Announcements
CD Release!
Up 'til 2 has released their first CD - buy your copy today! See the store to order.
Blog
Tue, 27 Sep 2011
It’s been a while! I know you are probably wondering what we have been up to all summer. Well, I am happy to say that we’ve been spending the summer working on a CD!!! This will be our first studio album and we are excited!
Our very own Brandon Sommers has been recording us acting as engineer, producer and general rock star. It has been a lovely experience being able to go into the studio and lay down the music that we love to be able to share with YOU!
And where will be sharing it with you? Well that’s a great question my delightful internet user! We are having a CD release party on October 15th at the Capri Theater in Minneapolis. And not only will you be able to hear Up ‘til 2 at this concert, but as a special treat we are featuring our favorite gals The Enchantments from the University of Minnesota. A two for one special!!! Tickets are $12 for adults $10 for students (with a student ID) and $5 for children 10 and under. You can check out The Enchantments here and I assure you, they are awesome!
If you would like to reserve tickets for 7:30pm October 15th at the Capri Theater in Minneapolis please email us at tickets@uptil2music.com saying how many tickets you would like and the breakdown of Adults/Students/Children.
We hope to see all of you at the show and share what we’ve been working on!
xoxo
-Buegs-
Thu, 31 Mar 2011
Hey everybody. Nice to electronically meet you all! I'm Brandon, the newest member in the group. Did you hear what we did this past weekend? It was my very first time performing with UT2 as we hit the road and traveled to Skokie, IL to compete in the 2011 Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. It was a blast! If you don't know, there are only 8 a cappella groups that are chosen to participate after submitting your band's application for this specific competition, and they take applicants from all over the Midwest. We finished 3rd place overall, as well as received an award for audience favorite. It was a great weekend to really get to know these guys more, and to share the stage with them. We received tons of awesome feedback and warm receptions from many new and old fans while performing at the competition, and we look forward to seeing our fan base grow as we continue to spread our sound across the midwest.
That brings me to my next subject, a CD. That's right. A FULL LENGTH, STUDIO RECORDING ALBUM. I know in past blogs the group has talked about getting the funds together to hit up the studio, but really had they decided to put me in the group when I auditioned for them 2 years ago, they would have had 5 fully produced albums already. For those of you who aren't completely familiar with my background, I am studying music production at a local music college, so I have free access for life to all 10 different commercial studios here at my school. So the band is now hitting the studios pretty hard, working to get a full length CD done and printed by the time our very busy summer season rolls around for our gigs. The studios are filled with industry standard equipment and consoles and gear and if you'd like to know any more about the studio feel free to check them out at the college's website at http://www.mcnallysmith.edu/academics/recordingtech.aspx AND I'm sure you'll be seeing some video blogs and some footage of the group in the studio as well very shortly.
Other than that we've just been working hard to get our show polished, adding in plenty of new tunes with the arrival of a new member, working on some originals, new arrangements, and we're working on mixing some things around right now, finding the best blend we can have with a new member in the group. So it's very exciting, and I am exited to be apart of this group, and I am very excited to meet you all in our upcoming shows.
Singing and signing off,
Brando
Wed, 28 Apr 2010
Back in the Saddle…
Alright folks, I have been quiet long enough. It is time to return to former blogging glory. We have been doing far too much to not talk about it.
To increase blogging productivity, Jason has kindly offered to do all the work of posting it on the website. He says all I have to do it write it, and he will take care of the rest. I have misgivings, as I expect to see the phrase “Jason is awesome” subtly inserted into the middle of my paragraphs.
Where to start? Well, when you don’t know where to begin, start with where you want to go. That is either a really poignant phrase, or it makes no sense whatsoever. We have an annual goal this year to raise enough capital to record a CD. Yes, a CD. The thing you all have been clamoring for is set to become a reality. No more pie-in-the-sky trips to Chicago for reality show auditions until we have a shiny, round piece of plastic with 10-12 of our best songs on it. If you take a look at our schedule, you will see we already have many shows lined up throughout the year, with a couple more in the works. Have you seen July? I hope we make it out of that month alive. With good turnouts at the concert venues, we should be pretty close by the end of the year to reach our goal.
We recently returned from a stint in the great north, where the food was bountiful and the attendance was sparse. For Up ‘til 2’s sake (and waistline), we would have preferred those two flipped, but both crowds were fantastic and inspired us to greatness… except for that one song. Thanks to you all who came and saw us, as well as the Buegler ranch for the hospitality.
P.S. – Jason, I prefer you use Ariel or Times New Roman. Thanks.
Donovan
Fri, 29 Jan 2010
2010 - Here we come!
What's going on Up 'til 2 Fans!?
2009 was a great year and now we find ourselves facing a 2010 with incredible potential. We spent all of 2009 with the same singers! With this came a bunch of new tunes and a sound that has really matured. Our shows have reflected our personalities and new song choices have brought out the best in our vocals.
Dono and Ben keep pumping out great arrangements with the signature Up 'til 2 flavor. We continue to collaborate as a group and with other arrangers across the region to come up with new tunes that will entertain and surprise our audiences...Eric Hutchinson...Michael Jackson...HANSON? Yes. Hanson.
We are starting the year with a matinee performance at the Gremlin Theater in St. Paul on February 20th at 1pm. Gremlin has become our home base in the Twin Cities. You can expect to see us there 3-4 times this year. Other exciting shows are in the works, so more to come. Keep checking back.
As for me, I continue to seek that magical balence...work, family, Up 'til 2. This is tricky as work becomes more challenging (in a good way), my son Parker was born last May (a blessing in every way) and Up 'til 2 continues to stretch itself in new and exciting directions. It's a problem I am lucky to have.
I think this the the theme for all of in the group -- a working class group of guys. We work for banks and gyms; in healthcare, Information Technology and Human Resources. Somehow, every Tuesday we get together, sing, laugh and catch up with each other. These are amazing, talented guys and fantastic friends. Without the music and the friendship, it's hard to imagine what else we would do to keep our creative energy alive and well.
Up 'til 2 is a staple in my life and I think that's what audiences see when we get on stage.
It's not work for us. It's not an obligation. It's what we love...and we hope you love it too!!
-Casey
Thu, 08 Jan 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
How are you folks? How were the holidays? Yeah, I'm great too thank! And yes, I TOTALLY ate too much over the holiday season! Haha, aaaaanyways...
Up 'til 2 is back and ready to roll with a great new year!!! We have hit the ground running and have our first show of 2009 on January 16th at SCSU. It should be a good show and a great kickoff to the year! A week after that we are singing at a Korean Adoption event which should be a great show for a really great organization. We start of February with another show back at Gremlin Theater on February 7th. This show is guaranteed to be AWESOME. Along with the great material that we already had, we are adding a bunch of new tunes to the repetoire and are going to have some really great music to share with everyone. I am settling in to my place in the group and I think we are molding together nicely, and anyone that has seen us will be surprised at how much we've already grown just by singing together for a couple of months. It is going to be great.
The future of Up 'til 2 looks extremely bright. We are once again entering the Harmony Sweepstakes competition and I am confident that we will do our fans very proud. We also are hoping to record a cd to document our vocal goodness very soon, and we are looking at getting some fly gear so we can represent Up 'til 2 flava across the world (and the immediate metro area). If you haven't joined up with our facebook group yet...you should. If you haven't called and reserved a ticket for February 7th...you should. And if you haven't told your family you loved them yet...you should (it is just a good idea).
Hope to see you at a show very soon!! If you can't make it to one of our shows...just hire us to come and sing whereever YOU are!
Much love,
Buegs
Sun, 07 Dec 2008
New guy...
Hey hey hey, what's happening gang? This is new guy in the group, Eric Buegler, but my friends (you) can and do call me Buegs. I am writing to you to let you know what's happening with your favorite group! We are coming off of three pretty stellar shows. The first was a two-night extravaganza at the Gremlin Theater, and the third at the fabulous Mabel Tainter Theater in Menomonie, Wisconsin. We had a great showing for all the shows (particularly for Menomonie) and we just had great performances!
It sounds like we have started to hit our stride again in the group. With the shows behind us we can keep on building repetoire and honing our skills! Our next show is slotted for January 16th in St. Cloud somewhere at the college! I'm thinking that it'll be pretty rocking and a venue that Up 'til 2 will want to keep on coming back to! Since the show's not till January we're sort of taking a breather for the holiday season, which I think everyone appreciates. Another thing that is possibly in the pipeline is an official Up 'til 2 cd! I believe that this will be the group's debut album and we're all getting pretty stoked about this opportunity, although it is still in the preliminary phases! We will definitely keep everyone updated on that, and all other wonderful matters.
It seems like I don't have too much else to report on currently…I reckon that we best wish everyone the safest and loveliest of holiday seasons just in case we don't get back here until January. Be safe out there folks and give your family an extra hug from Up 'til 2! We'll see you in the new year!
Buegs signing off…LATA!
Buegs
Mon, 09 Jun 2008
Rollin' on the River...
Rehearsal was short and sweet this week. Preparation of the unique musical selection for a wedding ceremony was mostly smooth sailing. A shout goes out to Casey for "keeping us honest" and making sure we look at things outside of rehearsal. I love it. Oh, and since Jason made his weekly journey north past the Mason-Dixon Line to visit us, we humored him and learned an entirely new arrangement as well.
I am absolutely thrilled at the song selection for this wedding. It is fun, fresh, and original. Keeping a ceremony light and fun tells a lot about the couple. I have no doubt they will be able to face any challenge life throws at them. Congrats you two!!
Jennie and I, along with some friends, went to a preview showing of "The Count of Monte Cristo" on the U of M Showboat this past weekend. FYI, the boat does NOT go out on the river while you watch the performance; please stop calling my wife and complaining, she is unable to detach the boat from its concrete moorings. The whole vibe given off at the showboat is an "olde tyme" riverboat experience, with Vaudevillian numbers spaced in between acts. These Olios, as with other songs in that style, are especially cute in that the true subject matter of the song is covertly delivered. Think of the lovely game, "If you know what I mean." Two people have a topic to discuss, but must say the phrase, "if you know what I mean" at the end of every exchange. It gives a suggestive double meaning to even the most innocent of phrases. Explicit lyrics did not exist back then, and one had to divulge their true feelings through clever wordplay. I appreciate the shrewdness of their lyrics, and hope to fashion some songs in honor of their ingenuity....if you know what I mean.
Dono
Mon, 02 Jun 2008
Lovin' Every Minute of It....
Oh what a difference a day makes!! This saying rang true for Up 'til 2 this past weekend at the Flint Hills Festival. Our performance on Saturday left us... unsatisfied. Picture yourself about to dive into a giant chocolate malt; upon indulging on said chocolate malt, you are in love at the beginning, but realize by the end that there just wasn't enough...malt. You just had a chocolate shake. Hey, you like chocolate shakes well enough, but it wasn't quite what you were looking for.
Sunday's performance was pure chocolate malt. Hopefully you were there to take a listen; that was some of the best singing this 5-man version of Up 'til 2 has ever done. That inflatable roof had no chance this weekend. If the storm Saturday night had not of gotten hold of it and ripped it down, we would have taken care of that on Sunday. We had an absolute blast on stage; at one point Casey and I exchanged a look in between songs that said it all: exhausted glee, mixed with confidence and satisfaction.
Comments from members of the Up 'til 2 fan club(read: family/relatives) reaffirmed my faith in the vision of the seven-man group. They loved us, but missed the depth and unique sound 7 voices bring, especially on the songs they had heard originally with seven. I feel with five we are more your typical "a cappella group" than a "vocal band" right now. I can almost hear you thinking, "Why does that matter?" To this I will only say, it's chocolate shake vs. chocolate malt.
Dono
Mon, 12 May 2008
Video Killed the Radio Star...
Wealth. Beauty. Celebrity Status. As showtime drew near, my head spun as I was surrounded by Powerball Winners, Belly Dancers, and Wally the Beer Man. Bricks surrounding the hallway were signed by the likes of Candice Bergen, Desi Arnaz, and The Beastie Boys. Sure, I played it "cool", but being a musical guest on a live network TV talk show made me downright giddy. Vocal groups and TV are not often mixed together; however, I think this musical media concoction went down nice and smooth. Thanks to Christian for having us on the show.
They say the camera adds 10 pounds; I was hoping for me it would 10 inches. Alas, I once again looked like a fledgling Oak amidst giant Redwoods. I have received a nice 50/50 balance between comments of my singing versus my height/size on screen. I guess it could have been worse; I am suddenly recollecting the disturbing tragedy of my only childhood TV "appearance". My sister and I were filmed eating ice cream cones at a summer festival for the local six o' clock news. Family and friends were gathered 'round the televsion to see our 15 seconds of fame. What transpired, and the feeling of complete emptiness and worthlessness that followed, cannot be understood unless you are many inches under the average height and have experienced something similar. As the credits begin: A heart-warming shot of a young girl and her ice cream cone, smiling at the camera. And lo! Who could that mystery boy be with only the very top of his hair visible at the bottom of the screen? Poor thing! Surely they could have given him a stool? Or a box, perhaps? Kudos to my mom. I am sure consoling a 7 year old boy who had just been completely mortified and reduced to nothing in front of everyone wasn't too easy. Now that I think of it, I haven't yet watched the video of our performance from Friday. I think I will watch it with my mom, just in case.
Dono
Mon, 05 May 2008
Sounds of Silence...
Our rehearsal this week marked the first time we(read: Jason)hooked up our sound system in its entirety. Upon lugging our massive speakers and subwoofer up flights(plural!) of stairs and down mirror-filled hallways of doom (for which I was very fortunately absent), we were greeted by the sounds of silence....and static. I am sure Casey and I constantly asking Jason the questions, "What does this mean?" or "What does this thing do?" sped the process along quite nicely. Glad we could help.
Once we had Michael Rowfones up and running, it was time to prep for our TV gig. 1 time on our system + 20 second clips of songs= 2 much to account for. We definitely had some frustrating moments, but I think the 15 minute "effects" session we had in between allowed us to blow off some steam. Hearing Casey sing tenor and bass simultaneously is something one must experience to believe.
Singing on Mike Rowfones is an interesting thing. The main difficulty I have is the issue of "volume wars". For example, you are watching TV and your sibling/roomate/spouse(I hope not all of the above) is watching or listening to something in the next room. You begin to have trouble hearing your own, so you turn up your volume a little. Nice, right? Well, they in turn do the same thing. This goes back and forth, little by little, until you neighbor calls and says "they can hear it fine on their TV and don't need surround sound." The same thing happens when singing on a system; everyone must constantly be checking their volume and be listening for balance. It adds a very different set of challenges in addition to the regular musical ones. From what I understand, Jason has some mystical knobs and buttons that can limit the volume at a pre-determined level; I do believe eyes glazed and drool flowed when he tried explaining it to me. I don't really remember.
Dono