Jeff Swearingen, co-executive producer of AcappellaFest
The A Cappella Blog will return to regular posting in January. The 2010 season will include a number of new features that are currently in the works. In the meantime, we share this exclusive interview:
Jeff Swearingen is co-executive producer for AcappellaFest, an upcoming a cappella event in the Midwest. Jeff took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.
The A Cappella Blog: The third annual AcappellaFest is scheduled for mid-October in Detroit and Chicago. For the uninitiated, what can visitors expect from these events? Who will be performing? Outside of seeing a cappella performances, what can those in attendance look forward to?
Jeff Swearingen: First and foremost, thank you for chance to be interviewed. AcappellaFest seeks to bring education and entertainment together for a jam-packed festival of fun. AF Detroit (10/17) is new this year and will feature a single evening show featuring a relatively new CASA League group from Michigan, Two Week's Notice, as well as Ohio-based 4 THE RECORD, the Dicks & Janes (University of Michigan) as well as Rockapella front man Scott Leonard. The show is hosted by elmoTHUMM. AF Chicago (10/24) will be an all-day festival with workshops—more on those later—a matinee showcase featuring Blue Jupiter, Chicago Voice Exchange and Voices In Your Head (University of Chicago), informal Q&A session with artists, and an evening performance by the Grammy-nominated, CARA-winning group, The Bobs. AF Chicago is hosted by Vocal Chaos.
The A Cappella Blog: This is the third A CappellaFest. How did this event get started? How has the event developed and changed over the years?
Jeff Swearingen: In early 2007, I put heads together over e-mail with Greg Vaden of elmoTHUMM. We wanted to create an a cappella festival in the Midwest. For years the aca world had the West Coast and East Coast Summits and more recently A Cappellastock in Utah and SoJam in North Carolina. Of course they had competitive a cappella with regional Harmony Sweeps, the ICCAs, the IHSCAs, numerous barbershop competitions and the like. But we wanted to bring a showcase event to the fans in Chicago and surrounding communities. AcappellaFest was born.
We started small with a single-evening show and repeated the format in 2008. Both shows turned out great and we received very positive feedback from fans. For 2009, we decided to expand in two ways. First, we added the single-evening show in Detroit. elmoTHUMM is a mainstay in the Detroit area. They have an established relationship with a local theatre who had a heightened interest in featuring an a cappella show. Second, we expanded our Chicago show into an entire day filled with the a cappella goodness I just described. Both events will be fantastic!
The A Cappella Blog: This year’s AcappellaFest is scheduled to feature a high school song competition. What are the parameters for this contest? On what basis will songs be judged and what’s at stake?
Jeff Swearingen: Involving high schools in AcappellaFest, by way of a contest, is a great way to help the students take what they learn within their groups and apply it in a competitive setting. Unlike other competitions, however, ours is a contest by entry only. The rules are simple. Submit an MP3 or YouTube video to us with your group's best performance. There will be only one winner—and that group gets to perform their winning entry on stage at AcappellaFest. The contest is open until October 9th. More information and rules are available on our website.
The A Cappella Blog: The Chicago event is slated to include workshops. Who will be leading the workshops? What can attendees hope to gain from these sessions?
Jeff Swearingen: Blue Jupiter has developed the proven "a cappella university" curriculum and they will be leading all three workshops: How Do They Do That? (where they take you through an interactive song arrangement), Rockstar 101 (where they demonstrate ways to immediately improve your performance) and Vocal Percussion 101 (self-explanatory, but it must be experienced to appreciate the skills of master mouth drummer and beatboxer Marty Gasper). BJ has been involved with many aca festivals in recent years. Most notably the East Coast A Cappella Summits in 2007 and 2008, the 2008 SingStrong festival in DC and A Cappellastock this past August. People will walk away with new skills, a new appreciation for a cappella and big smile on their face!
The A Cappella Blog: This is an exciting time for the a cappella world, specifically as it pertains to a cappella reaching the mainstream. Highlights include the commercial success of Straight No Chaser, the publication of Mickey Rapkin’s book, the introduction of NBC’s Sing Off! And FOX’s Glee, and the potential new MTV series centered around the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.
How viable do you think a cappella is as a mainstream attraction?
Jeff Swearingen: I think one of the barriers to public understanding and appreciation of a cappella is the stereotype everyone knows about—school or church choirs, glee clubs and barbershop. When the uninitiated hear "a cappella" some might think of those styles and assume they already know what it will sound like. They think a cappella is dated. We know that is certainly not the case. The goal of making a cappella successful in the mainstream is to ensure it is relevant to the mainstream. Among other things that means, pushing the envelope with original songs and compelling arrangements of existing material. A good way to pull someone in is to hook them with something they're familiar with. I see more and more groups of varied styles step over the boundaries of song choice and performance style. This attitude not only furthers artistic development but also helps ensure a solid footing in the broader music-appreciating community. The high-profile appearances in the media will certainly be one of the vehicles to keep a cappella at the forefront of people's minds, eyes and ears.
The A Cappella Blog: Do you think this is the beginning of a new trend, or just a media fad?
Jeff Swearingen: I think it is the beginning (an in some respects a continuation) of something great. I think more and more people are getting that "feel good" aspect of a cappella. That camaraderie and harmony thing we always talk about. FOX's Glee is a great example of how that emotion can be conveyed through a familiar television program format (i.e. a dramatic comedy with characters everyone can relate to). I think it's up to us who are active members of the aca community to prevent this recent ascension from becoming a media fad. When there are opportunities to present a cappella before a mainstream audience, we must embrace them and take them seriously.
The A Cappella Blog: Where do you see a cappella going in the next few years?
Jeff Swearingen: Three things:
1. Ben Folds' took a bold step in devoting an entire album to a cappella. Collegiate a cappella. In many respects, it was a success. There are other artists who currently use a cappella to spice up their body of work. But I think some artists should step further outside of their comfort zone and "do it a cappella" so to speak. Michael Buble and Naturally 7 should continue their collaboration. Look at the attention they received in the last year. Other artists in seemingly disparate genres can easily band together and create something wonderful. People would pay attention.
2. If MTV develops that series, I think the competitive world of a cappella (at all levels) will likely come under focus by the reality TV world.
3. I think eventually there will be a Disney-fied a cappella "thing"—a group, an event, a TV show, etc. that plays to the kids. Beyond the groups that are currently at Disney, this would be on TV, have a movie or two and have products up the yin yang.
4. A cappella festivals seem to be growing stronger each time they present themselves. More artists want to do it. More fans want to see and hear it. More schools and PAC's are hearing about them, in hopes of bringing the festivals to their venues. They are a perfect opportunity to put a cappella before a large audience. I foresee some festivals expanding regionally, others developing into a network (CASA has started this process already) and some sticking with the same successful formula. And I'm not talking about just here in the US--there are aca festivals all over the world garnering attention. Who knows? Maybe some day, there will be a festival circuit with a worldwide a cappella tour. One way or the other these festivals will play a big role in exposing a cappella to the masses.
Wherever a cappella goes, it sure seems to be going up. And going up helps everyone in the aca community whether you're directly involved or not.
The A Cappella Blog: Besides serving as an executive producer for ACappellaFest, what's your history with a cappella, and what other role or roles do you have on the a cappella scene right now? How did you get started in a cappella?
Jeff Swearingen: My singing abilities were first noticed at age 5. I began singing with the Colorado Children's Chorale at age 7, continuing through age 12 while touring throughout Colorado. I started singing a cappella in 1993 at George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado. It was primarily a vocal jazz group but we did a fair amount of a cappella including numbers by New York Voices, Take 6 and The Real Group. I was exposed to the vocal jazz program at University of Northern Colorado, where two original members of m-pact got their start. I jumped to Chicago in 1995 to attend DePaul University—I chose the school because of it's strong vocal jazz program and because of Chicago's musical and cultural diversity. I majored in Computer Science, and began developing a website for New York Voices. Through that channel I met David Das who, at the time, ran Take 6's website. My technology and musical interests collided! In a good way. I was in the vocal jazz ensemble at DePaul for a year, and a student run group the next 5 years. I graduated on time in 1999, I just loved singing with this group so much that I stuck around for 2 more years! In 2001 I auditioned for a part-time group Vocal Chaos. Beyond singing baritone, I soon found my niche promoting the group and developing the group's brand. That led us to gigs with local businesses and community festivals, some out-of-state. We also recorded an EP. Our gradual rise on the Chicago a cappella scene helped three of us land roles in the Jennifer Aniston / Vince Vaughn film The Break Up. And of course, now, we find ourselves with AcappellaFest.
I write the occasional article/review for CASA. My role as Co-Executive Producer for AcappellaFest keeps me plenty busy, but I am always looking for new and useful ways to help improve the a cappella world.
You can learn more about AcappellaFest here.