The UC Davis Spokes
The Spokes are a top-notch all-female group out of UC Davis. Sara Scheller and Greer Shively from the group took the time to answer questions from The A Cappella Blog.
The A Cappella Blog (ACB): The Spokes host HellaCappella, a multi-group event showcasing Northern California groups. What is this show like? Who has performed in recent years? What makes this different from other a cappella shows?
The Spokes (TS): HellaCappella is a big event that we do every year with performances by Northern California a cappella groups. We usually draw around 800 people. In recent years, we've had performances by Stanford Fleet Street Singers, UC Berkeley Men's Octet, UC Berkeley Golden Overtones, and many others. HellaCappella stands out from other a cappella shows because we showcase groups from our geographic region so audience members can see the talented performers present in their own community. One thing that sets HellaCappella apart from other a cappella shows is its sheer size. We have it in the biggest venue on campus, and we draw more people in a single night than any other show we've ever performed at. A big part of this is because we do so much publicity for our shows and try to make the experience fun for both our performers and the audience.
ACB: As an all-female group, what advantages do you enjoy? What challenges does the nature of the group present?
TS: One of the advantages we enjoy as an all-female group is the sense of community and friendship. While there are many elements in an a cappella group that can be difficult, gender dynamics is not something we have an issue with. Musically, arranging and selecting songs for female voices is somewhat challenging, but very rewarding because we have an opportunity to recreate songs in a manner that fits our particular taste as well as vocal ability.
ACB: How do The Spokes go about recruiting new members?
TS: We have auditions every fall and sometimes during the spring. Auditionees come prepared with a short segment of any song, and they perform the song in front of fellow auditionees and current group members. We also do group exercises to test blending and pitch recognition. Following auditions we vote on which girls we would like to invite to callbacks. At callbacks we do more group exercises and test the girls on sight-reading. After callbacks we vote to select new members.
ACB: If you were to describe The Spokes in just three words, what words would you use?
TS: If we could describe The Spokes in three words we would choose: fun, classy, and dedicated
ACB: If you could have any contemporary singer join your group to sing the solo for one song, who would you pick and for what song?
TS: We would pick Ingrid Michaelson to join our group to sing the solo. A lot of her songs are oriented towards an a cappella style, and we enjoy singing her style of music.
If You would like to learn more about The Spokes, you can visit them online here.