Hullabahoos

The Hullabahoos are a student-run, all-male a cappella group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. The group was founded in 1987 by Halsted Sullivan and continues to be one of the premiere men's groups in the country, having recorded 15 studio albums cite web |url=http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~bhoos/music.php |title=Hullabahoos Albums |work=Hullabahoos (home page) |accessdate=2008-06-18] as of early 2007 and performed for thousands of people at such venues as the 2004 Republican National Conventioncite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2004/apr/09/the-hullabahoosunrobed-for-your-pleasure/ |work=Cavalier Daily |title=The Hullabahoos: Unrobed For Your Pleasure |date=2004-04-09 |last=Lee |first=Youyoung] , Washington Nationals baseball games, the Philippinescite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/1999/sep/20/hullabahoos-take-their-show-on-the-road/ |work=Cavalier Daily |title=Hullabahoos take their show on the road |last=Batten |first=Stephanie |date=1999-09-20 ] , weddings, and private parties. Other performance requests have included invitations from the White House, the Kennedy Centercite web |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=HULLABAHOO |title=Kennedy Center: Millennium Stage Artist Details for The University of Virginia Hullabahoos |accessdate=2008-06-18] , and NBC's The Today Show.

History

The group was founded in 1987 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. 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 cite web |url=http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~bhoos/auditions.php |title=So you want to be a Hullabahoo? |work=Hullabahoos (home page) |accessdate=2008-06-18] .

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 the bigger event of the two, has kept the same title for almost 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. For example, in 2003 the Hullabahoos' 16th spring concert was called Big Spring Sing Thing XV. Only the first Hullabahoos' Spring event in 1988 was known by another moniker. 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.

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. They currently refer to this annual excursion as either Phall Roll or Fall Roll.

CD Production

The Hullabahoos have been producing studio albums since 1991's "Full Glottal Stop"cite web |url=http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~bhoos/albums/glottal.php |title=Full Glottal Stop (album) |work=Hullabahoos (home page) |accessdate=2008-06-18] , 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. With the Hullabahoos' 13th CD release, 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" and recording and mixing the album "Varsity Sing Team" in full.

Robes

The Hullabahoos, although around since 1987, 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 cite web |url=http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~vagent/ |title=Virginia Gentlemen (home page) |accessdate=2008-06-18] . 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 robescite news |url=http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/2005/apr/11/loud-robes/ |title=Loud Robes |work=Cavalier Daily |last=Wood |first=Teresa |date=2005-04-11] that have been noted to somewhat resemble the official garb of the Eli Bananacite news |url=http://aands.virginia.edu/x7561.xml |title=Looking back at years of Bananas, Ravens |last=Jacob |first=Katie |work=A&S Online |date=2004-01] , one of the many Secret Societies at the University of Virginia.

Each member goes to Mr. Hank's Fabric Store in Charlottesville, VA to pick out his own desired robe pattern. This gives the group a sense of relaxed individuality, making the Hullabahoos stand out amongst the more typical glee club-style college groups.

Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory

Mickey Rapkin, a New York-based writer whose work has appeared in "The New York Times", "GQ", "Entertainment Weekly", "Details", and "Time Out New York", took time in 2006 and 2007 to follow the Hullabahoos on several trips, high profile gigs, and around their own college campus in Charlottesville to get an inside look at the group for his book, "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory". This "behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre, inspiring, and hilarious world of competitive collegiate a cappella" cite web |url=http://www.mickeyrapkin.com/index.htm |title=Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory |last=Rapkin |first=Mickey |accessdate=2008-06-18] was released on May 29, 2008 by Gotham Books.

Discography

*"XX-Dos Equis" (2008)
*"Better Than Coal: A Hullabahoos Christmas" (2007)
*"Varsity Sing Team" (2007)
*"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)

Awards and recognition

= CARA wins and nominations =

*2008: "Best Holiday Album" Nomination for" Better than Coal: A Hullabahoos Christmas"; "Best Holiday Song" Nomination for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"; "Best Male Collegiate Album" Nomination for "Varsity Sing Team"
* 2005: "Best Male Collegiate Album" Nomination for "Jacked"; "Best Male Collegiate Solo" Nomination for Russell Bloodworth (Class of '05) on "Cry Me a River"; "Best Male Collegiate Song" Award for "Cry Me a River"
* 2003: "Best Male Collegiate Song" Award for "Melt With You"
* 2002: "Best Male Collegiate Album" Award for "Xerox Nation"; "Best Male Collegiate Solo" Runner-Up for Jeff Hall (Class of '01) on "All Out of Love"; "Best Male Collegiate Song" Nomination for "Everything You Want"

Albums selected as "Top Picks"/"Honorable Mentions" by the RARB

* 2004: "Jacked" given "Honorable Mention"
* 2002: "You Don't Know Me" given "Honorable Mention"
* 2001: "Xerox Nation" selected as "Top Pick"

Album tracks selected for BOCA

* 2006: "Save a Horse" selected for BOCA 2006
* 2005: "Hey Ya" selected for BOCA 2005
* 1999: "You Make Me Wanna" selected for BOCA 1999
* 1998: "Hands to Heaven" selected for BOCA 1998
* 1996: "What You Won't Do For Love" selected for BOCA Vol. 2

Album tracks selected for Voices Only

* 2005: "Cry Me a River" selected for Voices Only 2005

External links

* [http://www.hullabahoos.com The Official Hullabahoos Website]
* [http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~bhoos/sounds/ Hullabahoos sample songs]
* [http://www.rarb.org Recorded A Cappella Review Board]
* [http://www.casa.org Contemporary A Cappella Society]
* [http://www.jamesgammonproductions.com James Gammon Productions (The current sound engineer behind the group's "Hullabasound")]
* [http://www.diovoce.net Dave Sperandio]
* [http://www.loreleis.com UNC Loreleis (College All-Female Acappella Group and long-time friends of the Hullabahoos)]
* [http://www.student.virginia.edu/~belles/ Virginia Belles (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)]
* [http://www.silhooettes.com/ Virginia Silhooettes (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)]
* [http://scs.student.virginia.edu/~hit-uva/ Virginia Hoos in Treble (Girls Group at the University of Virginia)]
* [http://www.newdominions.com/ Virginia New Dominions (Co-ed Group at the University of Virginia)]

References