UC Berkeley DeCadence

DeCadence is a top notch mixed group out of UC Berkeley, founded in 1992. Christopher Condap, a senior member, and tenor with the group, took the time to answer questions from A Cappella Blog co-founder Mike Chin.

A Cappella Blog (ACB): Your group performs every Wednesday at Sproul Plaza. Can you describe these shows? How does performing weekly affect the group, and do you find it challenging to do so?

Christopher Condap (CC): In my opinion, the weekly performances on Sproul are essential for an a cappella group to establish a fan base in the community. Groups that are entertaining on Sproul generally attract larger followings of people, and any group that can stop a large quantity of people probably has their act together pretty well. This is especially challenging because the collective student body (especially those that pass through Sproul Plaza on a regular basis) is constantly under barrage from people who want their attention either to be "flyered" or roped into a conversation about how the La Rouche campaign can change America. As such, people are very wary about stopping on Sproul Plaza for anything, much less something that takes half an hour, and many of them simply walk by without listening. Consequently, my group in particular has adopted a dress-theme for each Sproul Performance. We dress in crazy colors, or in outfits that make us stand out, in order to garner the attention of the passing crowd. This sets us apart from other groups, and further cements our group as being "different" from most other a cappella groups on campus, an essential aspect of our group that draws people to audition for us in what would otherwise be insufficient quantities. Personally, I do not find it a challenge to perform on Sproul on a weekly basis because I've been performing weekly for three years now, and I simply accept it as part of my week. Furthermore, Sproul doesn't have to be a perfect performance like stage performances. Many people enjoy the small imperfections that pertain to every a cappella group, and there are only so many times you can watch a group that gives the exact same performance every week. A Cappella fans initially enjoy the music and performance, but after sufficient time, they only stay because they want to know what is going to be different from the previous week. The dress-themes help with this, immeasurably.

ACB: How would you describe your most recent CD, Songs from the Closet? What can listeners expect?

CC: Without a doubt, Songs from the Closet is the best CD we've ever produced. Our group felt that we had much to learn about making CDs, so for Songs from the Closet, we decided that the only remedy would be to venture into the world of a cappella tracking and mixing to learn all there was to learn. We owe many thanks to Bill Hare, who spent many hours with our group members teaching us about the process of tracking and mixing so that we could produce a more professional tone on our CD. Furthermore, we knew that without proper equipment, we would be lost, and as such we put more fundraising efforts into the CD than ever before, which paid off masterfully. All in all, the CD is an excellent reflection of our group's talent, variety, and commitment to quality. Listeners can expect a variety of contemporary songs on the album, with upbeat hits like "The River of Dreams" and "You Gotta Be," slow smooth ballads like “Summertime/Motherless Child" and "Let Her Cry / Foolish Games," and even the quirky DeCadence trademark with "Super Mario Brothers," recorded "live." You can visit Bill Hare's website at http://www.dyz.com

ACB: As a co-ed group, what advantages does the DeCadence enjoy? What challenges does the nature of the group present?

CC: First and foremost, being a co-educational group gives us the advantage of sheer range over any single-gender group. This gives our arrangers a much wider variety and options for our songs, which makes co-educationally produced songs sound truer to the original music, in my opinion. While there are many excellent single-gender groups, we find it critical to incorporate each vocal part's unique strengths to produce the highest-quality vocal experience. Basses are critical for everything we do (and in this singer's modest opinion, is the single greatest factor holding back many all-female groups that would otherwise be excellent). Tenors provide great flexibility with solos, give the male section most of its range, and generally hold chords together when blended with altos and sopranos. Altos get the least credit in choral and a cappella music, but generally work the hardest in providing solid harmony to melodic soprano lines. Furthermore, there's nothing as exciting as listening to a favorite song, and suddenly discovering the alto line buried beneath everything else and rejoicing in its wonderful complementariness. And of course, where would a group be without the gentle grace of a high soprano that completes a complicated line, and emphasize critically emotional sections. As such, we believe that any fewer sections would simply render us incapable of compiling a song of such complexity as truly great a cappella.

ACB: What can we expect to see from DeCadence in the future? Any new songs in the works? Any upcoming gigs of note?

CC: DeCadence is constantly changing its repertoire to reflect the contributions of members new and old. With the sheer variety in contemporary music, endless opportunities exist for creating new songs. In fact, one of our greatest criticisms is that we no longer sing many of the songs found on our CD. While it would be wonderful to accommodate all song requests, we must constantly update and progress in order to find songs that will become favorites of people who buy our next CD. In fact, a good sign that a group is coming out with a new CD is a completely new repertoire from their recorded songs. Also, it's simply boring to sing the same songs repeatedly.

ACB: What drew you, personally, to collegiate a cappella in the first place?

CC: Personally, I've been singing sporadically in choirs throughout elementary, middle, and high school, and so collegiate a cappella was a natural step. What drew me to DeCadence in particular was their repertoire and collection of good-natured people. UC Berkeley has been known to have 10 simultaneous A Cappella groups, with the possible existence of groups of which I might be unaware. As such, prospective members can audition for a group that suits them best. DeCadence carries the reputation of having a well-bonded set of members, and a repertoire that isn't "too pop-ish" (which was an incentive for me as a lover of non-pop music) or "too static" like other groups. Furthermore, other groups have a habit of many members switching from group to group, whereas DeCadence seems to inspire a greater sense of group-loyalty than others. For example, this semester saw returning, non-graduating members in the ranges of 20%-30% for many groups, DeCadence had only one of our non-graduating members leave (88% retention) for time-commitment issues (he's pre-med).

ACB: What is your favorite song to perform with DeCadence?

CC: My favorite song that DeCadence sings is "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails / covered by Johnny Cash (track number five on "Songs from the Closet"). I tend towards the slower, emotional pieces, and "Hurt" certainly qualifies. It's a remorseful song about a man who has nothing left in his life but pain, and is all but deprived of hope for anything better. Furthermore, is contains an unparalleled chorus right before the solo switches. Each line in said chorus is superbly crafted to the effect that description by anything less than "masterfully expressive and heart-wrenching" would be practically impossible. Each section's line speaks to a different emotion expressed in the song, which (for a brief twenty one seconds) flow together to demonstrate the expressive power of music as an art. Furthermore, those twenty-one seconds contain a Bass-line unmatched by any other song in my 5.8 gigabytes (4 days worth, spanning more than 100 groups, nationally) of a cappella music.

ACB: What would you say is the most important element to having a successful collegiate a cappella group?

CC: The most important element in successful a cappella groups is group bonding and the establishment of community within the group. An a cappella group should foremost be a group of friends. This requirement alone can get a group through tough times, gives a group purpose, and if nothing else, makes people show up to practice after years of singing in the same group. While it makes the group less professional, it gives an irreplaceable sense of satisfaction that keeps people in the group year after year, while other a cappella groups suffer from members leaving for other groups.

ACB: Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of The A Cappella Blog?

CC: DeCadence is not perfect. Most groups are imperfect, but DeCadence is especially so. If you're looking for a perfect group, I recommend Perfect Fifth. For lack of a better word, they're "perfect."Â Other adjectives describing their group include "flawless," "unmatched," and "would give choirs of angels a run for their money." DeCadence, on the other hand, is flawed, is outmatched by many, many groups, and is closer to the squealing of fruit bats than angelic choirs. But somehow, none of that matters when you're in a group that consistently gives an entertaining performance, regardless of the number of times you watch us.