty accurate representation of the concert and totally brings back Oldtet concert memories for me.
Clips one and two are "Brandy" - solo by Jason Mabie
Come Go With Me - solo by Parker Sims; Blue Moon - solo by Kenny Kamrin (features a cool dance break with Ben Sae-Tang)
My Girl - solos by Ben Sae-Tang, Parker Sims and Jason Mabie
Let's Stay Together - solo by Jordan Meyer
Drift Away - solo by Ben Sae-Tang. There are pauses on the computer, but Ben and the guys still sound great!
A NEW song by this Octet - "Endless Love". Solos by Parker Sims and Jason Mabie. Arranged by Jerome MC.
Not Pretty enough - solo by Rick Wood
Blackbird - solo by Ben Sae-Tang. Special whistling by Rick Wood
Shama Lama Ding Dong - solo by Jerome MC
Help Me Rhonda - solo by Parker Sims - features Octet dance break
Baby Got Back
The Lumberjack Song - solo by Kenny Kamrin
Princess Papuli with Kenny Kamrin as "the Princess".  The video is pretty fuzzy, but this was one of the songs which was featured on the Octet's '03 opening video.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the concert as much as I did. Well done, Men. And thank you. If I had it all to do again, I would have had some requests of songs which I knew you did (instead of "That Don't Impress Me Much" - weak, Tiffany). With that said, I probably would have requested "Runaround Sue", "Stanfurd Jonah" and/or "Big C".
Add Comment
 
 
It was an hour of pure a cappella euphoria. In fact, I was on cloud 9 for a couple of hours after the show. I had a wonderful time watching the guys perform! It seemed like a Sproul performance with the guys dressed in Hawaiian shirts and leis. They had sort of a set list and then took requests through the chat. They commented on camera in answer to the chatters (though I didn't sign up for the chat until about halfway through the show, so I just watched for the longest time.) We got to see what kind of beer Rick was drinking, and Kenny's nickname (?), and one of the Octet mothers request for her son to sing a crooning song. (I love Octo-parents!) I loved the old favorites (I Like Big Butts, Not Pretty Enough, Let's Stay Together) and songs that were new to me, such as Drift Away - solo by Ben, The Lumberjack Song - Solo by Kenny, Shama Lama Ding Dong - solo by Jerome, and  a special request of My Girl which was first performed by the '03-04 group with solos by Ben, Parker and Jason. Princess Papuli was particularly funny.

Hopefully there will be some sort of video posted of all or part of the show. If so, I will direct you to it. Thank you Men's Octet!

I'm not sure when or even if the Octet show will be posted, so I thought I'd post some screencaps from the show - featuring EXTREME OLDTET CLOSEUPS!
Picture
Parker solo: 'Help me get her out of my heart'
Picture
Parker is saying 'Help Me Rhonda', with his eyes
Picture
Jordan doing stuff
Picture
Jordan is about to show us the view from the Octet's temporary digs
Picture
Kenny, being silly.
Picture
I think Kenny recongized someone in the chat
Picture
Ben and Kenny - Blue Moon dance break
Picture
continued...
Picture
and continued...
Picture
The guys checkng out the live chat
Picture
continued....
Picture
and continued...
Picture
He's, like, 6'4''...
Picture
Funny.
Picture
Primo: Because you get tired of the old stuff.
Add Comment
 
Guess Who... 05/13/2010
 
Guess who has thrown in the towel and finally started using live trace...
Picture
Ta-Da!
Well, yeah. It is, for the most part, easier. But it's not really as creative for me. There is a larger version in the Octet Art Gallery. Hope you like it.
Add Comment
 
Oldtet 05/12/2010
 
Picture
Hey Octo-Fans, there are new Oldtet photos up in the gallery! Check 'em out. Photos courtesy of Brandon Swansfeger, whom I officially love.  Thanks for sharing. :)

On a weird side note, I dreamed that I had the Octet over for coffee (I have an 8 cup french press) and nibbles, and I got off on the wrong foot with one of them (won't say who) and he didn't really like me at all. This made me try extra hard to get him to like me, which made things WORSE. Not sure what that means, subconsciously, but it's a good thing it was only a dream. :)
Add Comment
 
 
Hey Octofans...guess what I learned last night...you know the high note "FOR MEEEEEEE!" in Bohemian Rhapsody?
Picture
Rick Wood, the bass, sang it? WTG, Rick! I think I need to sit down, now.  (jk, I'm already sitting.)  
Add Comment
 
 
I posted an 'unfinished' piece from the BoRhap video. I didn't like the fact that, no matter what I do, I will not get any kind of features on Kenny Kamrin's face. Let's just call it a pen tool exercize and leave it at that. I'm working on a Ben Sae-Tang piece, between projects.

On a sad note, RIP to Andrew Koenig. I was friends with him on MySpace for awhile...until I discovered fb. We hardly ever agreed on anything, but he was a funny and talented guy.
Add Comment
 
 
Hello everyone,

First, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I hope that 2010 is awesome for you readers and the Octet dudes, past and current.

So, I was going over the videos last week and I thought I'd focus on Octet reunion videos. There are only a few of them out there. The first one is a video of the 1998 Octet performing at the '08 annual reunion. (This one was the big 60th reunion.)I am told that there is a reunion every year in the Spring, and I don't think this bit is open to the public. They do sound awesome. My favorite part is Do Re Mi. There is a video of the 1999-2000 Octet singing Do Re Mi Sproul Style. It's also cool to see generations of Octet-dudes enjoying Octet music.

THE OCTET GET AROUND! This is at the Octet's 60th reunion. It's awesome to see 60 years of Octet history in one room, harmonizing! I think this is the coolest thing ever! When the cameraman zooms in at about 0:17 it shows some of the '02-'03 Octet, and Jason Mabie is one of the first dudes to make up to Octomobile!

I want to say that this is  Campanile, but I'm not 100% certain. In fact it's probably wrong. Wherever it is, it's got some great acoustics.
HELP ME RHONDA. I was watching this video and thinking that being in the Octet must be like being in a musical. One dude starts singing and everyone joins in, and knows the words, AND sings on key...and even does a little choreo. As the cameraman was panning around, I recognized a lot of faces from the different Octet groups. My suggestion, if anyone would care to listen to a fan, would be to get a tripod and set it up near the center of the room and pan around. Just a suggestion from a fan. More face, less back of the head...not that I mind looking at Josh's back. It's quite nice, actually. I did notice that I recognized a lot of the Octet dudes. Anyway, again - YAY Octet!
Can you believe it? An actual impromptu Octet video? Left to right: Jordan Meyer, Kenny Kamrin, Jaime Penido, Parker Sims and John Shumway. They are  from 2 different Octet groups, and sound great together. I only wish that the video was longer. Great luck in capturing the Octet-dudes.
Well, I've been up all night (again) and should probably get some sleep. I'm wondering how this is gonna work out once school starts up again (Jan 4th). Again, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and prosperous 2010, and especially the Octet dudes who have given us fans such pleasure in sharing their talent. Best to you in '10!

-Peace from Seattle
-me.
Add Comment
 
 
I know I usually post YouTube comments about the Octet, however on this video there weren't so many witty comments, so I thought I'd do some research-y stuff instead. (The posts may not come more regularly, but they will be more researched and better-ly written. Hahaha). From the posts I did learn from kennyk314 that this song was arranged by Jerome (or, as he's known on YouTube, the dude with the dark fro-ish hair and the 'harmonica') from a cd. And that Jerome may have been a music major.  Anyway, we all know from this and Nirvana Medley (which he also arranged) that the man has talent and had an AWESOME head of hair. Kudos to Jerome.

The guys' performance is awesome. I love the way the guys run on and off the stage. It's appropriately coltish for a college a cappella group. Jason's reeling in bit when they sang "fall for that old line" is great panto. The part where they pretend to hang themselves with their Oct-ties is particularly funny (though, I was worried about how realistic Jerome's 'hanging' was. Dude.) Rick and Parker dancing with each other was also so funny. Kudos to the guys and their performance.

This Medley is love. My personal story is that I dated a guy who was very much like the "How could you believe me" type. Here's the thing. The guy was a jerk, but he was soooo cute and could talk his way into and out of anything. I knew he was a jerk. I dated him and thought he had 'changed for me", which he didn't. He was a lying cheat. I was a fool. Point taken. I learned my lesson. And yet, I still love this song and the guys who sing it.

I believe I have mentioned before that I enjoy listening to the original versions of Octet arrangements in order to better appreciate what the guys can do, and since I couldn't find much in the way of YouTube quotes, I figured I would introduce Octet fans to the idea of comparison, especially for 'lesser known' songs...are the songs in Liar Medley lesser known? They are to me.

I thought I would be able to find the song that goes with the beginning. The "My mother used to say...." bit. I actually heard the song during an episode of Fibber McGee and Molly after I had heard the Octet version. I was sitting on my bed and knitting a shawl (Vanna's Choice Drop Stitch Shawl from Lion Brand. I used a worsted weight yarn and biggish 9? needles - it turned out fine in case you're wondering. And my gramma loves it!) when I heard the tune during a musical interlude between acts. It was the prelude to a sort of 'Beauty's Only Skin Deep' type monologue, a man towards his girlfriend/wife (memory not so good), basically saying the she used false advertising in the looks and personality department. This was waaay before I imagined the Octet blog, and Fibber McGee and Molly ran from the mid 30's to sometime in the 50's. I've heard every show, but unfortunately I am not able to locate that piece again. I'll try to go through the episodes and if/when I find it, I will post it to the site. It's quite funny.
So, the first song is called It's a Sin To Tell a Lie, by and it performed by both Fats Waller and the Ink Spots. Both take the songs into different directions. Fats Waller's version is very much jazzy/ragtime with some great piano 'riffs'. I'm not musical, so I am not sure that is totally correct. I do know that it charted at number 5 in 1935. Kudos to Fats Waller. You da man.
 
The Ink Spots version of "It's Sin To Tell A Lie" was recorded only a few years later in November 1941, and released in January 1942. I'm not sure how it did on the charts, probably not too well since I was unable to find it using internet search tools. If you listen it's a much different sound than the original recording but still quite effective, and the falsetto at the end just blows my mind. It does the Octet proud to be able to select from terrific music. Kudos Ink Spots.
The official title of the third song in the Liar Medley is "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life?" Yeah. It's officially the longest song title in an MGM movie,(which leads me to believe that there's an even longer title in another movie by some other movie company, but it's nearly dinner-time and I'm done doing reasearch) and that movie is pretty well known to movie buffs or people who watch AMC at all. Royal Wedding features this song as a duet between the a-maze-ing Fred Astaire (OMG Love) and Jane Powell (Love 2) Nice bit of arranging, changing the duet into a...um, don't know what it's called when you change a duet into not a duet. Someone musical may know. So, instead of it being accusatory by the woman and explanatory by the guy, it's full on  braggery-swaggery by the guy. And the Octet is totally a guy group- which is why I love them. Kudos Fred and Jane...
Kermit D. Frog and A Rat-woman...OMG HATE! If it were Miss Piggy, maybe, but it's a rat-woman. See how execution is so important! No Kudos Kermit and She-rat. In fact, your Kudos goes to everyone else. From me, you get a grimace. :S
Almost forgot...BoRhap is coming up on 2 Million views. I predict it will reach Two Mil by Friday. I'm often wrong, so I'll keep an eye out and keep you posted as well. Godspeed, Octet.

-k bye. Me.
Add Comment
 
 
I am totally sorry. I haven't updated the site in ages. Unfortunately, with all the recent chaos is my life, including a mad dash to find somewhere else to live, I've been neglecting some very important things - including the fan page. For this, I repent in dust and ashes.
Today's video is a Kenny Kamrin solo - You Gotta Go. This is a brilliant parody of Alanis Morrissettes' 90's mega-hit "You Oughta Know". Some Octet Trivia - the song was penned by Kenny himself. Yeah. I didn't know that eiher. I thought it was a Weird Al song arranged to be sung a cappella. (In fact, I was telling myself that  had heard Old Weird Al singing it on the radio several years ago- what was I thinking?) You Gotta Go gives the other side of the story and gives me the impression that the jilted woman might have been jilted for a reason. 

According to a post by Kenny, the bit about sewing thumbtacks in his boxers was something for the Alumni. He never elaborated on the comment, and I'm not sure I want to know. 

 So enjoy, and until next time, stay away from psychos!
Add Comment
 
UC Men's Octet, Men's A Cappella, Music, Fan Page