The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Straight No Chaser has become a non-instrumental part of holidays
A capella act returns to Playhouse Square for two shows
A decade ago, Randy Stine’s life turned upside down.
The Indiana University graduate was working as an IBM salesman while dreaming of a career as a vocalist. However, the musical environment was different without any doors opened for Stine, who longed for his experiences with collegiate vocal group Straight No Chaser.
This was a time when a cappella music largely was associated with barbershop quartets —before Ben Folds was a judge on reality show “The SingOff” and “Glee” brought the vocal style to the mainstream.
“I was trying to get back into music,” said Stine, calling from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. “I even joined up with an a cappella group in Chicago. I was very frustrated with the lack of discipline and dedication and motivation of the people who were in that group.
“After I quit , I remember saying to my girlfriend at the time, ‘The only way I can see really doing this is if I found a way to get the original group back together.’”
Only two weeks later, at the end of 2006, Stine posted Straight No Chaser’s unique version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” to YouTube, the act then becoming one of the first online sensations on the nascent website.
“I posted the video hoping for us to get back together in some way, even for a one-time concert,” Stine said. “After college, people said, ‘What record label would be interested in a cappella?’ I said, ‘You never know, it could happen.’ I kind of harbored that dream in the back of my head for years.