Lunch Break Quartet

We Believe That Children Are Our Future

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:28:00 +0000

"Putcha hands togethah.. for Mr. RRRRANDY... H'WWWWWATSONN!"

Coming to America reference notwithstanding, we do believe that singing for the youth of America in beautiful Lake Geneva, WI in that good ol' barbershop way (modern jazz arrangments notwithstanding) is a GREAT way to spend a day! I personally love the journey of performing for early morning high schoolers, whose evolution consists mainly of 4 stages:

1) Impress me, old people. Ya.. h'right..
2) These guys are idiots, but they don't seem to care, and that impresses me.
3) Awww, the big one knocked down the little one.
4) I love these guys.

Sure, maybe I took a little libery with step 4, but it's my blog and that's how I party. In any case, thanks to Pete and the awesome fellas of the Country Gentlemen chorus in Lake Geneva for inviting us to be a part of their show and giving us the chance to sing for local high schools. Stand up guys, all of you! We had a great time and felt VERY well taken care of.

Lastly, thanks to KJ for subbing and stepping into Drew's huge shoes and doing an absolutely bangup job rockin' the 5's. And rockin' the guitar. And the piano. And the drums. And the gaggle of high schoolers that slowly decended upon your piano as you swept them away during an impromptu performance of what some people might call magic. You are a giant to me, KJ.

They gots good cheese in Wisconsin!! Oh, and we flew into Chicago Midway and made a pit stop at Gino's East pizza. Hoooooooooly cow!

See the rest of the pics here.

Brothers Don't Shake Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Bring it in.

Don't think I'm not the slightest creeped out by this. Maybe even a LOT, but nonetheless, it accurately captures the essence of Lunch Break's spring/summer season. It's been way too long since the last update, and for that I apologize to all the dedicated Lunch Break fans (we call you the "Lunchables", FYI) who dutifully click refresh daily, waiting anxiously for the next awesome-bomb to be dropped blog-style all over this webpage like a hammer of Greatness. Which, by our accounts, is roughly zero people.

Irregardless, Lunch Break's spring and summer were pretty darned amazing from a "whee" point of view. We had a nice run of shows leading up to Internationals in Anaheim this summer where we were fortunate to move up one spot to 12th place and increase our score slightly (hey, it's progress). And then there's Harmony University. That was pretty cool. Then there was a baby and a move for our baritone to Alabama, which is particularly surprising as we thought people were FLEEING Alabama. Who knew?! Our loss is 'Bama's gain.

We've got exciting ideas in the works for the upcoming season, which may or may not involve clones, wrestling, and bumbling odd clumsy physical comedy (more adjectives than a Chilis menu!), so stay tuned.

Daa Da'Da Daaaaaa! Daa Da'Daaaaaa...

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:13:00 +0000

A stylized photo of Harrison Ford as the iconic Indiana Jones? Really? Yep, you guessed it! Lunch Break made the short-ish drive up to Indy (get it?) to serve humbly as the guest quartet at the annual Circle City Sound Barbershop Chorus under the direction of the illuminous (that's not a word, is it?) Gary Texeira. Boy oh boy, are these guys sounding fantastic!

But perhaps even better was the crowd, especially the evening show. We're not sure what exactly was being pumped through the ventilation shaft, but that crowd was jazzed up for some good old fashioned laughin' and clappin'! What a great energy for ANY quartet, especially one as sensitive and insecure as little Lunch Break (awwww... him's just a wittle quawtet!).

Irregardless, thank you Circle City Sound! The writer of this blog is still enjoying the rockin' exotically delicious life saver candies purloined from the guest quartet complimentary basket. You guys are the best for enabling me to get my grape on.

Rick and Bubbaaaaaaaaa

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:35:00 +0000

omg it's Rick and Bubba!

The faces behind the mad genius of Rick and Bubba were finally unveiled with much fanfare (and some trepedation) EARLY this morning before even the sun dare rear it's blazen head. Lunch Break was incredibly fortunate to be invited to kickstart the morning broadcast with a rousing performance of The Star Spangled Banner. Albeit at 6am, which, as we all know, is in stark defiance of anything above middle-C to the vocal chords. Way to go, high Gs! Whew, we made it.

Rick and Bubba are really, really cool guys! Very laid back, down to earth, and genuinely funny with the wit. At one point, Bubba took a small stroll in the broadcast room and plopped lazily down on several of the large sprawling beanbags strewn about the room, and upon seeing Drew whip out his cell phone cam to snap a shot, struck the silliest of poses, clearly revealing his inner Nice Guy of Good Humor.

R&B even suggested that a barbershop quartet would boost its value were it to consider taking up the haircutting profession simultaneously while singing. We're on it, boys!

Mike knows Lawn-Fu

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Mike's OCD finally pays off with a smashing Mansker Farms neighborhood victory, literally crushing his opponents in a relentless onslaught of lawn care dicipline and ninja-like intrepidity. (Note: children in photo are Mike's daughters, not opponents.)

Augusta National Golf Course Lawn Care Professionals were unavailable for comment.

Hall of FAMEOUSNESS

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:19:00 +0000

So a long time ago a bunch of really big guys played football really well, so one day someone said "Hey let's make a building dedicated to the big guys who played better than all the other big guys and we'll charge people to come into the building to see how awesome the big guys were!" Big-Money making decisions aren't always the most elegant (at least not in our minds), but we definitely ate what they were serving. Dude! Roger freakin' Staubach's jersey was in there! That's holy ground, baby.

A big THANK YOU to the Hall of Fame Chorus and our host Harlan for inviting us to be a part of their annual show. It's always nice to get away for the weekend and do some good ol' fashioned SANGING, and we would be remiss if we didn't thank our buddy David for stepping into Drew huge bari shoes and totally rocking it out. One more weekend with the SuperSub as Drew and his wife Elizabeth work out how exactly they'll be giving birth to their son, Mason.

He's not yet born as of the posting of this blog, but I offer an early welcome to Lunch Break's newest Lunchable, Mason. Mason, I dub thee 'Snack Pack'.

Check out the pics

Preliminary Results

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:28:00 +0000

Hooray! With a 79.8, Lunch Break qualifies for their second consequit.. consequa.. ANOTHER Internationals! We're going to Anaheim, and that can only mean one thing: The pasty white countenance that is Lunch Break will no doubt get their share of sunlight, and perhaps then some. This most likely spells epidermal doom, because in the words of Gullum, 'It burnss usss, precioussss". I, for one, however, am up to the challenge.

The wonderful folks up in the Cardinal District were way too kind, and we thank them for welcoming us into their 'home'. There's a loyalty within each district, that ain't no lie, and so to barge into another District's home and route through their musical fridge takes some trust, and Lunch Break was fortunate enough to return quite well fed. Thank you, CAR!! You're the best! (right behind Dixie. (Go Dixie.))

In other news, Lunch Break was finally edged out by previous champs, Vocal Spectrum for Best Barbershop Album of the year by CARA. Congrats, VS! You guys are true champs and wonderful ambassadors for our hobby, and we're honored to be your runner-ups. (Editor's note: this marks only the first time Lunch Break has lost to Vocal Spectrum in any form of competition. Take that, State Line.)

See you shortly.

CARA-riffic!

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Almost forgot, Lunch Break's CD "Out to Lunch" was recently nominated for three(3) Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, including Best Barbershop Album, Best Barbershop Song (Mr. Potato Head), and Best Comedy Song (Mr. Potato Head). Woo!

Check announcements of the winners April 1 right here.

Coast to Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Barbershop is a super fantastic hobby. One weekend, Lunch Break is basking in the sunny glow of the west coast's Pasadena, and a mere 6 days later, frolicking on the Atlantic ocean's front door in Sunny Florida. Thank you, barbershop infrastructure! How on earth could we ever repay the work our harmonious forefathers have done to lay down the foundation upon which we could build a fully realized dream of travelling and singing? Presumably, we could continue the work in our own chapters to keep the dream alive for others. We're modern day bards, people.

OK, maybe we're closer to modern day court jesters, except there are no kings anywhere.

A big shout out to the Greater Canaveral men's chorus, and the beautiful ladies of Sound of Sunshine for inviting us to be a part of their shows. All of you ladies and gentlement were wonderful to us, and even let us share a dressing room with the celebrities from the Humdingers, a world class quartet completely bent on entertainment no matter what the cost, even if it means dancing or doing a hat routine.

But the icing on the cake has to be getting the ol' red carpet treatment at Sunday evening's Orlando Magic game. The mighty Magic basketballers of Orlando defeated the New Jerseys of Nets handily, and Lunch Break got free desserts and center court photos in the process. It's who you know in this world, especially if it's Mike.

But really, the icing on the icing on the cake was sharing a flight back to Nashville with Sarah Palin and Dubya (lookalikes.. fine). There were surprisingly few jeers from onlookers. Way to go, humanity.

Check out the pics!

Barbershop is Vocal Ballet

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:13:00 +0000

Rigorous.

It's one word to describe how hard Lunch Break is working on their new and breakthrough contest package tentatively titled "Stretch, Grow, Love".

'Highly Unusual' indeed.

Asheville is a nice place to sing barbershop

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:32:00 +0000

The Gators have officially "go'ed", Crimson Tide rolled over and died, and Lunch Break had another awesome weekend gig opportunity, this time over in Asheville, NC with the gentlemen from the Land of the Sky chorus. Led by Chuck Green, these guys know how to entertain an audience with cheesy one liners, histerical costumes, clown bikes, and solid barbershop; all the crucial ingredients for a highly successful annual chapter show.

'Lady of Spain' will stand out in a particularly bold memory in this blogger's mind, as one side show phenom after the next wow'ed the audience with a nonstop relentless onslaught of hilarious bits, all inspired by the Ed Sullivan Show. Why more choruses don't take advantage of this awesome piece of entertainment is beyond me.

Thank you Land of the Sky for letting us be a part of your annual show. Thank you Chuck and Kevin for being cool guys that I know (and a great host, Kevin), and we'll see you soon.

I got to ride a clown bike for the first time ever! Click here for pics.

Battle of the Ages

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:43:00 +0000

A quartet weekend gig in Asheville, NC.

A man who has given his heart to the Gators.

A man who wears Bama sweatshirts.

A game to cement a legacy and define the future of a friendship

Football dorks in their native habitat.
Florida vs Alabama (halftime at the time of this posting)

.Followup: Show of hands, who's magnanimous in victory!?

Lovely Roanoke

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:22:00 +0000

Whoooooa.

Poor Virgina. It seems that West Virginia gets all the radio airplay with the classic John Denver diddy Country Road about the state he calls a "Mountain Mama". But Lunch Break couldn't stress enough how much more MountainMama-ish and beautiful Virginia is compared to its crazy upstairs roommate. (no offence to West Virgina)

The Virginia Gentlemen of Roanoke, led by the lovely Erin Odell, were wonderful hosts as LB shared the stage with them and with Prism, an awesome quartet out of Carolina. Fun times were had by all as we subjected an unwitting audience to yet another round of Lucky Charms, Head O' Hair, What'll I Do, Where is Lunch, WhiteBoy DanceFest 3000, and many, many more. Thank you, Gentlemen, for an awesome weekend!

We even had a chance to stretch our legs backstage and get some exercise. (You think it's easy "throwin' down" like we do onstage?!) Check out the pics.

Dixtricts!

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:26:00 +0000

Another fall, another contest. Lunch Break had the distinct pleasure of singing away the district trophy to an enthusiastic audience, and we would like to congratulate our friends in Nashville Singers for their victory in the fall quartet contest. Some ol' school polecat action gettin' the job done!

And Lunch Break is THRIZZLED at the results from the chorus contest, where Music City Chorus scored high enough to position themselves solidly for a wildcard spot for the International Contest in Anaheim, CA next summer. HOLY COW. It's been over 30 years since MCC has been on the big stage, so we'll keep you posted as ongoing fall results from across the country unfold.

Goodbye, Trophy, it was a great year.

The Future Looks Bright

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:14:00 +0000

Indeed folks, critical acclaim follows Lunch Break wherever we go, and no brighter does the light of our fanbase shine than right here at home. Listen in as Sean Devine, Rick Spencer, and James Estes speak candidly about their favorite comedy quartet.

Rick and James

Sean and Rick

Sean, Rick, and James

Sage Lake Wrapup

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:58:00 +0000

There's nothing like spending an entire weekend being surrounded by several dozen of your absolute biggest barbershop heroes and many of the Society's heaviest hitters, movers, and shakers to make you feel about this small. What an amazing thing.. Lunch Break is standing there singing to a small-ish crowd of legendary barbershoppers (too many names to mention) and acting like complete fools. Either we won over their hearts with endearing charm and grace, or made such fools of ourselves that more collective bridges were burned than a World War 2 supply line severing campaign.

In any case, we had an amazing time singing, partaking, and gathering 'round the evening campfire to absorb the wisdom of the Sages. We even squeezed in a round of golf with a few guys from The Allies. The Allies Rule!

Stock Photography of golf. We totally played real golf.

(actual putts not this close to hole)

The trophy is coming home

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Lunch Break wraps up nearly an entire year with the District trophy (a year already??!) and it's coming home in just one week all shined up for the incoming champs. Wow.. here's a quick snapshot (below) of just one stop along the way. More coming soon :) Don't miss the Dixie District saturday evening show!

Many thanks to the fine folks at Opry Mills mall for their generous donation of a few emotional moments at the Manta-Ray viewing tanks and Children's Carousel.

Welcome to!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Georgia's Summer Wanes...

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:04:00 +0000

Alternating sunlight and shadow danced through the vehicle's windows as it navigated the winding tree-covered road, slowly heading southeastward through the lush Georgian foothills and tightly following the churning waters of the restless Ocoee River. The wind and water engaged in a song not of words, but of a roar of nature's boundless untamed beauty that was at once inviting and forbidding.

And then later, we stopped at this little Mexican restaurant that had some cheese dip. OH MAN. Lunch Break is totally there for all of your queso eating needs.

A big thanks to the fellas in the High Country Harmonizers in Blue Ridge, Georgia for hosting Lunch Break this past weekend. As usual, we had a blast singing for a wonderful audience and enjoying the stunning beauty of the surrounding countryside.

And we also shared the stage with the beautiful and talented ladies from Spice, perrenial Regional Sweet Adeline champs and International Qualifiers. You ladies were fantastic!

Fast Track

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:02:00 +0000

Let's get this potty started.

Harmony University

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:09:00 +0000

It's difficult to put into words all that the Harmony University experience offers the barbershopper. Of course, things like quartetting, non-stop tagging, world class coaching, barbershop heros, ice cream, new friendships, and lack of sleep come to mind easily, but the overall impact on the total experience is pretty intangible. All we can say is, if you ever have a chance to attend, do whatever you can to do so. The writer of this here blog maintains that it's the best week of barbershop you will find.

Lunch Break had a great time at HU this year, but each of our experiences was entirely different. Mike taught a directing class, Drew taught a membership class, Eddie taught a website development class and maintained the daily bulletin, and Shane once again attended the director's college on scholarship, so we had a chance to enjoy the experience in our own ways.

Oh yes... exactly one year ago at HU 2007, Lunch Break formed as a quartet. :) To celebrate, we had a cake and everything!

Mmmmmm... anniversarilicious.

Clemson Harmony Explosioning

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:31:00 +0000

What a great weekend! What a delayed website update! Sorry for the lag.. it's been quite a few months for the Lunch Break webmaster, whew. But hey, we had a whale of a time rocking it out at this year's Dixie Lakeside Harmony Explosion Camp Extravaganza Chordcrushing Blowout Jamboree 4000. Nearly 100 young men took the stage, alongside Lunch Break, State Line Grocery, Fred, and the Atlanta Vocal Project. Despite Lunch Breaks' best efforts to the contrary, that must have been one of the best overall barbershop shows of 2008 anywhere in the world, and the youth chorus without a doubt stole the show.

Particularly the youth chorus' performance of Loch Lomond. there were tears and there was sniffling at the sheer beauty and sensitivity with which the young men performed the epically glorious piece. Well done, lads.

Youths.. healing the world, making it a better place.

Harmony Explosion KABOOOooOOoOOOoOM

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Lunch Break had a fantastic time in Birmingham this past weekend at the annual Harmony Explosion camp. Nearly 30 high school-ish aged students from around the area decended upon a private secondary school in Birmingham for a veritable "lock down" of harmony and pizza. We served as clinicians and role models for the awesomely talented youths in attendance (who were the ad wizards who thought up THIS one.. us? role models?), and our ringmaster James Estes weaved his web of directoral delights to the enwonderment of all who surveyed. The kids put on an absolutely fantastic show.

With the echoes of song still reverberating in the halls of Birmingham, Lunch Break is already en route to Clemson, NC for yet another week of Harmony Explosionating with a group of 130+ youths, and will share the stage with the youth chorus, State Line Grocery, and the always cromulent FRED. So check back soon for more updates and pics (pending FCC approval).

(tan-cam 4000 was broken at time of photograph)

SKA-DOOOSH!

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Lunch Break had the most incredible time at the international barbershop convention this past week, and we would like to give a quick thanks to all those who were so kind and supportive to use throughout the contest. Your words mean so much to us and are a source of inspiration and encouragement as we continue to press forward and act like idiots on stages across the land. We could probably do it without you, but why would we WANT to? That would be truly idiotic.

A more thorough update is pending with more details and photos, but a quick congrats go out to our new champs, OC Times, Masters of Harmony, and Ringmasters for gold medal worthy performances.

Also.. hey, OUR NEW CD IS AVAILABLE WOWOWOWOWOWOOWOW! You can buy it now with a secure PayPal connection.

Enjoy! More soon....

Lunch Break's first CD "Out To Lunch" gone to press

noreply@blogger.com (Lunch Break Quartet) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:36:00 +0000

Lunch Break is excited about our very first CD (for any of us!) Out to Lunch which has just gone to press and we expect copies to arrive in a few weeks. Check back here soon for updates as things develop, including a Paypal link to purchase. A full list of "thank yous" will go out once things start rolling in, but in the meantime, we've put clips from the CD online so you can get a "taste" of what's to come.

"Taste." Get it?

This is how the cool people 'snackity snack'.