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Music
Vocal adrenaline: Fairmont group Eleventh Hour shares its gleeful sounds
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By Don Thrasher,
Contributing Writer
8:10 PM Thursday, October 29, 2009
Songs from the new television series “Glee” have been among the top downloads on iTunes since the Fox hit began in September.
Fans of that style of vocal adrenaline owe it to themselves to check out Fairmont High School’s own singing dynamos in the a cappella group Eleventh Hour.
“Like Clockwork,” the latest CD from the less precocious but equally talented youngsters, includes a powerful version of Sara Bareille’s “Bottle It Up,” a unique interpretation of the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire” and a medley of Bee Gees songs.
“I think the overall product is yet another level up from what we’ve been doing,” Fairmont choral director Brody McDonald said. “This is the fourth disc and we’ve taken it to another level each time, but this one was especially noticeable.”
One reason this CD sounds more professional than previous releases is because Eleventh Hour received a scholarship that allowed the album to be mixed and mastered at Vocomotion Studios, a Chicago facility specializing in a cappella music.
“It was a great honor to win this scholarship,” McDonald said. “I don’t want to sound bigheaded or anything, but I was amazed when I got the CD back. It’s a product you would buy in the store and be happy with. People will hear it and know it’s not just some rinky-dink kids’ CD.”
Eleventh Hour has won Contemporary A Cappella Recording Association awards for Best High School Album and Best High School Song and there’s a good chance “Like Clockwork” could garner similar awards. However, rather than worry about their competition, McDonald and his students continually strive to introduce a cappella music to new audiences.
“We’ve worked with new groups all over the state and with directors thinking of starting groups,” McDonald said. “We didn’t know about this music until someone showed us, so we owe it to everybody else to show them if they want to see it.”
On Saturday, Nov. 14, Fairmont will host its second annual A Cappella Festival, which features 14 high school vocal groups.
But before that, Eleventh Hour will be celebrating the release of “Like Clockwork” on Sunday, Nov. 1. at Books & Co. in Ketering.
“We’ll have some of our current kids there singing and some of the old members are coming back, so there will definitely be some live music going down at Books & Co.,” McDonald said. “The kids will all be there to talk, sign autographs or whatever. It’ll be a good time.”
Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
How to go
Who: Eleventh Hour
Where: Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Kettering
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1
Cost: Free
More info: (937) 298-6540 or www.booksandco.com
Artist info: www.myspace.com/11thhour0607
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