From the Liquid Hotplates in November to Greek Beats in June, and everyone in between
In chronological order, here’s everything a capella happening this school year.
November 23 to 24, 2019
The Liquid Hotplates will hold their two-day showcase “Alotta Cappella” on Nov. 23 and 24 for the 13th year in a row. The showcase will be held on Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Sciences Lecture Hall.
Alotta Cappella will host the groups DeCadence, UC Men’s Octet, Cloud 9 A Cappella, Acquire A Cappella, Drawn to Scale and a few local Davis groups like The Afterglow, The Spokes, Cleftomaniacs and The Lounge Lizards. Each group will do a full 10 to 12-minute set. Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for the general public.
“I love that music can bring everyone together,” said Hannah Perez, a fourth-year psychology major and the business manager for The Liquid Hotplates. “It doesn’t matter what type of person you are. Everyone can just forget about that, come together and do music. And I love that. I found a lot of my best friends through a capella.”
While other groups have entered into the running for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, The Liquid Hotplates are the only group from Davis that has been in the semi-finals twice. The group hopes to compete again this year.
“My first Alotta Cappella, it was really, really nerve wracking because my family came and they’re from San Diego,” Perez said. “And it’s really exciting and I wanted to impress them. But then once I was on stage, performing with [The Liquid Hotplates], it just felt so natural and fun.”
More information about their showcase can be found on The Liquid Hotplates’ Facebook page.
February 2020
The Afterglow will hold their annual showcase “Lights Low with The Afterglow” in Feb., 2020. The showcase will take place in the Sciences Lecture Hall and will present a variety of groups on campus.
“We try to foster an environment that’s not just, ‘Oh, gotta practice, gotta perform,’” said Ryan Sie, a fourth-year psychology and human development double major and the public relations officer. “I think it helps that we’re all comfortable with each other and that we can support each other.”
The Afterglow is an all-men a cappella group. They sing in the traditional barbershop style, with a twist of pop and a newfound interest in EDM.
“It’s just insane to me that you can have a group that has a cohesive, really musical sound,” Sie said. “[A cappella is] just something that you’re producing with your own body without any tools or instruments or anything [and] being in a group where everybody’s singing together and creating like harmonies with different patterns.”
More information about their showcase can be found on their Facebook page.
March 2020
Cleftomaniacs will hold their third annual showcase “Cleftopella” in March. Students can expect to see multiple campus a cappella groups as well as improv comedy in the show. Cleftomaniacs was founded in 2014, making them the newest a cappella group on campus. They will hold auditions for their group in March.
“Being in the Cleftomaniacs has come with an endless amount of fun times along with many hours of hard work,” said Nicollette Sanchez, a fourth-year animal biology major and president of Cleftomaniacs. “We inherently become close by spending lots of time together, and this motivates us to work hard so that we can sound as good as possible.”
Cleftomaniacs perform two to six times per quarter, including performances at other showcases. Their upcoming performance will be at Alotta Cappella.
“I’ve been able to watch us grow and transform into the group we are today,” Sanchez said. “And I am so proud of our growth. We have faced many challenges while trying to establish ourselves as a known and respected a cappella group within my last four years at UC Davis, but it has been the most rewarding experience to see us grow.”
More information about their showcase can be found on their Facebook page.
April 2020
The Spokes is the premier all-women a cappella group on campus. They will host their annual showcase, Hellacappella, on April 10, 2020. The event will be held at the Mondavi Center from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. In the past, they have brought a cappella groups from Oregon and the United Kingdom. The event will cost $16 for students and children pre-sale, and $21 at the door. For the general public, tickets are $30 presale and $35 at the door.
“I love singing and during freshman year, coming to a new place, I was very shy,” said Brooke Talkington, a fourth-year international relations major and publicity director of The Spokes. “And then I went to Hellacapella before I knew about [The Spokes] and I saw them perform. And they were just these really strong independent women. They just represented what I wanted to be. I’m really grateful for it because it’s made me into a more confident person.”
The Spokes was founded in 2004 and built upon the principle of women’s empowerment. A founding member of the Spokes is Cam, a Grammy-nominated musician. Since then, the group has grown to develop on those building blocks and furthered their contribution to the community. At their past showcase, The Spokes had a donation box for Empower YOLO.
“To be in any group, it’s always nice to find people and find friends, especially coming to someplace new,” Talkington said. “But to be in [The Spokes] specifically, it’s unlike any other group I’ve been in, just because of how supportive everyone is.”
“It’s amazing because even though we all come from different academic backgrounds, we have the chance to express ourselves and develop our shared passion for music,” said Mathilda Silverstein, a fourth-year human development and gender, sexuality and women’s studies double major and the group’s music director. “Being in The Spokes gives women the opportunity to learn how to arrange, beatbox, perform and more.”
More information on their showcase can be found on their Facebook page.
Late April/May 2020
Lounge Lizards A Cappella will hold their annual showcase “No Instruments Attached” in early Spring Quarter. The showcase will feature other a cappella groups and will be held in the Sciences Lecture Hall. Last year, in the International Competition for Collegiate A Cappella, they were the West Quarter Final champions and earned titles in Best Choreography (Scout Carlson) and Best Vocal Percussionist (Kyle Jung). This year, however, they will not be competing and instead will focus on their showcase.
“The first time I sang with my group, I felt a nervous excitement that I’d never felt before,” said Sofie Adriasola, a third-year neurology, physiology and behavior major and the music director for Lounge Lizards. “In high school, I only sang with female-identifying members. Singing with male-identifying members as well opened up a huge wall of sound. It was incredible! Singing with everyone made me feel really at home here at Davis.”
Lounge Lizards is the oldest a cappella group on campus. They were established in 1995 and will be celebrating their 25th anniversary this Winter Quarter. The all-gender group specializes in contemporary music but likes to mix it up with pop, rhythm and blues and oldies.
“I love the humanness of [a cappella],” Adriasola said. “When I sing unaccompanied with my group, you have to really rely on each other and only each other to make music. There something so eerily humbling about only human voices, and the emotion that can you can convey is beyond words.”
More information about their showcase can be found on their Facebook page.
June 2020
Greek Beats will host their spring showcase in June. Greek Beats is an all-sorority women a cappella group, with a focus on the Panhellenic philanthropy Cal Aggie Camp. Their showcase will be held in 1100 Social Sciences and Humanities. Greek Beats attends about two to three events per quarter.
“It’s a really good way to build up your confidence because you are singing with other people on your part,” said Claire Ongaro, a fourth-year design and communications double major. “And although you’ll be singing from the stage, you don’t have to have a solo and it’s more of a group experience. So it’s really good practice to build up confidence.”
More information about their showcase can be found on their Facebook page.
Written By: Itzelth Gamboa — arts@theaggie.org
