It has been long enough and it’s time for another installment of “A Rare Walt Blog” from yours truly. Been on vaca the past week. I've now read enough books, walked enough beach, and listened to enough fantasy baseball podcasts to no longer justify not checking back in and letting my bloggish thoughts expunge. So here goes...
For those who follow me on the Twitter or have listened to the fabulous SNC FanChat, you might have heard me mention my second musical creative outlet - other than SNC. I speak, of course, of the a cappella sensation, the one and only Walter Chase and The Airtight.
Now, before you go surfing the web or Wiki to learn more about this side project (BTW, anyone that wants to create The (definitive) Airtight Wiki page is more than encouraged and welcomed), know that The Airtight is not performing live or touring, has ANY albums available for sale or have anything official, like a website or even a group photo on record (yet, yet, yet and yet).
The Airtight is the name of the "group" that I use to record my arranging demos for SNC, our management and our creative team (record label, producers, etc). Members of this group include simply… me: I sing all of the parts. The reason I record with The Airtight is so the guys can hear an arrangement fully "performed", taking the guesswork out of if it will work a cappella. Besides using these demos for SNC, I have created recordings for other groups to have for their rehearsal purposes.
For any Chasers out there looking for a tip on how to arrange for a group, my first suggestion is to record/demo it. There are a lot of reasons I find this essential, but mainly just so you can hear if you've got it right before bringing it in to rehearsal for the sometimes nervous "first impression". Is a particular section too busy or kind of boring? What vowel sounds best for the pre chorus? Where should vocal percussion be used and taken out? A lot of things can be done if you arrange with piano or guitar or whatever, but until you hear it actually sung you never really hear how it's going to sound. Also, once I get the basic parts down, it's fun to just loop a section of the arrangement and try to write new stuff overtop to make it better.
What you need to create your own Airtight recording? Buy a USB mic (I suggest one that you can wear with headphones so your hands are free) and open up Garage Band or the PC cheap version of Garage Band. That's all. If you cant sing the bass part, find a fellow bass or use a bass midi instrument that sounds close enough to a bass voice. Once it sounds good enough to you, share it with a friend or with someone(s) that you know will give you constructive feedback. Last step for me is using Finale (music software) to write out the sheet music for rehearsal. If you don't have Finale or don't want to waste time writing it out, just use your demo recording to isolate the parts for your group to learn.
Back to The Airtight: Now, if you're like me, and you loooooooove listening to Walt and Walt, and even more Walt, well The Airtight is just for you. A lot of people (ok, not a lot of people, maybe two tops - one including my mom) have asked: "Walter, will we ever get a chance to hear these Airtight demo recordings?” Unless you're a guy in the group or my “fortunate” spouse (over and over and over again while I record it), Airtight recordings are not publicly available. However, and I would like to announce here for the first time, I WILL be releasing full albums of The Airtight in the very, very, very distant future. The only released recording The Airtight currently has is of "The SNC FanChat Theme Song", featuring Charlie on bass.
#TheAirtightFunFacts: The number of members (“Walts”) in The Airtight varies anywhere between 5 to approx 38, making it a hybrid of a small quintet up to a massive collection of “Walts” galore. I, of course, sing all of the solos, with a couple of exceptions (Luginbill sang the solo for my demo of "The Man Who Cant Be Moved" 3,000 miles away from his own home studio).
The Airtight took the past week off on vaca here in Mexico, but will be hard at work next week continuing to write for SNC's next album and our brand-new show for this summer in Atlantic City (expect 95% new music from our show last year). The group will all be in Bloomington, Indiana this coming weekend for its 15-year reunion of Straight No Chaser. We will be performing our own set (3-4 songs) as well as a song or two with the current group at IU. We leave from there to head back to the UK to perform with the great Barry Manilow for four dates at the O2 Arena. Keep checking back here for updates. If you don’t already, follow us all on Twitter (yes, even Ryan), thank you all for your continued support and making SNC so special for us all everyday.
-Walter Chase (on behalf of The Airtight)
Comments
Pages