The Chapter 6 Experience

About 2 1/2 weeks ago on a Friday night I went to a Chapter 6 concert here in Tyler. They, like Clearly Vocal, sing contemporary a cappella, with an emphasis in jazz. John was at Pepperdine at the Ascending Voice Symposium, so I went with some friends, Andy, Stefanie and Mary. Andy and Stef are in CV. Man, they were so good! We took notes and came away with some good things to add to our show.

After the show, we hung around to meet the guys and pick their brains. :) We mentioned that we sang in a vocal jazz group, too, and they thought that was cool. We talked so much about the contemporary a cappella world; it was nice to talk to people who "spoke that language" and knew the other groups we knew! Toward the end of our chit chat, I said, "You know, if you guys are ever back in the East Texas area, we would just love to open for you!" One of the guys said, "Well, we're in Irving (just outside Dallas) next week! Are you serious? Are you available?" DUH. They said they would go online and listen to some of our stuff and get back with us.

Here we are with them after the concert:

Well, that was cool, but I really thought that they were just being nice and that we probably wouldn't hear from them. But later that night, one of the guys emailed us saying that he really hoped it worked out and that they would check with their Irving venue. He also gave us his cell phone! On Sunday he texted saying that they hadn't been able to contact the venue yet, but they were still trying. Hope was fading. Monday night, he said again that they venue wasn't getting back with him and that he was afraid that it might not work out. Bummer. But then Tuesday around noon, we got the text that said they finally got in touch with the venue and they all thought it was a great idea! They just hadn't been open all weekend or on Monday! Ha! We were going to Irving to open for Chapter 6 on Thursday!

We drove to Irving that afternoon and got to the Irving Performing Arts Center about the same time that Chapter 6 did. We had some sound technical issues (as the IPAC people weren't the most helpful), but Mark, Chapter 6's sound guy worked out the kinks and the show went on! The house was beautiful, and almost full. We sang for about 700 people, CV's biggest audience yet! We sang well, and the audience responded well, too.

After the concert, one of the board members from the Irving Concert Series came up to us and wanted our contact information! He said that he really enjoyed our 5 song set and would love to see us back in Irving! That right there made the whole night worth it!

Dad and Maria as well as Uncle Randy and Aunt Karla were gracious enough to buy tickets and come see us! We were pretty proud that we brought 4 fans. :) Chap6 said that they had 1 fan that they knew of coming to that show. Haha. Ironically, that fan just happened to sit right behind us when we went out in the audience to watch the rest of their show! I was so glad that John and Don got to see their show, since they weren't able to go to the one in Tyler.

After the fans all left we all (CV + Chap6) went to Waffle House for a late supper and just hang out time. Man, that was fun! These guys are so nice. They're my age, but have been singing together since college. They have accomplished a lot as individuals as well as as a group in the professional world. It was nice to be able to have that much down time with them.

Wow, so fun, and a huge thanks to the Chap6 guys for letting us share their stage!