Inside Vocal Majority

Inside Vocal Majority

Eddie Thunders from Down Under-Part Two

The Vocal Majority is honored to share a two-part podcast-interview with our own Eddie Martinez, recently produced by two of Barbershop Harmony Australia’s movers & shakers…Richard Reeve and Ash Schofield on their “Good Morning BHA” podcast. Eddie is an accomplished singing professional and educator, BHS judge, coach and gold medalist as well as a Vocal Majority tenor, section leader and director of the VM small group…VM Express.

Eddie shares more personal, and sometimes very emotional stories about his life and decades dedicated to coaching, teaching and encouraging barbershop singing, not only across the US ,Canada & UK…but to nearly every corner of the continent of Australia.

We hope you enjoy both episodes with Eddie, Richard & Ash. Check out “Good Morning BHA” for more entertaining, barbershop related podcasts from our brothers in Australia. And be sure to look for new and previous episodes with more stories and music from the Vocal Majority, right here on “Inside Vocal Majority”.

Inside Vocal Majority

Eddie Thunders From Down Under - Part One

The Vocal Majority is honored to share a two-part podcast-interview with our own Eddie Martinez, recently produced by two of Barbershop Harmony Australia’s movers & shakers…Richard Reeve and Ash Schofield on their “Good Morning BHA” podcast.

Eddie is an accomplished singing professional and educator, BHS judge, coach and gold medalist as well as a Vocal Majority tenor, section leader and director of the VM small group…Vocal Majority Express. Eddie shares personal stories about his life and decades dedicated to coaching, teaching and encouraging barbershop singing, not only across the US ,Canada & UK…but to nearly every corner of the continent of Australia.

We think you’ll enjoy this 30-minute conversation with Eddie, Richard & Ash …so be sure to check out part-two of “Eddie Thunders from Down Under”.

Inside Vocal Majority

I Thank My Lucky Stars

Americans celebrate the Fourth of July every year, marking the founding of the United States. Usually an occasion for parades, parties, barbecues, concerts and fireworks, this most significant national holiday on the American calendar will be different this year. It may be quieter… with smaller gatherings…closer to home. But this doesn’t change the fact that Americans love this country and cherish our independence and freedom. On this day, we “thank our lucky stars to be living here today.” We also know that freedom isn’t free. Millions of men and women have put their life on the line to protect our freedom.

So we thought you might like to meet some of the brave men of the Vocal Majority who served in different branches of our Armed Forces. In this episode, you’ll hear stories about the military  experiences of VM members Dave Huff, Clark Magee, Jim Patterson, Tony Stafford, Joe Frazier and Mike “MJ” Johnson. And of course the VM will sing a few of our favorite patriotic songs… The Star-Spangled Banner, Armed Forces Medley and God Bless the USA.

A note about the production of this episode…longtime VM member/performer and historical contributor Frank Eastman traveled around the state of Texas during our time in quarantine and met (properly socially-distanced) and recorded the interviews you hear on this show. Then Frank and Nick Alexander, another longtime member/performer/show host and “voice” of the VM, edited the hours of interviews into this episode. The VM is extremely grateful for the efforts and dedication of these gentlemen.

So Happy 4th of July everyone. We hope you enjoy hearing our stories and music. And we think you'll agree with us when we sing:

“I thank my lucky stars...

To be living here today,

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom...

And they can’t take that away.”

Vocal Majority "Live & In Concert at White’s Chapel”- Part Two

Hosted by Clint Blalock

As we rewind to the time of this podcast, the universe had yet to try to hit “pause” on our songs. On that Valentine’s Day evening in South Lake Texas, we finished our performance with this sentiment….“If you want to know…What the world needs now…is love sweet love…it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of”. Who knew how true this message would become just a few days after this show.

Vocal Majority Live and In Concert at White's Chapel - Part One

Hosted by Clint Blalock

It was Friday night. It was a beautiful February evening in Texas. It was almost Spring. It was Valentine’s Day. The start of our weekend was bubbling with anticipation and thoughts of love. The hundred men who made the trip to South Lake Texas that night were feeling exceptionally positive .…almost giddy if you will. Giddy because these guys love to sing…and they love to sing love songs. So what better way to start our weekend of romance than to serenade a few hundred patrons of choral music with an hour of love songs….all kind of songs. We sang songs about the people we hold dearly in our hearts…songs about our love of state and country…and songs about our love of God.

Inside Vocal Majority

Welcome back… All You Lovers…to Vocal Majority’s Valentine’s Day Podcast Episode-Part Two. You know, when you think about it, “Love” is a four-letter word that comes in different shapes, sizes and flavors — like what you find in a box of chocolates. (Forest Gump knows what we mean). And we express our love in the words we speak to close a phone call, in the heart-shaped emojis our fingers quickly type to BFFs and in the thousands of love songs that have been written and sung for the ones that live in our hearts. In this episode, Vocal Majority offers you this heart-filled box of chocolates while we will escort you down “lover’s lane” with a few stories about some of these love songs….and then we’ll sing them for you, along with a few special guests.

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” —Charles M. Schulz

Inside Vocal Majority

Hello All You Lovers ... Happy Valentine's Day!

Inside Vocal Majority

Due to the overwhelming response to our previous three episodes, Vocal Majority is thrilled to offer a bonus episode at the close of this year and decade.... Take A Cup of Kindness. And to look back and sum it all up for us are the men who have guided the chorus over the last 50 years....Jim and Greg Clancy.

Inside Vocal Majority

Here’s the Vocal Majority episode everyone has been waiting for. Our Executive Musical Director and one of the original VM founding fathers, Jim Clancy ,sits down with a 40-year VM member and voice of the VM, Nick Alexander, for a candid and emotional heart-to-heart . Jim shares several “Secrets” about his childhood and near-death experience (Thank God for a new wonder drug), his favorite Christmas toy, his song arranging process …what he hears and sees before putting the first note to paper... and how he won Judy’s heart with a song... the same song that always closes every VM Christmas Show. You’ll hear the VM perform a few of Jim’s favorite and classic Christmas arrangements: “Toyland”, “Believe”, “White Christmas”…as well as Jim’s brand new arrangement of “Somewhere In My Memory” from “Home Alone” (recorded at rehearsal this week). And of course you’ll hear the song at the heart of this episode….”The Secret of Christmas".

Inside Vocal Majority

Vocal Majority musical director Greg Clancy and current chorus member/future chorus retiree Anthony continue their conversation from episode 1, recounting both fun and scary Christmas show stories. The fun: how the VM handled "Snowmageddon"! The scary: the time a chorus member fell into the orchestra pit with nothing to break his fall but music stands. Does he survive? Yes! It would have been weird if he didn't!

Anthony talks about how his time performing and acting with the VM Christmas shows helped him to overcome some major life hurdles. And they discuss the secret formula to the shows' success (spoiler alert: Learn that Anthony is just making up his lines as he acts in VM shows!).

This episode features more Vocal Majority favorite Christmas tunes: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Silent Night", "Mary Did You Know", and a sneak peak at Anthony's debut arrangement for the VM of "The Polar Express"...with VM member Will Renfroe singing all four parts! 

Be sure to check out Episode 3: Jim Clancy's "Secret of Christmas" when you will hear from the legend himself as he shares his memories of Christmas as a boy and how his family values, spirituality and love of music helped shape the Vocal Majority over the last 50 years.

If you have topics or a theme you would like the VM to discuss or if you are enjoying this series of podcasts, please let us know by leaving your comments here or on our website: https://www.vocalmajority.com/blog

For recordings and show tickets, visit us at vocalmajority.com, and look for us on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube (you’ll love VM videos!)