The UC Davis Lounge Lizards
The Lounge Lizards are a top notch mixed group out of UC Davis. Co-President Alyssa Parsons took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.
The A Cappella Blog (ACB): Describe a typical Lounge Lizards rehearsal. How often do you guys practice and what do you do to achieve such success by the time you hit the stage? Do rehearsals change before a big show? Before you guys go into competition?
Alyssa Parsons (AP): Usually, we practice twice a week, for two and a half hours; we also have special choreography-oriented rehearsals, so we have plenty of time to sing. Basically, our rehearsal process before a competition or show is a lot like theater; we use the earlier practices to learn new pieces or work out the kinks on others, and right before the competition or show, we rehearse our whole set list in order, with choreography, as if we were performing. Sometimes we'll bring in our friends who know a lot about music and will easily be able to point out our good points and bad points from the standpoint of an audience member.
ACB: Are there any unique traditions or pieces of history attached to your group?
AP: One of our more embarrassing traditions actually comes from an all-male group that we met at an ICCA competition before I was in the group. We heard one of their warm-ups, and now we do it on a regular basis; we sing "I bite the heads off puppies, and their warm blood drips all over my new shoes." Unfortunately, it's got a very good variety of consonants, and it's a pretty good warm-up. We tend to horrify any other groups that are around us when we're getting ready...
ACB: As a mixed group, what advantages do you enjoy? What challenges does the nature of the group present?
AP: I especially enjoy being in a mixed group because even when we're working really hard, there's a very laid-back atmosphere that I (at least partially) attribute to having a male presence in the group. Also, there's some of the more evident benefits- arranging for two genders is easier than arranging for one. I haven't personally experienced any challenges in the group that specifically relate to the fact that we're mixed; we've never had any group-wide disagreements that were divided by gender.
ACB: How do The Lounge Lizards go about recruiting new members?
AP: We're actually starting auditions next week, which is why I think I'll be answering this question more thoroughly than any other. Those auditioning for the group sing about 45 seconds of the song of their choice, sing scales so we can hear their range, and sing a basic triad with us giving them the root of the chord from a pitchpipe. They also fill out a form and tell us their sight-reading level, whether they have any other major extracurricular activities, and their contact information. We had about 50 applicants last year, and we expect to have at least that number; out of those 50 or more, we pick the top three from each section and invite them to callbacks. At callbacks, we invite the potential new Lizards to dinner, mostly so we can gauge their personalities and see how well they mesh with the group; afterward, they learn one of our songs, perform it in quartets with the group, and perform it once on their own. After callbacks, we deliberate and pick the top choice from each section.
ACB: How does your group go about deciding which songs to add to its repertoire? Who is responsible for arrangements?
AP: Usually, our arranging process begins with the arranger; if he or she hears a song that seems good for the group, the arranger runs it by the group, and if there is a general consensus to perform it, he or she will arrange the song. We highly encourage all of our members to arrange; if they've never done it before, we have one of our more experienced arrangers help. This year, we actually plan to introduce some songs into our repertoire that haven't been arranged expressly for us; we want to do a little jazz, and so we're thinking of doing some Real Group, some Ward Swingle, and the like.
ACB: Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of The A Cappella Blog?
AP: Being located in a part of California that can be a little isolated, it's always great to have contact with a cappella groups from other schools. We always look forward to our performances at UC Berkeley, because we have a great opportunity to interact with groups from other schools, especially other UCs. If you'd be interested in coming to Davis and performing with us, or if you're hosting a showcase and would like us to come, please email us at davisloungelizards@gmail.com!
If you would like to learn more about The Lounge Lizards you can visit them online here.