Hullabahoos
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The Hullabahoos are a student-run, all-male a cappella group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. The group was founded in 1988 by Halsted Sullivan and continues to be one of the premiere men's groups in the country, having recorded 13 studio albums as of early 2007 and performed for thousands of people at such venues as the 2004 Republican National Convention[2], Washington Nationals baseball games, the Philippines[3], weddings, and private parties[4]. Other performance requests have included invitations from the White House, the Kennedy Center[5], and NBC's The Today Show.[6]
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[edit] History
The group was founded in 1988 when a couple of friends at the University of Virginia got together and said, "Hey, let's sing other people's songs without instruments, and wear robes while we do it". So they did. And they still do[7]. The group's history has taken them all around the globe and allowed them to record multiple studio albums in what they refer to as Hullabasound (as stated on their album inserts).
The Hullabahoos are typically comprised of 13 to 17 group members (although this figure varies from year to year), and auditions for newcomers are held every fall and occasionally in the spring[8].
[edit] Concert weekends
Each semester, the group hosts a weekend of concert performances, which are currently held at the University of Virginia's Mcleod Hall. These concert weekends typically take place on a Friday and Saturday in the evening; their official website posts relevant information as concert time approaches. The fall concert series has been labeled everything from "The Hullabahoos Fall Concert" to "Fall: A Show" to "The Phall Monty." However, the Spring concert, which is typically regarded as being the bigger event of the two, has kept the same title for the whole of its lifespan: "Big Spring Sing Thing," followed by a Roman Numeral indicating how many of these concerts have been performed throughout the group's history [9]. For example, in 2003 the Hullabahoos' 15th spring concert was called Big Spring Sing Thing XV. Also, after every five years the Hullabahoos alumni return in a sort of special guest appearance, performing a few songs from the group's past repertoire. Usually, the concerts take place in some variation of the following format: 1) 4-5 opening songs; 2) guest group performance; 3) intermission; 4) 3-4 songs; 5) live/video skit; 6) 3-4 songs; 7) live/video skit; 8) 3-4 songs.
These concert performances are typically followed by Hullabahoo hosted after-parties, which are advertised to the concert audiences during the course of the show.
[edit] Fall Roll
In addition to concert performances and other similar gigs, the Hullabahoos typically reserve their Fall Break weekend at the University of Virginia for a road trip up the East Coast, stopping and performing at various colleges (e.g. Dartmouth College, Boston University, University of Connecticut, etc.) along the way[10]. They currently refer to this annual excursion as either Phall Roll or Fall Roll.
![Some 2001 Hullabahoos messing around on Fall Roll[1]](../../../upload/thumb/3/38/HULLABAHOO.jpg/190px-HULLABAHOO.jpg)
[edit] CD Production
The Hullabahoos have been producing studio albums since 1991's Full Glottal Stop, and spent the majority of their early album-making career recording with accomplished sound engineer Paul Brier, formerly of Virginia Arts Recording Studios in Charlottesville, VA. However, with 2004's release of Jacked, the Hullabahoos began to transition over to a new sound engineer/producer--Dave Sperandio of diovoce--, hiring him to handle the album's final mixes and mastering. Dave, with his proficiency in Hip-Hop and Pop-type production, quickly built himself a solid reputation in the a cappella world, and his work has been commended by the RARB. Even more recently, with the Hullabahoos' 13th CD release, young up-and-coming a cappella producer and UVA alum, James Gammon, of his self-titled James Gammon Productions was added into the production mix, doing almost all of the Hullabahoos' recording as well as mixing "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight."
[edit] Robes
The Hullabahoos, although around since 1988, were not the first all-male a cappella group at the University of Virginia. That title instead goes to the school's Virginia Gentlemen, founded in 1953[11]. Historically, the Virginia Gentlemen, or VG's as they are sometimes called, wear tuxedos or coats and bowties whenever they perform. So when the Hullabahoos came on the scene, they decided to differentiate themselves with a more laid-back style by adopting the use of uniquely patterned robes[12] that have been noted to somewhat resemble the official garb of the Eli Banana[13], one of the many Secret Societies at the University of Virginia.
Each member goes to Mr. Hank's Fabric Store [14] in Charlottesville, VA to pick out his own desired robe pattern[15]. This gives the group a sense of relaxed individuality, making the Hullabahoos stand out amongst the more typical glee club-style college groups.
[edit] Current members[16]
- Joe Cassara: Group President, 4th Year
- Pete Seibert: Music Director, 3rd Year
- Chad Moses: Business Manager, 3rd Year
- Morgan Sword: 4th Year
- Alan Webb: 4th Year
- Blake Segal: 3rd Year
- Myles Glancy: 3rd Year
- Dane Blackburn: 3rd Year
- Patrick Lundquist: 3rd Year
- Christopher Brown: 2nd Year
- Kyle Mihalcoe: 2nd Year
- Brendon Mason: 2nd Year
- Brian Duhon: 2nd Year
- Brian Tucker: 2nd Year
- Joe Whitney: 1st Year
- Bobby Grasberger: 1st Year
- Matt Mooney: 1st Year
[edit] Discography
- Off The Dock (2006)
- Jacked (2004)
- XV - The Essential Other People's Songs Without Instruments (2003)
- You Don't Know Me (2002)
- Xerox Nation (2001)
- 8ch (2000)
- Hurricane (1999)
- Unit, Corps, God, Country, Hullabahoos (1998)
- You'd be Surprised How Well it Fits (1997)
- Get on the Glide (1996)
- Free Doughnuts (1994)
- Baby Fishmouth (1993)
- Full Glottal Stop (1991)
[edit] Song samples
From Off the Dock (2006):
- "The District Sleeps Along Tonight"
- "Gone"
- "Ghost Train"
- "California Love"
- "Fix You"
- "Save a Horse"
- "Whisper Song" (A bonus track; not officially released)
- "Gold Digger"(A bonus track; not officially released)
From Xerox Nation (2001):
From 8ch (2000):
From Hurricane (1999):
- "Galileo"
- "I'll Be"
- "Wonderful Tonight" **This LIVE performance of the classic Eric Clapton ballad, performed by Andrew Renshaw[17] (Class of '99) is possibly the Hullabahoos' most popular track and was performed at request by returnee alumni at the Big Spring Sing Thing XV.
From You'd Be Surprised How Well It Fits (1997):
[edit] Trivia
- Paul and Lynn Brier, the former sound engineers behind the Hullabahoos' albums, named their dog "Bahoo" in honor of the group.[18]
- All album inserts and concert programs thank the "Supreme Being" before going on to thank friends, family, etc.
- "Hullabahoo" is a melding of the words "wahoo", a fish which can drink twice its own weight, and "hullabaloo", a loud obnoxious sound.
[edit] Awards and recognition
The Hullabahoo's 2001 album won the Contemporary Acapella Recording Award for Best Male Collegiate Album. [1]
[edit] See also
- A Cappella Groups at the University of Virginia
- Academical Village People (Guys Group at the University of Virginia)
- New Dominions (Co-Ed Group at UVA)
[edit] External links
[edit] Hullabahoos sites
The Hullabahoos have their own group profile on Myspace.
The Hullabahoos also have a group on Facebook as well as a Facebook student alias under the name Halsted Sullivan, the group's founder.
[edit] Other a cappella-related sites
- Recorded A Cappella Review Board
- Contemporary A Cappella Society
- James Gammon Productions (The current sound engineer behind the group's Hullabasound)
- Dave Sperandio (The current mixing engineer behind the group's Hullabasound)
- UNC Loreleis (College All-Female Acappella Group and long-time friends of the Hullabahoos)
- Virginia Belles (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)
- Virginia Silhooettes (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)
- Virginia Hoos in Treble (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)
[edit] Alumni
- Evan Edwards
- Will Gross
- Jamie Gulick: member 1998-2000; served as business manager during 2000;
- Jeff Hall
- Chris Hawkins
- David McCall
- Brad Pilot
- Ron Puno: member 1996-1999; second Asian and first Filipino member; served as Business Manager;
- Andrew Renshaw
- David Sarratt
- Ump Sinsterberry
- John Stanzione
- Nick Taylor
