The University of Michigan Dicks & Janes
The Dicks & Janes are a top notch mixed group out of the University of Michigan. The group has enjoyed tremendous success throughout its 10 year history, entertaining crowds and thriving in competition. The story of The Dicks & Janes will continue this Saturday, when group heads into the Midwest ICCA Semifinals. Three members of The Dicks & Janes—Courtney Miller (Major Events Coordinator), Deborah Sacks (President) and Mike Rowan (Music Director) took the time to respond to questions from The A Cappella Blog’s own Mike C.
The A Cappella Blog (ACB): The Dicks & Janes (D&J) has a long history of successful performances in the ICCAs, including multiple victories and awards. What have these accomplishments meant for the group? How important are the ICCAs to D&J?
Courtney: Participating in ICCA has never been as much about the competition as it has been about the experience. We have always enjoyed performing with and meeting other a cappella groups. Road trips are always fun for us too. Of course, doing well at ICCA is always nice too - it is great to be given recognition for all of our hard work. We look at ICCA more as an invitational where we get to see great groups perform and learn from them - not as a competition.
Mike: Honestly, we look at it as a chance to show our best to the other groups. Judging is so subjective, and there are so many good groups who all have different sytles, so we don't get caught up in trying to win. We'd rather have all the other groups dig us and want to perform with us again - our goals are to have fun and make connections. Obviously, victories and awards are great because that gets our name out to wider audience...and hopefully gets us to the next round, where we can do the same thing all over again!
ACB: Each year, D&J hosts the popular Acappellooza. How did this tradition come about? How would you describe an Acappellooza for those who have not attended one?
Courtney: Acappellooza was started in 2000. Every year we have tried to bring outstanding collegiate a cappella groups from all over the country to Ann Arbor. Traditionally, we have invited fellow U of M group "Amazin' Blue" and three others - usually an all-male, an all-female, and another coed group. Our main goal is to create an entertaining invitational that showcases talented groups. What's really great about having our own invitational is inviting groups that we've always wanted to perform with, that we admire, or that we performed with on one of our spring tours and want them to come visit. It's interesting to see the different styles of a cappella that groups perform and you start to see regional trends - for instance, a lot of the east coast groups we've seen perform with a 'conductor.' Acappellooza is a great way of making new "AcaFriends" and keeping up other relationships. I like to think we have a pretty good "AcaCommunity" here in the U of M, and I hope that we can make a
greater one through Acappellooza.
In the first years of Acappellooza, DJs saw crowds of 500-1000 people. Recently, we've seen numbers on the smaller side of that range. I hope that we can make Acappellooza as popular as it once was and continue to bring in the best groups we can. It's a really great tradition and I would hate to see it dwindle away.
ACB: As a group with a long history, stretching back almost a decade, what advantages do D&J enjoy? Are there any challenges that result from the group’s history?
Courtney: Being known. It's always cool when someone recognizes the name Dicks and Janes - especially when they're not from around Ann Arbor - or even the Midwest. DJs has had a great reputation from the beginning and it's amazing to be part of that legacy. Challenges? Not that I know of!
Mike: Like Courtney said, it's a great bonus for us to have people recognize our name when we invite them to Acappellooza or try to set up a gig with them on our spring break tour. The only challenge I can think of is living up to our reputation. We started to get national recognition right at the beginning of this a cappella "boom," and it's hard to keep repeating our successes when there are so many talented groups sprouting up all over the place. Also, since we've had a
successful history, there's a tendency to look back at what we've done well in the past, instead of looking out at what other top-notch groups around the country are doing right now.
ACB: How does your group go about deciding what songs to add to its repertoire?
Courtney: We arrange all of our own music with the help of notating software like Finale and Sibelius. At the beginning of each semester we vote on what songs in our rep we want to retire. Then the members present their new arrangements and we vote on them. We try to keep our rep varied. DJs originally started because Marc Smollin, our founder, wanted to make an a cappella group that sang more than just pop songs. So we try to mix it up and have sung jazz, funk, Celtic, classic rock, oldies, show tunes, country, 80's, Indie... you name it!
Mike: Some other groups that I know of have a "rep proposal" meeting, where all the members will propose songs to be arranged, and then they pick members to arrange those songs. We don't do this, and I think it has a few benefits. First, inspiration can strike any time, so we want anyone at anytime to be able to come up with an idea and turn it into their own arrangement. Also, we feel that it's important to vote on the arrangement, not the original song. Great arrangements can come from little-known or mediocre songs, and great original songs can not translate well into arrangements. Also, it ensures that group members don't get "assigned" to arrange a song that they don't have a passion
for - you only arrange something if it's your own idea and you're completely invested in the arrangement.
ACB: If you were to describe D&J with three words, what words would you choose, and why?
Deborah: Community, musicality, love. We are an extremely tight-knit community of friends and musicians who care deeply for each other and are committed to what we do both musically and socially, and it is reflected in the caliber of our performances, I believe.
ACB: What is your favorite song to perform with D&J?
Deborah: I have two personal favorites: “Have You Met Miss Jones”, as performed by Robbie Williams, and “Train Wreck” by Sarah McLachlan. Both are superb arrangements, and with us, have always had fantastic soloists. As a performer who particularly loves singing musically rich background vocals, these two songs are especially enjoyable.
Mike: That is so tough to say...I'd have to go with Long “Train Runnin'” by the Doobie Brothers. It's got awesome choreo (or choreography, for long), the parts are fun to sing, it's high-energy, and the audience always gets into it.
ACB: What drew you, personally, to collegiate a cappella in the first place?
Deborah: I am a voice performance major here at the University of Michigan, so of course I love to sing. As a classical cellist as well, I have a particularly long love affair with chamber music, and participating in the combining of musical textures to create a particular sound product is a musical expression that brings me great joy. I have found that through collegiate a cappella I not only can
express myself musically in this way, but there this a huge community both on campus and around the country who wish to come together and support each other in this endeavor.
Mike: I got into a cappella because I knew a few friends who were excellent musicians that sang in various groups at UM. I've stayed because of the friendships that I've made, the fun that I have performing this kind of music, and the opportunity to have so much input and unleash my creativity.
ACB: Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of The A Cappella Blog?
Deborah: As a shameless plug, I would encourage to check out www.dicksandjanes.com!