Public Concert!
Up 'til 2 has a Saturday matinee at The Gremlin Theater in St. Paul on Saturday, February 20th at 1:00 p.m. Reserve tickets by emailing your name and number of tickets to [tickets@uptil2music.com] or by calling 651-263-3616! $10/$5 children.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Forever Young...
Sunday's rehearsal took an interesting turn: After playing frisbee, the rehearsal involved Kermit the Frog, the Muppets, and Casey buying all of us cookies afterwards. It truly was a youthful experience. Learning "Rainbow Connection" and "Muhna Muhna" only strengthens our grip on our 5-10 year old core audience. I assume our other core audience, 70-80 year olds, will find them cute as well.
While our 5-man sound is limited, I am constantly knocked around by the amount of material we have been eating through the past month or so. Our vibe within the group is strong; our confidence and motivation are higher than I have ever seen it. I definitely attribute most of it to the fun and enjoyment we are having. This group is keeping me sane while I apply for numerous(hooray!)teaching jobs. Yes, folks, it is that time of year again. In what has become an annual tradition four years running, I have begun the process of finding a music education position. Let us take a journey into the mysterious, hidden realm of our educational employment process. Do you have your torch? Your broad sword? There is evil here that makes skin crawl and reduces grown men to crying, gibbering crazies.
Before you venture out into the darkness, your inventory must be fully stocked with the following: the Scroll of Interest, the Resume of Glory, 3 Scrolls of Recommendation, your Transcripts of Knowledge, and the License of Authority. You will use these invaluable items upon every encounter; do not expect to get past any of these foes without them.
What are these creatures, you ask? They come in many forms; some seem innocent and harmless. Others rear up and show you they are formidable straight away. They are: the Guild of District Applications! Be afraid; there is good reason, but show no fear. They use subterfuge, confusion, and fearmongering to scare away all but the most devoted(desparate?) of teachers. Some may require your Resume of Glory here also, even though you included it in the Holy Packet of Power.... oh, your counter-atttack is to cut and paste from your word document? Haha, you lose all of the formatting and spacing from the original! Diabolical!! Upon fixing these problems, you then encounter required questions that are answered by the information on the Resume. Sorry, my young padawan, but you must answer these questions still.
And now we come to crux of it; the Heart of the Beast. If, by now, you have prepared your inventory, ran the gauntlet of repetitive questions and requirements, and are still not discouraged, they have a final fiend newly found. Within the last couple years, all of the Guild members have added: Essay Questions of Despair! Six to ten mind-wrenching, thought-twisting, skull-rattling brain busters that question your very being. Would you like to hear some? Stop me if your ears begin to bleed.
WHAT ARE SOME REASONS YOU SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION OVER OTHERS?
HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS IN ORDER TO BE MOST HELPFUL TO THEM?
HOW DO YOU DESIGN AN OVERALL LESSON FOR YOUR CLASS?
WHAT FOUR KEY COMPONENTS DO YOU BELIEVE YOU MUST INCLUDE IN YOUR PLAN?
WHAT TWO CORE TEACHING STRATEGIES DO YOU MOST USE TO ACHIEVE THIS RESULT?
I have at least 30 more that I have answered over the years, but I see you shivering in a fetal position underneath your desk, so I will refrain.
I assume you realize that all this is necessary before you even speak to a single person? It is very possible that you never will. You will devote many hours to a single application, and not even get a first interview. I have also found many of these positions are only posted publicly for one week. What this means to me is: A. They already have someone in mind and are just going through the motions, B. There is such an excess of teachers for the position that they only need to post for a week to get a good number of candidates. The thought of throwing a juicy steak to a pack of wild, ravenous dogs suddenly comes to mind.
Am I complaining? Actually, no. I am simply telling my experience. I am sure there are many others that have had an even tougher time of it than I. Am I frustrated? I think the parable above answers that question just fine.
Dono
Jazz Man
Subjecting people to the music of your choice (when they themselves have no choice but to listen) is not something I subscribe to. However, I do appreciate the situation when it arises, since it:
A. makes you appreciate the music you do enjoy; perhaps even the reasons why?
B. makes you listen to music outside of your "comfort" zone and forces you to analyze it; ultimately forcing a decision as to its merit.
One thing I do enjoy about the twin cities is the amount of interesting people I am exposed to. You know, the ones you can only find in the big city. I am lucky enough to often ride home on what I have dubbed, the "Bebop Bus." The cool cat behind the wheel is straight out of the Beat generation, with lingo, goatee, and shades in tow. Strapped down next to him, amidst a bed of foam and bungee cords, is his CD player. Upon entering said bus, the rider is engulfed by his daily selection of Jazz.
I personally adore Jazz music, and every time I stumble upon the sound of it I often ask myself, "Why don't I listen to this more often?" I will assume that not all of the other passengers feel the same way. I attribute this music appreciation to my past experience in Jazz band and Vocal Jazz. This led me to answer that question: I believe I don't listen to Jazz more often because it is more fun to play it than listen to it. I also believe this is the reason for its lack of popularity. Noodling over different progressions and finding that groove is an absolute blast. Listening to it is highly enjoyable, trying to guess where the soloist is headed is fun, but it ultimately saddens me being a passive listener. Not only this, but I believe one truly appreciates this music only when they have attempted to learn how to play it and realize how difficult it can be. You may think me to be elitist; so be it. I have instant respect for anyone who can play Jazz and improvise.
I bring all of this up, of course, to compare it to a cappella music. I feel a cappella has this same inherent flaw. It is not necessarily in the same boat as Jazz; I would say swimming in the same waters. A cappella can have a bit more grip on the casual listener by relying on covers of songs that were already popular to begin with. It is also more easily accessible to become involved with; the learning curve is much better and less music theory is needed. Still, I believe it is similar in that it is a type of music you only truly appreciate when you have experienced it yourself. Look at who buys and/or listens to a cappella music. It is the same as Jazz: people who are performing the music themselves or have done so in the past.
Solution? Simple: Make band or choir mandatory throughout school. This would solve many more problems than just this one. :)
Dono
Stayin' Alive
We are down to five, but we're still alive!! Oh, the peaks and valleys of the Up 'til 2 terrain! On a high note, through much toil and sacrifice, we have finally secured a sound system to call our own. I feel it deserves a name: shall we name it Michael Rowfones? I certainly think so! Thanks to Jason and the late member Jon for all of their effort securing us an incredible system.
On a low note, we are back down to five members again. Ultimately it will allow the group to continue, but dang if it isn't the saddest thing to see the group take 3 steps forward and then 2 steps back. It is like Up 'til 2 is an eligible, attractive single:
"Looking for a long-term relationship. Very needy with high and specific standards. No financial stability, but can offer periods of intense satisfaction coupled with frustration and longing. Call me!!"
Not that any of this is a bad thing, mind you; it is just difficult finding the right men. Yeah, yeah... I can almost hear the cheers erupting from the ladies' camp. I feel your pain.
Dono