STRAIGHT NO CHASER

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com

ANOTHER FIRST....I .FIRST HEARD OF THE GROUP AT 1100 AM TODAY..... AT 810PM I WAS ABLE TO REVIEW THE SHOW....AND HERE IT IS ...RANDOM THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS TO TONIGHTS SHOW.

TEN VOCALISTS AND ALL TEN MINUTES LATE...YOU CAN NEVER GET OVER THIS LATE THING WITH ME...TOTAL DISRESPECT FOR THE AUDIENCE AND OR BAD ORGANIZATION AND OF COURSE THIS THE FIRST IMPRESSION....ABOUT 1000 FANS WERE ON TIME...OF COURSE YOU LOSE A POINT ON YOUR SCORE FOR EVERY MINUTE LATE....NOT TOO LOUD....NOT TOO DARK.

ENOUGHT NEGATIVES....MY WIFE JANET RAN ACROSS THIS AND SHE LOVED THE SHOW....THAT MAKES ME VERY VERY HAPPY....MAYBE NOT SO MUCH FOR ME.

THESE 10 GUYS FROM THE UNIVESITY OF INDIANA 1996...IT  MAKES THEM ALL ON THE LONG SIDE OF 35....(PEAK OF THEIR POWERS) ...THEY  REUNITED INTO A CAPPELLA SINGING GROUP (NO HORNS ...NO STRINGS....NO DRUMS) JUST AMPLIFIED VOICES.

I WAS AFRAID I WAS GOING TO HEAR A CONCERT WHERE I HAD NEVER HEARD ANY OF THE MUSIC...BUT NO..........I WOULD LOVED TO HAVE PICKED THE SONG LIST....FOR OLDTIMERS WHO HATE  CHANGE AND NEW MUSIC THIS CAN BE A LOAD.

MAYBE AMONG THE UPSIDE IS THE LYRICS ARE PRETTY LISTENABLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE...THAT EVEN THOUGH PENNY LANE....STRAWBERRY FIELDS AND ......CHANCES ARE WERE NOT ON THE SONG LIST !

THESE GUYS CAN AND ALL DID SING....NICE ARRANGEMENTS...SOME MOVES....LOTS OF COMINGS AND GOINGS...90 MINUTES...10 BLACK SUITS.....A LITTLE LOOSE AFTER LAST NIGHT WHEN I SAW THE
THE TIGHTEST SHOW EVER !

STILL GREAT TO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL VARIETY OF SHOW VARIABLES IN LAS VEGAS.

FOUR SHOWS AT THE PEARL....PALMS LAS VEGAS THEATRE....GREAT VENUE...TWO OVERHEAD VIDEO SCREENS...EXCELLENT SOUND SYSTEM....GREAT TO NOT HAVE DRUMS DROWDING OUT THE LYRICS.

PRETTY INTERESTING TO SEE AN OLDER AUDIENCE ...PEOPLE MY AGE...(THATS SOCIAL SECURITY PLUS) .THE MUSIC COVERED ALL AREAS AND ALL STYLES....ALMOST TOO SHORT.....I DID NOT DISLIKE IT.

ANYTHING THAT PLEASES JANET...PLEASES ME.....

GREAT VENUE....TWO MORE SHOWS SATURDAY.....AT THE PEARL ...AT THE PALMS    702 944 3200

THE GUYS FAN FRIENDLY....SOME HUMOR....NICE PIECE ON THE ENCORE...STAND BY ME....THEY DROPPED THE MIKES.......THEY ALL INTRODUCED THEMSELVES....INCREDIBLY NOW FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY....THIS TAKES REHERSAL AND PRODUCTION TO PUT ON SHOW LIKE THIS...SOMEBODY GETS CREDIT....WISH I COULD HAVE PICKED OUT THE SONG LIST.

STRAIGHT NO CHASER....CDS...ALBUMS..ITS .FAN FRIENDLY AND  PLAYS TO AUDIENCE HAND HELD VIDEO DEVICES AND CLAIMS THEIR SUCCESS TO INTERNET INTERACTION.

87 B

HERES THE SWOOSH FROM WIKIPEDA...

History[edit]

The group formed in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Together the 10 students -- Dan Ponce (the founder), Randy Stine, Charlie Mechling, Steve Morgan, Jerome Collins, Dave Roberts, Walter Chase, Mike Itkoff, Patrick Hachey, and Kevin Carroll, became Straight No Chaser. Their name was inspired by the title track of Thelonious Monk's 1967 album, Straight, No Chaser, and is a conscious evocation of the popular American slang phrase often employed in the requesting drink.
SNC’s debut was at a 36-hour dance marathon.^[2] The original members performed at Chicago's Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park and Navy Pier, opened for Lou Rawls and even toured the country, playing such venues as Carnegie Hall.^[3] The original 10 remained together from 1996 until 1999 when new students were selected to replace the graduating members. Straight No Chaser continued to exist as a collegiate group.
When the original group reformed, both groups continued to exist under the name of Straight No Chaser. In April 2012, the collegiate group changed its name to Another Round, taken from the name of an earlier CD that was released by the group.^[4] The collegiate group's latest CD, Two For The Show, was released under the new name.

Original group reunites[edit]

In April 2006, a 1998 recording of "The 12 Days of Christmas" was posted on YouTube. The video was an adaptation of Richard C. Gregory's 1967 comic arrangement of the song for his Williston Caterwaulers, but SNC added their own touches, including songs like “I Have a Little Dreidel” and Toto’s “Africa”.^[3] It has received over 15 million views. After viewing the video himself, Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records, called Randy Stine, who posted the video, and asked if the group would consider reuniting to record a new album.
In July 2008, eight of the original 1996-1999 SNC members—Dan Ponce, Randy Stine, Charlie Mechling, Steve Morgan, Jerome Collins, Dave Roberts, Walter Chase, and Mike Itkoff—along with 2000-2003 SNC members Mike Luginbill and Ryan Ahlwardt—recorded a Christmas album, Holiday Spirits, in Bloomington, Indiana. After appearances on TNT's Christmas in Washington, Fox's Fox & Friends, and NBC's The Today Show on December 22, 2008, Holiday Spirits became the #1 selling album on both the iTunes and Amazon.com charts.
On August 18, 2009, SNC announced that Michael Itkoff and Steve Morgan had decided to step down from the group to spend more time with their families. SNC replaced them with Seggie Isho, originally from Rochester Hills, Michigan, and Tyler Trepp, originally from Urbandale, Iowa. Both Isho and Trepp were members of the collegiate SNC group at Indiana University: Isho 2003-2005, and Trepp 2003–2007. Don Nottingham replaced Dan Ponce in September of 2010 when Dan decided to return to television journalism in Chicago. In December 2012, Ryan Ahlwardt left the group and Steve Morgan rejoined the group the following month.
SNC taped a live concert special in New York City during summer 2009 that was aired on that city's PBS stations during the December 2009 pledge drive as a Christmas special, and again in March 2010, excluding the Christmas songs but including six not-seen-before pop songs.
On August 31, 2009, Straight No Chaser released an EP of six songs, titled Six Pack, continuing the band's tradition of album titles that engage the symbolism of bartending themes. On November 3, 2009, they released their second Christmas album, Christmas Cheers co-produced with Deke Sharon, and they released their first non-Christmas album, With a Twist, in April 2010. The album includes a song featuring Barry Manilow.
After a 40-show stint at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, the group's founder Dan Ponce retired from the group to return to his TV career in Chicago.^[5] He was replaced by Don Nottingham, who sang with the group at Indiana University from 1999 until 2000.^[6]
Their 2010 fall tour was a 75-city tour of the United States, Canada, and the UK and featured their recently released box-set titled All I Want For Christmas, which featured their two holiday albums and a DVD of their PBS special, Live In New York.
In 2011, Straight No Chaser took a break from their extensive touring to return to Harrah's Casino in Atlantic City for a 52-show Summer Residency with a show, Back to the Shore: Songs Through the Decades and More.^[7]