Beelzebubs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beelzebubs are an all-male a cappella group at Tufts University that perform a mix of rock, R&B, pop, and other types of music all over the world while spreading their motto "Fun through Song". They have traveled to Mexico, Turkey, Greece, and Hawaii, and most recently spent their 2008 Winter Tour in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
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[edit] History
The Beelzebubs were originally named “Jumbo's Disciples” after the Tufts University mascot, but quickly shed this name and adopted the name “The Beelzebubs,” a reference they took from John Miltons’ epic poem Paradise Lost. They were first seen at the Tufts annual Winter Sing in December of 1962, and by May of 1964 they had already recorded their first album and performed with the Boston Pops[1].
As the Bubs’ reputation grew, so did their repertoire. During the 1970’s, they began adding popular music to their repertoire of barbershop, doo-wop, gospel, and jazz standards that were so commonly associated with a cappella. The group also flourished from the active Beelzebubs Alumni Association, which helped them stay strong in a time when many other student organizations at Tufts suffered. Each year, the Bubs performance schedule grew more and more; at this point, the group has over 80 gigs each year. With the increased number of performances, the traveling also improved. The Bubs have now toured to places such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Florida, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Greece, Turkey, and The Netherlands. They’ve also performed for many political figures like Pres. Bill Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson as well as on Late Night with David Letterman.
In the past 20 years, the Bubs made several musical developments that have now influenced contemporary a cappella as a whole. The 1991 album Foster St. almost completely abandoned the traditional arranging style and introduced a new brand of arranging which aimed to capture the driving nature of contemporary popular music, especially with the addition of vocal percussion (which was all but unheard of in collegiate a cappella up to that point). Over a decade later, their 2003 album Code Red wowed listeners with its sophisticated level of production and left many people wondering if the CD was solely voices. Two years later the Bubs's CD Shedding swept the CARA awards for collegiate male album winning best album, best soloist, best arrangement and best song. Currently, the Bubs have recorded 25 studio and 3 live albums, and have won several awards for performing and recording. They’re also quite proud of their ability to give back to the community though the Bubs Foundation[2], an organization of alumni and friends that raise money for the music programs of Boston’s public schools.
[edit] Recent and Upcoming Events
The Beelzebubs, now with over 250 members scattered around the world, are about to celebrate their 45 year anniversary in May, 2008 with a weekend celebration.
The group recently released their twenty fifth studio album, titled Pandaemonium, on April 27, 2007. They are excited that tracks from this album have already been selected for BOCA (Best of College A Cappella), Sing 4[3], and Voices Only 2008. The album also received a perfect score from the Recorded A cappella Review Board.[4] The Bubs were recently featured on the MTV show My Super Sweet 16.[5]
[edit] Notable members
- Peter Gallagher,[6][7] actor.
- Adam Gardner[8], musician (Guster).
- Jean Mayer, honorary member, hunger activist and former President of Tufts University.
- Deke Sharon[9], a cappella enthusiast and founder of the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America
[edit] Awards
| Year | Presenter | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, "Pandaemonium" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Ed Boyer, "Digging in the Dirt" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won (Tie), "Magical Mystery Tour" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Won, Andrew Savini, "When I Get You Alone" | ||
| 2006 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, "Shedding" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Travis Marshall, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won, "Let's Get it Started" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Won, Andrew Savini, "Epiphany" | ||
| A cappella Community Awards of CASA | Favorite Male Group in the Nation | Won [10] | |
| 2005 | A cappella Community Awards of CASA | Favorite Male Group in the Nation | Won |
| 2004 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Runner Up, "Code Red" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Ed Boyer, "Hot in Herre" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Nominated, "Take Me Home" | ||
| 2002 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Runner-Up, "Next" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Ed Boyer, "Bills, Bills, Bills" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Nominated, Isaac Brody, “That’s the Way” | ||
| 2000 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, "Infinity" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won, "That’s the Way" | ||
| 1998 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Nominated, Danny Lichtenfield, "I am the Walrus" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won, "Sledgehammer" from Id | ||
| 1997 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Runner Up, Todd Herzog, "Shape of my Heart" from Drift |
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Runner Up, "With or Without You" | ||
| 1996 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, “Gilding” |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Danny Lichtenfield "Blood of Eden" | ||
| 1995 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Todd Herzog, "Hey You" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Runner Up, "Hey You" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Runner Up, Matt Trowbridge, “The Water is Wide" | ||
| 1994 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, "Vince" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Runner Up, Gardner & Herzog, "Sympathy for the Devil" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won, "Mercy Street" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Won, Todd Herzog | ||
| 1992 | Contemporary a cappella Recording Awards of CASA | Best All-Male Collegiate Album | Won, "Foster Street" |
| Best All-Male Collegiate arrangement | Won, Deke Sharon, "Comfortably Numb/Brain Damage" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate song | Won, "Rio" | ||
| Best All-Male Collegiate Soloist | Won, Todd Herzog |
[edit] Albums
- Brothers in Song (1964)
- Sing On (1965)
- Signin' In (1966)
- Something Old, Something New (1968)
- The White Album (1972)
- The Blue Album (1974)
- Ballou Hall (1977)
- Pub (1979)
- Therapy (1981)
- Score (1983)
- Clue (1985)
- Lost (1987)
- Fourteen (1989)
- BWI I (1990)
- Foster Street (1991)
- BWI II (1992)
- Vince (1993)
- House (1994)
- Gilding (1995)
- Drift (1996)
- Id (1997)
- Jade (1998)
- Infinity (1999)
- Next (2001)
- Punch (2002)
- Code Red (2003)
- Shedding (2005)
- Pandaemonium (2007)
[edit] References
- ^ Tufts Beelzebubs History - www.bubs.com
- ^ The Bubs Foundation
- ^ Sing!
- ^ RARB Review of The Beelzebubs - Pandæmonium
- ^ Beelzebubs perform for MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" - Features
- ^ Peter Gallagher (I) - Biography
- ^ Gallagher receives Light on the Hill - News
- ^ Tufts E-News - In The Arts
- ^ http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/altoday/bal-al.acappella11nov11,0,7894604.story?page=2
- ^ CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - A Cappella Community Award Winners 2006
[edit] External links
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