Tufts students love the Beelzebubs.
Go ahead, pretend to be cynical and jaded if you like. You can protest away about how tired you are of a cappella, or how you think that the singers are pretentious and self-centered, or how you can't understand why people love hearing popular music arranged just for voices and not instruments - it doesn't matter. Just go to one Bubs show, and watch the groupies - male and female alike, thank you - stamp, squeal, and scream their way from the opening number through the third encore. Then, try to remember what your argument against a cappella was, or, for safety's sake, just shut your mouth and hope that the students packed into the pews of Goddard Chapel didn't hear what you said about their beloved Bubs.
You may wonder, though: where's the professional a cappella in the world? Incredible performers or not, the Beelzebubs are unpaid and, by that definition, amateurs. Moreover, they're students themselves and have full courseloads to contend with on top of endless rehearsals. If Tufts students go so mad for these dedicated amateurs, what reaction could you expect for professional a cappella singers - people whose entire lives consist of singing without instruments?
Enter the Bubs Winter Concert and the three groups of a cappella performers: rock/funk group the House Jacks, the barbershop quartet of Peking and the Mystics, and the Beelzebubs themselves. Secure in their own abilities and reputations, the Bubs are bringing in these two professional a cappella groups for this Saturday's pair of performances in Goddard Chapel, titled Generations. What's more, the Bubs are recording the full performance for a live album due out this spring.
"It kind of happened back in January," Beelzebubs President Marty Keiser explained, "while recording the last album [Next]."
The group traditionally pauses for at least a year in between albums, giving each CD a fair chance to reach its audience.
"In the past, those years have been kind of squandered. They're seen as rebuilding years." Not wanting his senior year wasted, Keiser and the rest "threw out the idea of a live concert that we could get on CD."
According to Keisier, last year's performance with Peking and the Mystics drew a surprisingly good response. It dawned on the group that a mix of student and professional a cappella would make a "great cross-generational concert." And so this year's Winter Show began to build momentum.
Getting the professionals on board, however, wasn't exactly a given. While all four members of Peking and the Mystics and two of the five House Jacks (Deke Sharon and Bert Bacco) are former Beelzebubs, it was no small feat to get them all together in Goddard. The House Jacks in particular were an uncertainty, as the group is at the forefront of modern a cappella and, unlike Boston-based Peking and the Mystics, is stationed in San Francisco.
Former Beelzebub musical director Sharon in particular is "Mr. A Cappella," having founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society (www.casa.org), the self-proclaimed "source for all things a cappella."
"He's right up there with Rockapella," Keiser said. "He's such a diehard a cappella fan - he eats, sleeps, and breathes it."
How did Keiser and the Bubs seal the deal? By making this Winter Show a benefit concert, they convinced everyone they needed. All proceeds from this Satuday's concerts and from future sales of the live CD will go to the Bubs Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit organization that, since its inception ten years ago, has given over $40,000 to Boston-area middle schools and high schools to promote music programs.
The money has gone towards music, choral risers... whatever the schools need to get young students interested in music and singing. Using revenue from the sale of tickets (whose cost rose to $10 in support of charitable cause) and CDs, the Bubs hope to put some extra money into the Foundation this year.
As for the music, Peking and the Mystics should prove popular again this year. Keiser described the lady-killing 50-somethings as a barbershop quartet with "old-man/Temptations choreography. You can tell they're Bubs," he said, laughing. "They're a lot of fun."
Getting the House Jacks - a group that performs original music in addition to covers - on campus is a bigger deal than many students may realize. "The House Jacks are huge," Keiser insisted. "For some reason, Europeans love them. The vocal percussionist in the group is arguably the best out there, and their tenor is amazing."
Having Sharon come back is also an amazing opportunity. "Deke hasn't really done much with the current Bubs since 1991, before now," Keiser explained. "Since last year, though, he's really made a connection with the current group."
What else might be different this year? Don't expect as much choreography or comedy as in some Bubs shows; for the sake of the recording, the Bubs will be using individual microphones, an unusual step in Goddard Chapel. "We're very geared towards the act musically," Keiser said. "The House Jacks don't do any comedy or choreography," he added. "Deke happens to be a terrible dancer."
Then there are the newest Bubs, the ever-belittled youngest members. "The new guys are wonderful, a very enthusiastic bunch." Keiser said. "You start to enjoy things just because they're enjoying it." And that, he says, is often the point. "Being president is all about making sure everyone else is happy. It's a trying experience, but I'm hoping to nurture future presidents," he said, looking across the table at the other Bubs, "perhaps."
This Winter Show must be particularly impressive for the newest of the Bubs - those who have never been in any past December concerts, let alone such an important one. The new crop looks promising, too - some of the "new guys" already have major solos in the Bubs' new numbers.
"I was in a cappella in high school," said sophomore Jeff Markowitz, a new Bub.
Hopes are high as students head into the last week of classes and the Bubs head into the last week of rehearsals. "I hope that people are excited about the show," Keiser said. "I'm excited to see it follow through for all the work we put into it." With the professed "daring" in this Winter Show, this Saturday in Goddard Chapel is a date not to be missed.
The Beelzebubs' Winter Show, Generations, featuring the House Jacks and Peking and the Mystics, is this Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7 and 9:30 p.m.. Tickets are $10 at the info booth in the campus center. Proceeds benefit the Bubs Foundation.
