URBAN METHOD

Great news Urban Method fans–we are going to be competing on NBC’s The SingOff in the fall of 2011. There is so much buzz already and it was just released yesterday! The news source that broke the story was Entertainment Weekly and we are so excited to be on this season. There are a ton of groups and it’s going to a weekly show in prime-time. It’s a perfect season to be on.

The article from Entertainment Weekly released on August 16th the following:

NBC’s hit a cappella talent-show series The Sing-Off has announced the 16 groups that will compete in its third season. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the series will premiere on Sept. 19 with returning judges Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman alongside singer Sara Bareilles, replacing Nicole Scherzinger (who’s now a judge on Fox’s The X Factor). The contenders are:

Afro-Blue A nine-person ensemble from Howard University
The Cat’s Pajamas An energetic all-male group based in Branson, Mo.
The Collective Nashville troupe formed by season-two contestant Jeremy Lister (Street Corner Symphony)
Dartmouth Aires 15 quirky guys from the New Hampshire Ivy League school
Delilah An L.A.-based all-female group including members from the first two Sing-Off seasons
The Deltones Co-ed ensemble from The University of Delaware
Fannin Family An octet of relatives from the Midwest
Kinfolk 9 A professional group out of L.A. with members who all have the ability to share lead vocals
Messiah’s Men Liberian refugees on a mission to serve God through music
North Shore A Boston-based streetcorner ensemble tackling music from the ’40 to today
Pentatonix Five-member group from Arlington, Tex., with eclectic musical tastes
Sonos Well-known professional a cappella group who have collaborated in the past with Bareilles
Soul’d Out Co-ed high school club from Wilsonville, Ore.
Urban Method Newly-formed act from Denver including a rapper
Vocal Point All-male ensemble from Brigham Young University
The YellowJackets Contemporary crew from the University of Rochester known for wearing yellow blazers

The winning act will score $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music.

Source is from the Article ’The Sing-Off’ announces season 3 contestants” by Dave Karger on ew.com on August 16th, 2011 at 9am. Photo by: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

What’s good…it’s Myke Charles, resident emcee and baritone of Urban Method. Thank you for everyone’s support so far. Please continue to spread the word! UM is about to flip the a cappella world upside down. Look for me in the sky.

Hey guys, Tony here from Urban Method. Wanted to take a quick second and throw out a few tips about mixing live sound. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to mix some amazing a cappella groups including Take 6, Nota, and the House Jacks. Here are 5 things to remember to take your sound up a notch:

1. Make sure that your equipment and sound person remain invisible to the audience.  Not in a literal sense, but in a sound sense.  For example, you have feedback during your performance, everyone will look over at the sound person and not watch the performance.
2. Learn how to use a graphic EQ so that you can eliminate all feedback every time you perform.
3. Use the graphic EQ on your house mix and every monitor mix.  It is a very inexpensive piece of gear that will help you with #1 above.
4. Get comfortable with using microphones and how each one sounds on your voice.  Every artist that is successful in the business is a master of using their vocal instrument, which includes their microphone.

So just a quick post on this one. It’s Ozzi here with Urban Method and I wanted to pass along to you how I keep in shape. Aside from getting enough sleep during the night and trying to eat well, here are my top 5 ways to stay healthy without time or a gym:

1. Plank Routine
2. Stairwell running
3. Just be outside (get that Vitamin D going)
4. Water water water
5. Eat frequently

1. Dried Mango
2. Gummy Bears
3. (Free) Chocolate Chip Cookies
4. Vitamin Water
5. Cliff Bar
6. Apples (lame says Richard, good for voice says Liz)
7. Leftovers from Vocal Point
8. Another Free Cookie (God)
9. The rest of the Subway Footlong Sub
10. Candy Bribes

Hi guys, this is Troy from Urban Method. If you, too, have a fro-hawk and wake up every morning thinking, “Hmm, I wish I could do more,” then read on. There are many ways to make your fro-hawk (yes, fro-hawk…not faux- or mo-) spectacular. Of course, it’s critical to keep your Do trimmed and tight, but try twisting a few hairs together along the fro-hawk to give yourself a more dramatic look. Please enjoy this fro-hawk tip liberally.

Snare Drums can be done with a myriad of techniques. I show how to create a plosive snare. I find it useful to achieve a sound with decent low-end support, fairly high speed, and controllable volume. The toughest part of this snare is consistency of pitch and the relative violence within the sinus passages it causes.

To summarize, I must emphasize that the snare drum should operate essentially as something that continues the beat. In a very rudimentary sense, it has the exact same function as a kick drum. However, depending on the style of the music, song, or part of the song, the snare can be pitched and the chains can be emphasized more. The beauty of beatboxing over using a drum set is that you can tune the snare throughout a song and emphasize the presence of the chains as the song calls for it. The drawback is that snares tend to be very “live” and depending on how it is played in a drum kit, the sound of a snare can morph though a drum passage. For example, it sounds different when played as part of a drum roll than as part of a straight ahead rock beat.

Take that all as seriously as you like, but know that my particular snare drum technique also allows for what I believe to be a maximized ability to play with the sound of a snare. Enjoy!

Check out this video from LA where we found the best nickname ever!