These Guys & These Guys Will Be Guests of These Guys THIS WEEKEND! I wish I were going...(lower lip wibble)
Quick update to add, I will wait until my computer is more cooperative.
Hey Octet fans: Just to let you guys and gals know, I'm working on the review of Gold (hope it's better than the last one. My computer has decided it no longer wants to be user friendly and didn't save most of the album information and cutting out the original reviews I had written. I will continue to add to the Octopella review and I'm gathering info and insights on "Gold" which, as you will soon discover, is an awesome album. I might use more audio clips (short ones, so don't get your hopes up too much. That will add a little time to the process of posting the review, but it might be a better review. + It will give me a way to show you what I'm writing about when I don't have the words for what I'm feeling about the music. So, I want to give examples, not get sued, so MAYBE short clips. Anyway, I had fun with a brainstorm session this morning. What else? Oh, I probably won't make it to Spring Show (for financial reasons.) But who knows...maybe I can swing it. I'm skimping and saving. Cross your fingers y'all. That might be it. The holidays are coming, and I'm going to start school again in the winter, maybe January. I think I wrote better when I was in school. Maybe it was just my imagination. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. Best, Tiffany Hey Octet fans. I just realized that the blog is 2 years old! Yay!
Folks, I have to tell you something. I am a fan of the men of the UC Men's Octet. By that, I mean that I am genuinely fanatical about these guys. I proselyte people to the UC Men's Octet. When you think "fan" think Trekkie (I used to be one) or screeching Beatles fangirl. Yep, that's me. Ladies and gents, even though these guys aren't celebrities, they do have fans. I know this for a fact. They have lots of fans all around the world, because they are that talented. When I started the fan page, it was meant to be dedicated to the 2002-2003 group, because they were my favorites. The page was meant to be dedicated to that group only. It was a decision made after much consideration and worry that I might get my pants sued off. After watching this Octet perform on YouTube over and over again, I thought - these guys deserve a fan club. They were that talented. After some correspondence with Jason Mabie aka gobears236 on YouTube, I asked if I could ask some questions about the Octet. I said in the message that I was considering making a fan page and he seemed genuinely pleased with the idea (if he had seemed put off by the idea or dissuaded me in ANY way, this page would not have been.) The idea that it was okay with him caused me to plan the website in earnest, and as I was planning the questions for this upcoming fan interview, I began making notes of what I wanted to do with the page. I had a yellow spiral notebook filled with doodles and notes about what the fansite was going to contain. Editing, time and (lack of) talent on my part shaped the page into what you see. In two years, and through this page, I have met wonderful people, heard wondrous a cappella music, and became a more fanatical fan. My appreciation of the Octet has grown from admiring this one year of Octet a cappella to the entire institution of Octet-dom. From "Blue and Gold" to Cal Spirit to Go Bears...all of it. I've gotten to hear the group grow and musically evolve into what it is today. And this year's Octet is FANTASTIC! What a talented group of men. And can you believe it - the '02-03 Octet HAD A REUNION?!?! and an online concert!!! How awesome was that! I didn't even think to wish for that! Thank you YouTube! Who knows what the rest of 2011-12 will hold. I hope it's a wonderful year for the Octet. I know I'll be watching and cheering for them. Go Octet! 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! The 2002-03 Octet will be live streaming a concert on Ustream TONIGHT at 8:00 pm. Please come and see these guys LIVE. So sorry for the short notice, but I just found out about it!
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. |