Straight No Chaser Takes the Stage

The a cappella group heads to NoMi for two nostalgic nineties shows

There’s no truth to the rumor that the words “a cappella” are short for “the singers don’t have enough money to pay a band.” That’s because the singers are the band.

Example A: Straight No Chaser, the vocal group that originated on the campus of Indiana University more than a quarter century ago. It includes lead and harmony vocals, percussion, bass, maybe even some choreography, and plenty of hits. In short, everything you need in a band.

Now the band is a regular touring act, with appearances at festivals, on TV, and streaming favorites. Just the way they planned it all those years ago.

A Winding Road

Well, not exactly as planned. In fact, not at all. “None of us had aspirations of professional a cappella,” says Walter Chase.

Chase is one of the original members of the nine-piece group. Like the others, he was busy living life when suddenly they were requested to revive their long-dormant act in 2007. Now, Straight No Chaser is bringing its show back to Interlochen for a July 24 date at Kresge Auditorium and performing Aug. 3 at Great Lakes Center for the Arts at Bay Harbor.

Rewind a few decades. It was in 1998, two years after their founding in college, that the group recorded a video of their comical version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” A decade later, original member Randy Stine posted it on the then-nascent social media site YouTube. The video went viral, and Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman reached out, asking if the group would consider reuniting to record a new album. “He thought we had something special,” says Chase.

Spoiler alert: It turns out they did. Since reforming in 2007, the group has recorded nearly 20 albums and EPs while taking their live show across the globe.

While the recordings help sustain the group’s presence on radio and streaming, Chase says the group really shines onstage. Which in today’s music industry, where live shows bolster record sales rather than the other way around, is good business. “We’ve always been a touring-first financial model,” he says.

Meet the Band

There have been a few personnel changes along the way. Randy Stine, who posted the video that started the whole thing rolling, retired last year, leaving Chase as one of three original members, alongside Jerome Collins and Steve Morgan. The group has recruited vocalists to replace the outgoing members, many of them alumni of subsequent iterations of the version still performing at IU (since renamed Another Round to avoid confusion with the current touring group).

And that part about not having a band? It’s not about economics or anything other than the fact all the members love the sound of blending voices, with nothing else to fill in or compete for the sonic space. It makes touring easier too. “It’s a light load. We plug in the wireless pack in the board and walk out onstage,” says Chase.

It’s obvious watching them, live or online, that they really enjoy what they do, and each other. “In college we were hanging out first, singing second,” says Chase.

He says that camaraderie is the source from which they developed their stage presence. “It’s rat-packy, self-deprecating schtick,” he says, which encapsulates their style (while creating a new adjective).

Listen Up

The current show, dubbed “Summer: The 90s Part 2,” features a number of songs from that decade. Songs like “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys, Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” and “Linger” from the Cranberries find their place happily alongside songs from movies like Jurassic Park and Titanic, TV shows such as Friends, and other popular tracks like “I Want You Back” and “Sledgehammer.”

Something for everyone, as they say. “We do a hip-hop medley, Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ Aaliyah, Blues Traveler, pop, R&B, even Garth Brooks. We’re excited to hear it coming out,” says Chase.

He and the other members of the group still find time for careers outside the group. For many it’s still in the music business. Chase arranges and produces music for shows on Broadway, on cruise ships, and even works occasionally with other bands.

But Straight No Chaser still comes first. “I’m looking forward to getting back together,” he says, as the group began rehearsals for the summer tour. “We’ve found our groove.”

For ticket information for either of the shows, go to the venue’s websites: Interlochen.org and GreatLakesCFA.org.

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