Interview: Straight No Chaser's Randy Stine

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 2, 2011 9:30PM

The origins of a cappella group Straight No Chaser go back to Indiana University, where they formed in 1996. Member Randy Stine said they mainly started the group "to meet girls and get free food."

The original members formed a 10-year reunion in 2006, recorded the reunion and posted videos from the concert on Youtube. One notable clip, Straight No Chaser's take on "The 12 Days of Christmas," went viral, garnering eight million views in a month. The band eventually signed a five-album deal with Atlantic Records. The band's popularity further increased with its concert videos, broadcast across public television stations across the country.

SNC is now on tour, bringing them to the Chicago Theatre for two shows Dec. 3, to the Rosemont Theatre Dec. 4, and to the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles Dec. 9. We spoke with Stine about the group's quick rise, its place in the music business and how they pick the material for their repertoire.

Chicagoist: You're signed with Atlantic, but I'm assuming you had other labels interested in the SNC's services. Was there anything resembling a bidding war for the group?

Randy Stine

Randy Stine: Not so much. There was interest from other labels besides Atlantic, some of them too good to be true. There were different offers we were smart to pass on. Atlantic's offer, at first, seemed that way. But, once we sat down with them, we realized it was a good fit for the band.

C: Is Atlantic smart on the MP3 and download front? Or does SNC still sell a fair amount of hard CDs?

RS: I think they get it. It isn't like in the early 2000s where a record sells million copies in a week or day. There are so many outlets, like Spotify, to get your music out to people. I think the major labels recognize this, and industry is more exciting as a result.

C: As an a cappella group, do you see more sales from CDs or downloads?
RS: I think our audience buys more CDs than downloads. We've done instore appearances and we do see a lot of CD sales at live shows. But we've also had some fans who will have us sign iPod or iPhones.

C: How much has public television contributed to your audience. It seems like I see a SNC special every pledge drive.

RS: It's been huge. There was a time when we'd only meet people after shows or via YouTube. For a while it was strictly YouTube. Now that's balanced out. Friends from high school mention that they saw one of the specials on TV. We're lucky in that (the specials) airs repeatedly in a given market at any time. Our first special aired 4,000 times in most of the major markets. Public television has been supportive and have new one airing this month.

C: Since SNC reunited and went professional, has your membership experienced significant turnover?

RS: We haven't had much in the way of turnover. We feel lucky to be doing what we're doing.

C: How does the group determine its song selection? One of the notable aspects of SNC is that you don't do standard a cappella like madrigals or hymnals.

RS:We never were traditional. We've always done pop. We've used arrangements from songs we did in high school. In college, we marketed ourselves as a band without instruments. I think a cappella is a different genre than rock. Rock fans tend to be more open-minded about what they'll listen to. With a cappella fans, they tend to stick to what they like: barbershop quartets, madrigals, classical. Some will come to our shows and tell us after "what you're doing is not what we expect."

C: With all the pop music in your repertoire, what are your influences?

RS: Bobby McFerrin is definitely a vocal music icon. We like Take 6, Rockapella. Most of the guys in the group listen to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Kings of Leon. It's a wide range of bands.

C: How do you narrow down your song selections?

RS: We just had meeting talking about the repertoire for the early part of next year. We'll. discuss arrangements, rehearse them, and maybe try out some in concert. Sometimes new arrangements work and we keep them in the set. Others don't and we either scrap them or re-work them.

C: Who in the group is responsible for the arrangements?

RS: It's a collaborative effort. Mainly Walt Chase, Ryan Ahlwardt, Tyler Trepp and Don Nottingham. Either they'll come up with individual arrangements or they'll work on them with another guy. It's easier to sell an arrangement to a group of 10 guys if two guys are behind it.

C: What should fans be expecting for this tour?
RS: It's the holidays, so we'll be singing half pop stuff, half Christmas. That YouTube video was a blessing and a curse; we still get requests in summer for that.