Come join Urban Method as they perform live for the Sound of the Rockies CD release concert.
Hosted by the Sound of the Rockies. This will be an amazing vocal concert. Don’t miss it!
Urban Method at the Paramount
On February - 27 - 2012
A quick thanks to all of those who helped us pack the house at the Paramount Theater last night in Denver. We had a chance to unveil an original song, some cool new tricks, and rock the songs you came to love from the show. Make sure you tag yourself on the Facebook pic Tony took on stage!
So what’s next?
Now it’s time to put it all together. We’re going to hit the studio and write. That’s right, original music. We’ll be putting music videos together, creating new and exciting content, and building OUR show. The plan is to have that done by summer time (2012) and then hit the road.
Until then…
thank you so much. Our friends, our family, and our newest supporters….we couldn’t do this without you!
Much love.
UM
Vote For Urban Method
On November - 22 - 2011
How’d you like it?! We made the top 3 and now we need your votes. You can help us become the champions of The Sing-Off. The show is in it’s 3rd season and we’ve seen Nota and Committed win it all. Now, vote for Urban Method in 3 ways…
TEXT “2″ to 97979
PHONE 877-674-6402
ONLINE http://www.nbc.com/sing-off/vote/
Check out All of the Lights from Kanye West here.
We’ll soon post the Mashup from Earworm featuring Peggy Lee’s Fever and Nelly’s Hot in Here!
Myke Charles Talks NBC’s The Sing-Off, Writing to Eminem & Drake Comparisons | XXLMAG.COM
On November - 16 - 2011
What up tho,
I was in New York Recently and did an interview with XXL. Check it out.
Myke Charles Talks NBC’s The Sing-Off, Writing to Eminem & Drake Comparisons | XXLMAG.COM.
Cricket and FX from Richard
On October - 25 - 2011
Check out the vocal sound effect video! Here, Richard Steighner from Urban Method demos the sound effects he has used on the first few episodes of the Sing-Off, NBC’s all-vocal show.
- Crab Scratch–It’s an imitation of a record scratch using an inward breath with a shaping of the thumb and pointer finger. The result is actually a highly controllable noise that Richard used in “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna to “bleep” out the swear words.
- Vibraslap–A crazy little percussion instrument used for all kinds of reasons. Used in “Just Can’t Get Enough” by the Black Eyed Peas as a transition into the “Switch Up” part. It’s done with a tongue roll while breathing out and mouthing an “F” shape.
- Vocal Guitar–The electric guitar sound is done by getting a buzz while mouthing an “F” shape and “W” shape at the same time. Then humming, you can get a pitched noise. It’s used in “Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone during the solo sections.
- Shuffle–A fast snare pattern used for the intro of “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe. The pattern is “pf, pf, pt, tf, pf, pt, tf, pt, tf, psh” for those who wanna give it a shot!
- The Cricket–I’ll keep it a secret for now; if you can do it, post a video and I’ll spread it around!
Hip Hop Week Tell-All
On October - 24 - 2011
Hip Hop week on The Sing-Off. We are in the middle of lesson learning.
As the Hip Hop group we’d like to represent our genre well. The name of this game is representing those who got you here. So in the process of choosing our songs, we’ve narrowed things down to a couple of options: either perform something from one of the top current artists or something from an icon.
Current Hip Hop Moguls: (alphabetically): Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West
Hip Hop Icons (alphabetically): Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur
The genre took off when East Coast and West Coast had their representatives (Pac and Big) hit the mainstream and develop followings that not only supported their reps, but fiercely opposed the other coast’s rep. It comes down to this–perhaps the most important part of successful music: “We need a little controversy” (thank you Eminem for the line). When there is rivalry, opposition, and something respectable for people NOT to like, the energy grows as does the fan-base. Biggie represented the East Coast while a strong contingent of West Coast artists had developed. Without the two artists, Hip Hop would not be where it is today. As we try to push hip hop into vocal music, what better way to honor the National competitiveness than in a competition like this one.
We chose to go with Love, iconic hip hop song from Tupac that would translate well into a cappella and the Urban Method style. Hope you enjoy.
Update: The NBC Execs have informed us that they are looking for a more current Hip Hop song for the show. In a scramble to find a new song for this week, we turn to Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye. Apparently there is a Kanye song on the books for this show, J’s crew will not release the rights for a song just like Eminem (especially after a favor from his crew allowing us to do Love The Way You Lie). So we will be performing a song from the current charts and adding our hip hop style and some UM flair.
The Lesson Learned? To fully understand and perform Hip Hop, you must get to the roots of what it is. The reason many people rap is that their message feels more expressed to them in words rather than song. The fact that you can focus on saying what you need to say rather than condensing and compressing that into words is the root of Hip Hop. The genre is very much about a confident stand for what you believe, and the drum and bass emphasis is crucial to delivering that message. Now, people are mixing song and rap, R&B and Hip Hop, Pop and Emcees…let’s explore that corner.
For your eternal enjoyment:
A cappella Here A cappella There A cappella Everywhere!
On October - 24 - 2011
Hey Urban Method folks today was a crazy day for a cappella! First I see that Urban Method has been mentioned on IMDB. That is the Internet Movie Database if you don’t know, now you know! (Biggie Smalls) Take a look. They said that we KILLED the performance!! WHAT!!!! Take a look.
IMDB Article:
TV Replay It was Guilty Pleasures night on ‘The Sing-Off‘ (Mon., 8Pm Et on NBC) and Ben Folds certainly got into the spirit of the theme. While his professional work has …..(Click to Continue)
Then I was watching a Football Life – Walter Payton. AMAZING!! and then this commercial came on.
A cappella is everywhere! Isn’t that great! I hope you all can appreciate what is going on here! Our music a cappella music has made it to the main stream! That is amazing!! See you on Monday! Oh and if you have not told your friends to like Urban Method. Please do. We need as much support as we can get as we go through this Sing Off thing!
Thank You All!
Hotel Confessions
On October - 18 - 2011
What up though,
“At this juncture on the Sing-Off we’ve been living in a hotel for 5 weeks. It’s been an interesting experience to say the least. When all of these corridors begin to blend together and harbor your emotions, you begin to disconnect from the outside world and lose touch with aspects of your life that were once important. If these walls could talk…During these five week I have been so focused on The Sing-Off that I haven’t been able to write any of my own music. The pressure of the competition hasn’t allowed me to channel any energy into anything but living and breathing The Sing-Off. Until now…”
I wrote this song during my time in the hotel that I called home during my Sing-Off experience. It’s a hip-hop song that documents the nostalgia and unease I begin to feel living in a hotel. These emotions are manifested through a past and current (or what was current) relationship. When I write songs I give you my life and experiences through a very honest and raw scope. This is Hotel Confessions. Enjoy.
Mixing Bass Vocals in A Cappella
On October - 15 - 2011
Now, Vocal Bass!
In the last blog, I went over the tricky essentials of mixing vocal percussion. Now, how to build the ultimate rhythm section by adding the bass vocalist. First, I send their low end to the subwoofer on an Aux send and brighten the track. Think of tracking the bass as though it were a real bass. The goal is to make the bass huge without being muddy at 100 Hz or 200 Hz through 400 Hz. Never put a high pass filter on a vocal bass. The human voice is so dynamic and even though most basses can’t sing notes down to 50 Hz, they have natural sub-harmonics that will sound and ring down there. Let it thump and be sonically low. I prefer the Shure’s Beta 58, or the Sennheiser 965 Hyper-cardoid microphone.
The key to mixing bass is not the sub-low end of the spectrum. Sure, they must have a low and large presence; but, it’s actually the low mids and highs that define the performance. I EQ out frequencies that create a muddy mix. 100 Hz is a culprit to many bad mixes since it takes over so much sonic room and covers the rest of the group. Also, I take out 200-300 Hz to clear up the mud of the mix. Then I brighten 4.0 Khz and 12Khz and above to create the perception of the bass cutting through the mix. Vocal basses don’t have strings to pluck, so you have to provide the EQ to overcome that. With your bass mic being routed through the subs via an Aux, you are in a win/win situation.
Watch for the next sound for A Cappella installment, effects!
Tony (Urban Method)
Fro-Hawk Tip #3 Relax and Get A Great Microphone!
On October - 11 - 2011
Singing: It’s been a long time. I shouldn’t of left you… With out a dope beat to step to…. step to step to…..step to…. to step to…. step to… step to…. ficky ficky…
So it really has been a long time and after a FIRE of an a cappella Sing-Off episode last night I had to say Congratulations to all of the groups that were able to advance. We look forward to seeing all of you next week. Now to why we are here. Being a bass singer I am asked how do you get that great low end sound? Well let me share a little bass knowledge with all of you low end singers.
The Best Microphone For Basses and Vocal Percussionists!
Step 1: Relax; believe it or not, working on your low end is just like working on your high end when it comes to singing. You have to learn to relax and not push the lower you go. At first you will not have the volume you desire, but after a little while you will be a bass dynamo!! So Relax!!!
Step 2: Get a great microphone!! I swear by the Rode NT3 Microphone! It wil change your bass singing life! I am not endorsed by Rode but if anyone from that company wants to send me a couple of NT3 Microphones I would not complain…. waiting… waiting…. no takers? Oh well. Hey still go out and get that microphone. IT ROCKS!!!
That’s all for now see you all in a week!
Love,
T-Ho
Troy Horne – Bass Singer/Song Writer/ All Around People Person. 
