Our MySpace has been online less than two weeks and we've gotten a few friends. Woo hoo! We very much appreciate the friends we've made along our way as a bunch of singing brothers over the past several years--31, 20 or 12 depending upon which milestone one begins counting from.
Speaking of milestones: 31 years represents the June 1975 milestone when our father Arnold told us we were going to spend our summer vacation learning to sing and since we were too poor to afford instruments and Barbershop harmony was the only thing our father knew, that's what he taught us; 20 years marks the March 1987 milestone when we moved from Phoenix, AZ to Orange County, CA and began handing out business cards and singing for exposure and spare change on the streets of L.A. in front of various theatres as their patrons were exiting; 12 years marks the milestone when all six of us who had been in and out of the 13 various four and five-man configurations of the group finally decided to pursue a singing career together as six-man group. We haven't looked back since.
Much appreciation goes out to relatives, friends, fans and business associates who have contributed to our progress and success through the years. The list is quite extensive and would be too long to mention, at least, at this point.
One last thing: a dear friend, mentor, choreographer and producer of our group passed away March 24th. We wish to pay tribute and honor to his memory at this time. His name is Alex Plasschaert. Alex is a native Californian and has been a dancer, choreographer, and stuntman. He was one of the dancing chimney sweeps in "Mary Poppins," and he danced with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Debbie Reynolds, and with Barbra Streisand in "Hello Dolly" as well! Alex was also a stuntman in many movies and is responsible for coordinating several live stunt shows at Universal Studios.
One can see his work in our own show in such numbers as: the Frankie Valli Medley, the Beach Boys Medley, Shout and the Elvis Medley. He is primarily responsible for taking us from the barbershop quartet paradigm of simply singing onstage in a semi-circle in front of a single microphone to having more production such as choreography, lighting cues and interesting dialogue.
We'll miss you, Alex. Thanks for a huge boost.