CASA - The Contemporary A Capella Society

You're probably right, Tim. That's why I said it would be a HUGE undertaking. I would probably have to win the lottery and fund it my self to make it happen, right? LOL

I only brought it up because of how every year the same complaints keep coming up either about the sound, the judging or the inconsistencies in the rules from region to region. So I simply made suggestions for how I would maybe resolve some of them.

1.) Oversite - That doesn't necessarily have to mean more money. More work for the producers for sure but not necessarily more money. The groups submitting would simply have to supply a copy of their DL or State ID of each member with their submissions. That doesn't cost more money.

2.) Seeking out the best groups - This doesn't need to cost more money either. Right now the producers go through submissions and make decisions about who is going to compete. Why does my way change that? It doesn't. With my suggestion of having less regions, the talent pool would be the same only there would be less spots. So by proxy, you would get the best of the best instead of first come first serve or whoever submits at all gets in because there are so few submissions. Don't believe that happens? If my memory is correct they barely had enough in LA, right? Same with Boston. They almost didn't have enough submissions there either. I know there's history and tradition at each region but do we really need a Boston, DC AND a NYC region so close to each other but have no south region? How does that make sense especially with regions struggling to fill all of the spots? Either the regions are not getting the word out enough or there simply aren't enough groups that submit every year.

Still not convinced? Okay, let's pretend that this year DC and NYC were combined. So all of the submissions would go into one pot instead of 2. So now you have the best submissions from NYC AND DC to choose from. But, you have half the spots so right there you've almost guaranteed that every slot you fill will be a top quality group. You get the best of the best and now each region becomes more competitive in the process because it would be harder to get in now. So all of the worries about picking groups at random and the quality of the shows being inconsistent really don't apply here because using this newly improved system, any one of the groups in your region would be a fine choice for the national showcase since there are more good groups to choose from.

Don't tell me people won't or don't travel to get to a region. You are proof that's not true. What about NPulse traveling to the Rockies to compete or Home Free doing the same this year? What about groups traveling from Pittsburgh to compete in Boston when NYC and DC are right there? Mike Yanchek did that with his group a few years back. People most certainly do travel and will if it's the only region you can go to. I don't buy that argument for a second.

For producers, you have a producer in Chicago and a producer in Denver, for example. Every other year they get the year off. More money? I'm sorry I guess I don't understand you there. The same goes for NYC/Boston, LA/San Fran and Charlotte/Atlanta. Every other year you switch and the producer of each region gets their year to produce a show. It's less regions now so that actually costs less, not more if you think about it.

Sound guys are expensive - Hey, man. That was your suggestion from the other discussion. Hire a sound guy who knows how to mix live a cappella, right? Why does that have to mean more money necessarily? Why does the venue have to change? If that part isn't broken, why fix or change it? Subs cost money, right? Didn't you say a cappella HAS to have subs? If it did mean more money to get a quality sound guy who could mix a cappella, wouldn't it be worth it? If it's not then why are we complaining about it so passionately every year?

I guess my point overall is that, yes, this could be done. It would be a HUGE project to get started for sure and it would most likely cost more money. But isn't that something we should all keep in mind before we all start bitching and moaning every year? That's what bugs me really. There's always all of this complaining and bitching every year but nobody seems to really understand what it would take to fix it. All I'm doing is pointing it out.

And Tim, you know you smiled when I suggested allowing effects and throat mics and etc...so that groups can actually do what they do normally without having to dumb down their act. Same with the flexibility on the EQ settings. But you see, that could never happen in this competition-based format we have in place now. Too many rules to consider and fairness to worry about. If each region is a showcase of talent and not a competition then you simply DO...WHAT YOU DO. If you are a group that uses effects, then WELCOME. We wanna hear it. If you do barber shop..WELCOME, we wanna hear it. You get what I mean, right? THAT would be a night where many different groups come together to celebrate harmony, a cappella and the community, right? And the kicker is that there are cool prizes you can win. There's helpful feedback from a panel of experts that you could learn from. There's even a chance that you could win a trip to San Francisco to be in the National Showcase and get your group on the Nationals CD. How cool is that?

One final thing....it was brought to my attention that my article offended some people and for that I am truly sorry. To be honest though, I don't see how it could be taken as offensive since I didn't attack anyone or criticize anyone individually. I did say that things aren't fixed each year which for the most part IS true. Regardless, my intent was to offer some ideas to solve problems, not to offend anyone in ANY way.

Tim, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on this. I'm enjoying this discussion and I hope others will chyme in with their ideas and thoughts too. That's what this blog was all about in the first place. Getting ideas on the table with the hopes that some or any of them might be taken into consideration.

Will,

You misunderstood what I said about the producers and nothing getting fixed and that's my fault so let me clarify. I was referring the producers at the national level actually who have released statements previously in response to concerns to the tune of "We'll look into it but we think things are fine as is". I was not referring to you specifically AT ALL.

The fact that the rules differ from region to region is not your fault and that was the type of thing that I was referring to. It is my opinion that the National producers should give you more support so that you have all of the tools necessary to succeed. From the outside looking in, it appears as though the regional producers get general guidelines and a "now go do your thing" which is completely unfair to the groups involved who rely on a fair adherence to the rules outlined on the Sweeps website.  It's just too grey which leaves too much room for interpretation and like I said, that has NOTHING to do with you or the other regional producers. I say again, each year it is an issue and each year it doesn't get addressed or fixed by the national producers.

On the contrary, you actually immediately acknowledged the problems with the sound and vowed to make it a goal to improve it for next year. I totally applaud that and hope that you will in fact make the necessary changes.

It is accurate though to say that at most regionals the sound is continually below par and has been a point of concern year after year as is the judging and adherence to the rules. (Unbelieveably, it has even been an issue at the nationals level too.) Each year it is a number one complaint and each year it rarely improves. Sorry, but that part is also true. But again, I'm not sure how much the national producers help you to resolve that each year which, again, is my overall complaint.  Given how much the sound affects the groups, I would think that it be given a higher priority with more of a sense of urgency, but that's just my opinion.

Um, that's all I guess. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstanding so we can move forward with the discussion exchanging ideas and suggestions that might help for next year.

Del