By: Meg Bryan
Rockapella.com
Just how does Rockapella work in the studio to complete an album? Since Rockapella is an a cappella group they have the challenge of entering the studio with nothing but their vocal strength. From Scott Leonard’s perspective this has its positives and negatives when it comes to recording. One bonus Scott mentioned is that without instruments it is a much less crowded in the studio. The biggest difference in recording however, Scott mentioned, was the range of sonic frequency. He described that, “Using only voices, you don’t naturally have as many high-frequency sounds that synths, bells, pianos, cymbals, etc. can provide. And on the other end you have less of the low-frequency subwoofer sounds of synth or guitar bass, and real kick drums. To compensate, we accentuate the high and low frequencies in the vocal bass and drums to try and balance the audio spectrum, and not have a recording too dominated by the mid-range.”
Order Your VIP Ticket Package!
As some know, it is not always necessary for all band members to be in the studio at once when working on an album. I asked Scott if it was any different for Rockapella, which he jokingly replied, “No. We’ve actually never met.” He continued stating that in the past Rockapella mostly recorded separately. He confirmed, “I’ve often sent Jeff the song he records the drums; sends them back, then I add them to the mix and start playing around.” On occasion however, Rockapella has come together in the studio to sing back-up parts together such as on “Dance with Me,” or even recorded entire songs singing together as they did on “White Christmas.”
And just how long does it typically take to complete a Rockapella album? Scott, interestingly enough, responded that most of the time spent “Rockapella-fying” a song is in creating and learning the arrangement. The actual studio time is the least consuming aspect of recording. It is however in the mixing which takes, “tens of hours to make it sound shiny,” Scott responded.
Considering Rockapella works with nothing but their talented voices I asked Scott if he felt it was more difficult to record an album without the aid of instruments. Fascinatingly he responded, stating that, “I think it’s probably more difficult to make a good entertaining entire album without instruments. Once the novelty of the lack of instruments wears off, the substance of the material (the songs and arrangements) has to be good enough to sustain the lack of whistles used on most pop records.” So far, Rockapella appears to have no trouble sustaining audiences’ attention; bringing viewers to their feet at nearly performance.
Lastly, with such a huge catalog of music to choose from, Motown, Pop etc, I wondered how did Rockapella choose which songs would be recorded for the album? Scott’s response? “Wet T-Shirt contest.” Well, it looks like there is much more to the Rockapella guys than just great voices, but a good sense of humor as well.
More Rockapella Content:
Weekly Fan Poll
Jeff Thacher Q&A
Kevin Wright Q&A
George Baldi Q&A
John Brown Q&A
Audio Interview with Rockapella
More News Here
