Student a capella group wins awards, will perform Tuesday
The a capella group, Eclipse, will be performing Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall with Hillside 9, a rock/pop band. Tickets are available at the Ticket Office in the Taggart Student Center.
Eclipse consists of six singers: Dan Kartchner, Patrick Rose, Kevin Jones, Shayne Taylor, Paul Hansen and Kirk Meacham.
The group has been together for two years, finding their beginnings as members of the Sunburst Singers, a show choir here at Utah State University, Kartchner said.
These singers sing a capella, forming harmonies and sounds with only their voices. But Hansen said they aren’t your typical a capella group.
“We’re definitely an a capella group, but we like to forge new territory in the a capella realm,” Taylor said.
Eclipse writes the majority of the songs they sing. The bulk of the writing is done by Rose.
“We all can write, but he’s the one that will turn it into gold,” Jones said.
The group has accomplished much with several awards to their name. The most recent events, Kartchner said, were the Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes in Seattle, Wash., where they took first place, the Cache Valley Summerfest Songwriting Contest entered by Jones and Rose and Utah’s Talent Competition held in the Salt Palace where they took first place again. They also appeared on television for the Channel 4 morning show on which they sang six songs over a period of two hours, he said.
They have appeared with John Schmidt, Peter Breinholt and the group Colors, Kartchner said. They are performing with these musicians on the FM 100 Airwaves Concert on Dec. 6.
“They helped us get started,” Kartchner said.
Eclipse will also have a song on the FM 100 Christmas Sampler, Taylor said. They are working on a new album and a Christmas album, which will be released in December of 2002.
Hansen said the group has one CD that came out in April recorded at Frontline Studio, owned by Rose, and mastered at KJZZ studios in Salt Lake City by Barry Gibbons. The CD, “Once,” is available for purchase at all of the local major CD stores and at Eclipse’s Web page www.eclipsesingers.com.
“It’s gone tin. We’re trying for platinum,” Hansen said.
Something very exciting is happening for the band this winter, Kartchner said. Eclipse will be performing at various venues at the winter games. They will be performing every day.
Approaching Eclipse on a more personal level, Taylor said they are all Aggies – “card-carrying True Aggies” to be more accurate. They each come from cities ranging from Taylorsville and Tremonton, covering much of the Wasatch Front, he said. Half of them are single but declined to disclose exactly which half that would be.
At their performances, Kartchner said there is a sort of tradition – Jones always wears a visor and Meacham always wears sunglasses. But, Jones said he is not hiding anything – he has all of his hair and he does not have a large birthmark on his forehead.
“I like visors,” Jones said.
Kartchner said Eclipse is excited for their upcoming show on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be one of our biggest shows,” he said.
Eclipse has lofty goals for the future. Hansen said they hope to someday be full-time professional musicians.
It’s taken a lot of work to get where they are, Jones said.
Kartchner said it has all happened fast, considering they’ve only been working “hardcore” for eight months.
He said they want to go as far as their music can take them.
Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for general admission. To learn more about Eclipse, visit their Web site.