Any other barbershoppers here?

[Reverend Jim]

Considering the demographic this is a long shot but is there anyone else here who has been involved in the SPEBSQSA?

[Ketsuekiame]

No but it sounds interesting. Are you in one?

[Reverend Jim]

I sang in a barbershop chorus for about 10 years and in several quartets as well during that time. My last quartet was called Phat Chants.

[Ketsuekiame]

Hmm, I can only find a classic rock band from California. Is this you guys? (It appears to be a quartet and has a guy called Jim in it)

[Reverend Jim]

Definitely not. I'm in Winnipeg (Canada). My last quartet was the reason I left barbershopping. The other three members were more interested in the social aspect of being in a quartet. For them, learning the words and music and performing it well was secondary to having the right clothes, socializing, etc. I was in it for the music.

I would have stayed in the chorus but it was solidly stuck back in the 1920s. There was no attempt to modernize the music selection. As a result the chorus could not recruit younger members.

[Reverend Jim]

This is a portion of the poster for the 2014 show. You can see the chorus is definitely showing its age. I've seen videos of some American chapters and they are absolutely first rate. They have a good mix of all ages and they are serious about the music.

[Ketsuekiame]

That's a pity, really your only way to keep something alive is to recruit the youth and teach them. Music changes and evolves, there's no reason you can't have good music that is also modern.

Do you have anything available to listen to?

[Reverend Jim]

Are you kidding? I have a ton of stuff ranging from classical to new age (not the crystal crap stuff) pop, rock (classic and modern), etc. Very little country (microscopic, in fact).