Talk:FRED (quartet)
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[edit] About FRED
Barbershop quartets typically have had relatively staid names like "The 139th Street Quartet", "The Confederates", "The Accidental Four", "Center Stage", "Sundowners", etc. FRED is the only competition-level quartet to take on a name that is simply a person's name. It's as if the four guys were sitting around one day and said "well, what should we call the group? How about Fred?" (meant as a joke) The name stuck, and it makes sense because they are a comedy quartet, which is a rarity at serious competition level singing.
The vast majority of barbershop quartets sing "standard" barbershop material in a "standard" way. That is, the emphasis is on the sound, the blend, i.e. all the things which competition judges care about. FRED, on the other hand, is more like a vaudeville show, with much of their repertoire comprised of standard barbershop tunes with altered (read: funny) lyrics, which are composed primarily by their lead, Rick LaRosa. And according to barbershop rules, these lyrics have to fit the tune and rhythm of an existing barbershop "standard" tune. So, "Makin' Whoopie" becomes "We're Nincompoopy", etc. Jared Carlson, the tenor, is the comic, or the butt of many of the jokes in the lyrics. Much of the humor stems from barbershop terminology, so it could be lost on those not familiar with Barbershop music.
Even though the emphasis is on humor, they are an excellent quartet. Clay Hine, the bari (baritone), is an excellent arranger, and arranges for other groups in addition to FRED. Indeed, the year FRED won the International Competition, both of their last round selections were arranged by Hine. AND, both of the last round arrangements of their chief rivals that year, the 2nd-place group Platinum, were also arranged by Hine, including "Auld Land Syne", which has one of the most thrilling hair-raising tags ever composed.
Fred is the first "comedy quartet" to win the SPEBSQSA International Competition, doing so in 1999. Their climb to the top took less than a decade, from being Dixie Chapter Champions in 1991, they placed in the top ten at the International in 1994, then finished fourth twice (1996 and 1998), with a second place sandwiched in between in 1997. As an example of their creativity, in the last round in 1999 they sang a parody of the barbershop standard "Who'll Take My Place in Your Heart When I'm Gone", and changed it to "Who'll Take Fourth Place in Your Heart When We're Gone" (referring to 1996 and 1998).
(The only other comedy quartet to finish in the top 5 was Chordiac Arrest, which placed 5th in both 1988 and 1989.) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.149.61.226 (talk • contribs) 22:06, July 25, 2005.
- Is this original text? I can't find it anywhere else online with a quick Google search. If it's not copyrighted in some restrictive way, I would love to work it into the article! —HorsePunchKid→龜 05:29, July 26, 2005 (UTC)
