Friday, February 1, 2002

By BOK REITZEL

Special to the Register

* Editor's note: Bok Reitzel, a frequent contributor to the feature pages, and a member of the Napa Valley Barbershop Chorus, provided this first-person account of a recent performance. *

If you take last Saturday's evening's Barbershop Show at Silverado Middle School, sponsored by The Napa Valley Barbershop Chorus, and put it in a time capsule, you can label it "People in 2002 Having a Good Time."

Napa Valley Dixieland is playing a half hour before the curtain opens, and people are dancing down the aisles to their seats. Peeking through the curtains we see that the audience is ready. That Dixieland music has them quite into it. Backstage and in the practice room excitement reigns. There is nothing like it, folks. Getting ready to go on stage and do your thing.

The thing here is singing. Singing that you have been practicing for weeks. Plunking out the tunes on the piano, listening to the tapes and practicing with your section to get it right. You put your uniform on at home, and your wife adds a little rouge so that you will look alive on stage. You leave early for the theater.

The audience is your family and friends and those folks that will come almost any distance for a barbershop show. It's a stacked deck.

The chorus opened with "There's No Business Like Show Business," an Irving Berlin number that has opened almost as many shows as the Wedding March. We get through the tricky ending of "Sitting' on Top of the World." It comes out right. "Caroline" is about as sweet as we can sing it. We are feeling good.

Featured in the first half of the show are specialty numbers by a gospel group from the chorus, The Men of Note, presenting stirring renditions of "When the Roll is Called up Yonder" and "This Little Light of Mine".

The Antique Road Show, a quartet of true collectibles, flirts with domestic tranquility, offering a poignant rendition of "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away." The first half concludes with "America The Beautiful" by the full chorus and with about everyone in the audience joining in.

Alan Young, a member of the chorus working as master of ceremonies, steers us through the program with warmth and humor.

Craig Rode, our director, leads us with wonderful expressions, a wink now and then and smiles of appreciation. It is such a pleasure to sing for Craig.

It's intermission. The band keeps things rolling. We sneak outside quickly to see the family, but we can't wait to hear the high school quartets sing. We dedicate ourselves, as do choruses through out the country, to the encouragement and support of vocal music in the schools. We support them with music, scholarships and take them to contests. So we go to the back wall of the theater and stand there, wait and smile.

The boys' quartet is first. Will, Ryan, Kory and Matt. We all know those fine boys and hope to take them to Fresno with us in March for the Far Western District High School Contest. With only about three weeks of practice with their teacher Jamie Butler and in spite of a heavy school schedule, they do fine. Their animated "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" will be a winner.

Back stage the boys had said to us, "Wait till you hear the girls." Even with that kind of recommendation, we are only partially prepared. "WOW!" The Bell Tones, Sarah, Liz, Ashby, and Kirsten, ring the bell. They are just wonderful. They had worked hard with Pat Bates from a champion Sweet Adeline women's quartet, and their first contest will be in Sacramento in a few weeks. We'll be there.

It's a jump from those sweet girls to The Overtones quartet who are on next. We mean in age and beauty. There have been a few remarks about that back stage. "So, you guys are going to follow THOSE girls?" But, of course they show us how it's done. Nothing like about 100 years of collective barbershop experience. They have the songs, the voices and the moves. We take some mental notes.

The two things we can say about our final guest act Liquid Hot Plate, 13 men and women from UC Davis are that they are different and good. Very different and very good. None of us understand what heck they are doing up there but we are amazed, simply amazed at their talents and style. Is this what the rest of the world is doing?

We ask Craig, "Can you teach us how to do that?" He says, "Are you kidding? I'd like to lead a normal life avoiding stress and permanent therapy. Don't ask me again."

We stand around grinning and shaking our heads. The kids and certainly the Liquid Hot Plates are going places, but no, thank you anyway, we'll just stay here and sing in wonderful Napa.

We'll let you know when we're having our next show. You'll have a real good time.