OC Times - Destinations

West Virginia News Paper Features OC Times

2010-06-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

This morning we received an exciting message that we are being featured in the Charleston Gazzette, a local newspaper in West Virginia, announcing our arrival. While we have been featured in articles before, this one is particularly special in that it is one of the first times that we have been written about before we even arrive! Usually we have to show up and do something pretty special (or illegal) to make the local papers!

Our contacts in WV have been very excited and active in promoting the show online and even on youtube, so it is no surprise that their efforts have attracted the local press. They are a prime example of a chapter that knows how to expose our artform to the community through PR. Thanks guys, we can't wait to experience the fruit of your labor!

Check out the article here:

http://wvgazette.com/Entertainment/201006230652

update from Sean

2009-08-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

To OC Times friends and family - I'm so thankful to have heard from many of you during this process, through your cards, emails, and facebook posts… they’ve lifted me up so much, I just wanted to take this opportunity to share my gratitude for your constant support and encouragement. The surgery was actually last Thursday (Aug. 6) - and went very smoothly, my doctors were pleased with how the procedure went. A lot of people have asked what exactly it was - my Dr. (Robert Ossoff) performed a 'microflap' surgery to remove a polyp from my left vocal fold... I'm now on complete vocal rest until my next appt. on Monday, Aug. 24 - when they'll (hopefully) clear me to begin working my voice back gradually, through speech and singing therapy. During this process I'll get to work with another expert in this field, Dr. Tom Cleveland. I can't tell you what a blessing it's been to just 'happen' to be right here in Nashville, blocks away from the world renowned Vanderbilt Voice Center. Everyone on their staff makes you feel so special - and offers the very best in the care and treatment of all issues realted to the voice. If all goes well I should be clear to return to 'normal' singing activity by late September/early October. I do want to send a special thanks to my amazing quartet - Shawn, Patrick and Cory have been so extremely patient and understanding through this entire situation, and have literally carried me through over a year and a half of performances. I'm looking forward to making all the right moves needed to get back to them in the best vocal shape possible, to ensure and to share many, many more years together entertaining audiences all over. I also want to mention how incredible my co-workers at Harmony Foundation and the Barbershop Harmony Society have been - they have backed me 100% while I face these challenges, and for that I'm forever thankful. I sure do hope to see many of you over the coming months and years – be sure to check back to our website as we begin to post our dates for 2010, and as we share more info about our exciting new CD project! All the best, Sean

New Member of the OC Times Family!

2009-07-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!! CONGRATS TO THE YORKS!!!

Name: Kainoa John York
Stats: 8lbs, 13oz - 20.5 inches
Born: 12:31pm on 07/08/09
To: Shawn and Lani York
Voice Part: Tenor

Both mother and son are healthy and happy and should return home sometime today. We're so excited for the York's and this addition to our family!! (We'll be teaching him his first tag in the next couple of weeks.)

Here's a great pic of Lani and Kalea making their international stage debut at the AIC Show in Anaheim! We know Kalea will be an awesome big sister! :)

SPIN Artilce Now Online

2009-02-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

Our article in SPIN is now ONLINE! Check it out here.

The article will probably only be up for the month of February, so check it out and send it to all your friends!!

OC TIMES in SPIN MAGAZINE!!

2009-01-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

OC Times is in the new issue of SPIN magazine that JUST hit the stands. Written by Kevin Roose, author of The Unlikely Disciple.

We actually haven't SEEN the article yet, but here's a pic from someone on the east coast lucky enough to get their hands on one!!

May take a few days for the issue to get to the west coast. Send pictures of you with your copy of SPIN and we'll post it here on the blog! :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

WOW. Time flies when you are having fun!! Has it really been six months since my last post?!

July of 08. That was last year... literally. I apologize for not being more diligent in my postings. I half wrote a handful of blogs that are, well, half written. Somehow the plane trip home never entails enough energy to write the whole thing! Fear not, however, for I have a new plan! It will be unveiled on this blog sometime next week and should prove to be an entertaining look at OC Times and our championship year - taking YOU on the road with US!! Stay tuned!! :)

Much has happened since July - Sean moved to Nashville and works for the Harmony Foundation, I got a job and moved to South Lake Tahoe, the quartet has traveled to Russia, Finland, Canada, and many places throughout the US. (One of these days I'll post about the Russia/Finland experience, it was remarkable!)

We are also very excited to announce that we are starting work on our next record!! We're going to be laying down tracks this weekend in Burbank at our favorite studio, The Greene Room, with our producer, Mark "Sing It Again" Hale sitting in and keeping us honest. The tracks that are definitely on the list right now are:

You Belong To Me
Don't Be A Baby, Baby
Surfer Girl
Fun, Fun, Fun
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
Oh Look At Me Now
A Fool Such As I

We have a several more songs that are in the works that we are really excited for. We'll try to get some sneak peaks up here on the blog for you just as soon as we can!

This next year will take us around the world again, with trips to Canada, Mexico, throughout the US, and some other exotic locations that are currently in the works - stay tuned! We hope to see you at a show near, or even not so near (the record is ~1,200 miles driving!), you this year! If you can't make it to a show, be sure to be in Anaheim for International. We'll be appearing on our first AIC show (!), singing all over the place and performing our 'swan song' set as outgoing quartet champions! There is also word of an article in a major music magazine (we even did a cool photo shoot!) and the much awaited release of American Harmony is also coming up! We're honored to be in a position to represent the Barbershop Harmony Society in these exciting ventures and hope we do you proud!

We want to thank you all for your support throughout 2008 - it was a truly remarkable year. 2009 looks to have new challenges, exciting opportunities and many more chances to do what we love to do - sing for you! Thanks for being there with us all along...

Happy New Year and God Bless,

-Cory

Thanks from OC Times

2008-07-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends -

I guess it's time to take that step and admit to ourselves that sometime we have to come down from the high we've been on since July 5th. It's almost impossible to explain just what winning the quartet and chorus championships mean to us, but I guess that's part of the year as a champ... coming to grips with the reality that all the rehearsals, the time on the road, hours spent coaching and the many shows and tags shared with friends have really paid off. It's an odd feeling, fulfilling a lifelong dream... it's part relief, mostly elation and a healthy portion of shock.

The past few months have been full of hard rehearsals, chorus practice, coaching and somewhere in there, work and loving our families. We'd be remiss to forget to acknowledge several key people and organizations that have nourished OC Times to where we are today.

Our choruses, the Reno Silver Dollar Chorus, the Westminster Chorus and the Masters of Harmony. Our mentors and friends, Rob Menaker, Jeff Baker, Brett Littlefield, Mark Hale and Aaron Dale. Our loving families--mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wife (Lani York), daughter (Kalea York), and girlfriends. Your patience, guidance, support and love made all of this possible, we truly could not have done it without you. Finally, we thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the talents He gave us, the loving people He put in our lives, and the opportunity to share His love through our music.

The past few months have also brought much change for the OC Times family. Baby Kalea York, is the light of both Shawn and Lani's lives and a particular highlight in ours as well. Cory graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in May and moved to Lake Tahoe to work at an environmental policy and consulting firm. Furthermore, Patrick is getting back to work on his "ten year plan" at Orange Coast College. Finally, Sean graduated from Azusa Pacific University and recently accepted a position with the Harmony Foundation in Nashville, TN at the beautiful BHS headquarters.

With all this change, many of you may be wondering "whatever is going to happen to OC Times?!" We want you to know... we're going to be around for a long, long time. We love innovating, performing, entertaining, teaching and sharing with barbershoppers, youth and any audience that is willing to lend us an ear. We're always accepting shows, youth harmony camps and other performances - and we don't see an end in sight.

On a much more serious note, we also recently lost a good brother in Harmony, Rich Hasty, a fellow member of the Masters of Harmony, comedic genius, accomplished arranger, esteemed judge, great friend and loving husband and father. His sudden passing reminds us all that our time here is so short... we're so blessed to be a part of such an amazing family of barbershoppers. At a recent Masters of Harmony retreat, we were urged to remember that for some people in the audience -- and even on the risers -- it may be their last... little did we know how true those words would become. Pray for the Hasty family for strength during this trying time and find comfort in knowing that Rich is singing praises in the "chorus in the sky." It was an honor knowing you, Rich.

That same family lifted Cory up when he was injured earlier this year. Your cards, e-mails, teddy bears and prayers paid off and he is making progress with his vision daily. All of these events have made us realize how truly great is to be a barbershopper. We count ourselves blessed to be a part of this wonderful family.

We are humbled and honored to be your quartet champions. We promise to represent you well -- to close out all the afterglows we can, sing tags with any willing singer, teach the youth, support our choruses and spread the love of barbershop to audiences wherever we are privileged to go. We look forward to what exciting things the coming years have for us, and for barbershop. Until we meet again...

Sincerely yours,

Shawn, Sean, Pat and Cory

OC Times
2008 International Quartet Champions
www.octimesquartet.com

Nashville Final Prep

2008-06-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Many people are probably wondering how things are going... what is it like for a quartet the week before international? Well, it's busy.

OC Times has been singing just about every day in some capacity. We're preparing with the Westminster Chorus to sing away the championship trophy in our swan song set, getting ready with the Masters of Harmony who are vying for their seventh consecutive international championship and finally, with the quartet for our shot at gold as well.

We've got the last of our charts several weeks ago from our favorite arranger - Aaron Dale, of course - and since then have been working like crazy on polishing all of them for the contest stage. We meet regularly with Mark Hale (director of the Masters of Harmony and International Quartet Champ with Michigan Jake) for coaching and mentoring. Other nights of the week, we meet to work on the concepts Mark gives us. Also, we "run the sets" after each Masters' and Westminster rehearsal.

This rigorous schedule proves to be a lot of singing and time together, but also assures us that when we walk on that stage, all we have to do is go have fun. It's stressful on work, family and personal life, but we know that it will all be worth it in the end.

I can't wait to go out there and sing with the Masters, Westminster and OC Times! I love all the songs and I'm sure the audience will too...

If you're interested in seeing the Masters rehearse while we're in Nashville you can come to any of the following rehearsals at the Nashville Hilton Downtown in the ballroom.

Tuesday, July 1 - 11:00pm-?
Wednesday, July 2 - 3:00pm-5:00pm
Thursday, July 3 - 4:00pm-6:00pm

I'm not sure what the Westminster Schedule will be, but when I get it, I'll post it here.

We're so excited for Nashville and can't wait to see you all there!

Thanks for your support, see you in a week!

-Cory

AMAZING Grace!

2008-05-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Forgive me as I'm sure this will get long-winded, but I feel the need to let you all know just exactly what I’m feeling.

Many of you are aware of the trauma I had with my eye early this year. After one surgery and many prayers, we fixed one problem. This was followed by months of follow-ups and continual bleeding in my eye. Then last week, we found that I had a detached retina and surgery would be necessary to repair the detachment. At that time, doctors told me I would not likely regain any vision in my right eye, but the surgery would save my eye ball itself, to keep me from having to get a glass eye.

Yesterday, I went in for surgery. My doctors planned it to be one-and-a-half to two hours and would include reattachment of the retina with a sclera buckle, possible pneumatic retinopexy (a gas bubble in the eye which would require me to be head down again for a week or two), silicone oil, laser therapy, cryotherapy, membrane dissection as well as a possible lensectomy. We prepared for this surgery for some time and arranged for a family friend from church to do my anesthesiology. She has a rep for being the best in town, but it’s also comforting for mom, dad and myself to go into an intimidating situation with a friend in the room.

Adding to this, my insurance that I had to cover the last surgery dropped me a few weeks ago. I was on a short term policy and the contract I signed had an option for them to not allow me to renew after six months. I had no way to pay for this surgery and that was a great burden on my family and I. My doctor setup an appointment with the State Work Rehabilitation Office. The day before my surgery, I heard back that I had been approved for federal assistance through Services for the Blind, covering all of my doctor and hospital expenses, a true blessing and relief.

I’ve never been much of a worrier, I just can’t think of an instance where it has helped any situation. Whatever happens, happens for a reason, and no matter what, it is in my best interest. It’s hard to see that sometimes – very hard – but I believe it wholeheartedly. So we (mom, dad and I) went to the surgery feeling upbeat, positive and eager for continuing the healing.

After saying our goodbyes, my anesthesiologist, Kathy, wheeled me into the operating room where I found Dr. Friedlander (my talented doctor and surgeon) and an old classmate, Emily, who was scrubbing in as one of his nurses for the procedure. There was also a med student from Illinois who was there to observe the surgery. It was a party! I asked Dr. Friedlander if he would do the silicone oil, if at all possible, so that I wouldn’t have to spend several days with my head down. (I’m graduating from college on the 17^th of this month and really wanted to walk across that stage when my name was called.) He said he would do what he could, said goodnight and that was about it.

I woke up in a daze with the familiar itch of stitches in my eye, ointment on my good eye and one question… "did he put the silicone oil or the gas in my eye?" The nurses in recovery weren’t sure, but they didn’t have instructions to put me head down, so it must have been oil. This made me pretty happy. But I had no idea what was to come.

Sometime later, they brought my parents to the recovery room and my mom grabbed my hand and asked if I had heard the good news. She told me that Dr. Friedlander found that my retina was NOT detached, he cleaned up my inner eye and sent me on my way.

There are truly no words I can write to tell you what kind of joy this gave me. I didn’t want to ask any more questions because it hurt to cry, it was pure delight. Dr. Friedlander removed the old congealed blood, scrapped more blood off my lens and did some work with the laser to prevent further bleeding within my eye. My parents told me when he came out to tell them how things went (just 45 minutes after going under) that he had a big grin on his face. (I’ve also learned through all of this that when your doctor is happy, you should be happy - when he is not, you should not.)

Today, I went in for a post-operation checkup and removal of the bandages. It’s itchy, red, swollen and looks like I got in a pretty good argument with a fist and lost. But when I opened my eye… I COULD SEE. For the first time in months, I could count fingers a few feet away, detect motion, see color – all out of an eye that I had been told was all but lost. My lens is scratched and a cataract is forming and will require a quick, routine surgery. My optic nerve still has damage to it and will not likely heal, so I won’t likely be able to read with that eye again, but the fact of the matter is I CAN SEE!!!!

I know that we don’t all share the same religious beliefs but I just have to say, I truly have been touched by God throughout this whole ordeal. This truly miraculous turn in events is just one part of a much bigger picture. God has walked with me through the dark, lonely moments at night while wondering what the next day will bring; He has forced me to give up my selfish ambition and will to succeed on my own, and has brought me to rely on only His strength.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul writes:

“But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

What a privilege it is to know that true, unconditional love; to lay my worries and cares at the foot of The Cross, and to trust that everything that happens to me is all part of a much bigger plan. There’s nothing I can do to earn or deserve it, it’s all by the Grace of God.

I’m truly grateful to you all for your e-mails, kind words, thoughts and especially prayers. I wish that there was some way for me to repay you for the outpouring of kindness and love… I look forward to seeing you all in the near future and singing a sing with or for you, and appreciate your continued prayers for healing, but mostly joyous thanksgiving for a true miracle.

-Cory

Surgery Part Deux

2008-05-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

It seems like this eye injury is turning in to the Rocky movies... tomorrow morning at 11:30 I'll be going in for another eye surgery. This time around I have a detached retina. They will reattach the retina, do another quick vitrectomy and then do an oil change of the fluid in my eye to get all that blood out of there and give things another chance.

A good family friend is doing my anesthesia and an old classmate is scrubbing in as one of the nurses... it's going to be a good ol' party! I'm hoping that my doc will put in silicone oil instead of gas this time around as it will require less time with my head towards the ground. Keep your fingers crossed that it will only need that!

Finals start on Thursday for what is my last semester of college... graduation is the 17th. I'm praying that I'll be up and about in time to finish some final papers and walk across that stage and get my diploma!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. I'll try and post something here to let you all know how well things went! :-)

All the best,
-Cory

Ah, nursery rhymes...

2008-03-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Remember that nursery rhyme "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye"? Well, it seems that somewhere along they way I may have broken a childhood promise to one of my long lost friends (sorry!).

Yesterday, my doctors stuck a needle in my eye! The numbed it first, of course, but it still is an odd feeling to have... a needle in your eye. It's not something I recommend trying at home, or anywhere for that matter.

The needle delivered some great medicine to my bleeding eye, however. A drug called Avastin - created to treat colon, lung and breast cancer - blocks a protein call called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), essentially preventing the growth of new blood vessel growth where it is injected. COOL!!!

I received a significantly smaller dose of this drug, of course, and hopefully it will stop the recurrent bleeding within my eye. Until then, the doctors can't see in to evaluate the health of my eye or success of the surgery and I can't see out! Needless to say, I hope this stuff works!

I'll return to the doctor next Monday (after a great weekend and show with the Westminster Chorus and our Fantasy Quartet of Joe Connelly, Jeff Oxley, Tony Derosa and Tim Waurick!!) after a week of, God willing, improvement in my vision as the bleeding stops and old blood circulates out of the eye. If it does show improvement, I'll probably get another shot to keep the bleeding at bay. If not, we'll probably have to do the vitrectomy surgery again...

Thanks again for all the e-mails, letters, cards and teddy bears that somehow continue to make their way into my mailbox. I'm truly blessed to have such great friends. I hope you had a wonderful Easter and that I will see (!) you all in the very near future.

-Cory

PS. Sorry, no cool pictures this time around... I'll try and get some more next week!!

GOOD news, bad news

2008-02-25T12:26:00.001-08:00

I saw the doctor today and, as always, there is good news and bad news…

The bad news is that there is a massive blood clot inside of my eye, as well as some more internal hemorrhaging within the eye. It’s slightly swollen and the pigmentation of the retina has changed somewhat around where the hole used to be.

Key words there… USED TO BE.

THE GOOD NEWS is that the hole, as far we could tell, is CLOSED. 14 days with my head down paid off in the end. Unfortunately, I still have very limited vision and my central vision is still completely non-existent. My doctor says this is largely because it is still healing as well as those changes to the pigment and the bleeding within the eye. I’m on some new steroid drops (not HGH - no congressional hearings for me!!) and then will see the doctor in a few more weeks. We’ll take some more pictures and possibly schedule a laser surgery (MUCH less invasive, I’m told) to help clear up some of the lingering issues within my eye.

Still can’t work out or run around, but I’m up and about and my spirits are still high! Being able to return to singing with my brothers in OC Times has been a great blessing. This weekend we sang with Gotcha! and coached over 200 young men in harmony at the Master’s of Harmony annual youth festival. It was OC Times’ fifth year in a row there and the young chorus keeps getting better and better each year.

While I know I will likely never regain my full vision, I am comforted by the faith that God can work – and has worked – a number of miracles through this whole ordeal. I thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for the outpouring of love and for your continued prayers for strength and healing.

Sincerely,

-Cory

A beautiful picture from today at the doctor's office. The bright white spot is the optic nerve. (I think!) The cloudy portion to the bottom right is the blood clot and the spots to the left of that are the other hemorrhaging areas. Almost even with the optic nerve, to the left is where the hole used to be, there you see a cluster of spots where there pigmentation has changed... What a cool picture!! I'm amazed each time I go in at the technology but also the vast complexity which which we are beautifully and wonderfully made!!

An Eye Update...

2008-02-20T12:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends-

During many of my quartet’s shows we talk about the distinct privilege it is to sing with and for barbershoppers - “some of the greatest people you’ll ever meet.” The countless shows across the US and abroad have left us with a group of friends and family all across the world. Recently, I’ve been going through some trying personal times in my life and yet again the barbershop community has illustrated just exactly what we mean by “some of the greatest people you’ll ever meet.” We’ve received countless e-mails and phone calls inquiring about my condition and I’m truly touched.

Many stories are flying around about how and what happened, but here’s a somewhat abbreviated version of the events.

While playing softball in a city league in early January, I was hit in the right eye, instantly leaving me with two nice gashes around the eye itself and, as we found out a few days later, a traumatic macular hole in the back center of my eye. Blind in that eye, a retina specialist performed outpatient surgery a day after we discovered the hole and a week after the accident itself occurred. While under anesthesia, the doctor attempted to fix the hole with several methods, including injecting a gas behind my eye which applied pressure to the back of the eye and to the hole itself. (I thought maybe just a band-aid and a kiss from mom would have helped back there, but as it turns out, that’s just not possible!) I’m sure many of you know of a loved one with macular degeneration, and my surgery was essentially the same procedure, but caused by a blunt trauma.

If you are familiar with that procedure, you know then that the most trying part of the surgery is the recovery. For 14 days I was required to keep my face parallel to the ground so that the gas bubble would apply direct pressure to the center of my eye. I ate, showered, sat and slept while staring at the ground for those 14 days and could not read, pick my head up or perform any physical activity. As a guy who was playing softball in the middle of the winter in a foot of snow, you can bet I didn’t like just sitting for all that time. When faced with the decision of picking your head up or going blind, the choice was easy. 99.9% of the time, I sat with my head down in the comfort of my parents home here in Reno. Initially, we hoped that it would only be seven to ten days with my head down, but after a week, the doctor told me another seven would be needed.

That seventh night was the toughest night. Laying there at night, I didn’t normally get much sleep, but this night I just couldn’t sleep at all. I wrestled with myself that night and without your support – the cards, visits, phone calls, e-mails, text messages, teddy bears(!) and most importantly, prayers – I would not have made it through that night. Had I been alone in this struggle, I would have turned over and went to sleep, but I could not and would not because I knew that so many people were out there pulling for me. By the grace of God I made it through that night, and then through the next seven. He continues to sustain me through this trying time of many doubts, fears and unknowns.

From the time I was hit, to my daily rehabilitation, I have had the most excellent care. I went to two hospitals the night of the accident where specialists were on-call to help treat the initial trauma. Those same doctors opened their private offices to me on Saturdays and Sundays to check my progress daily. My surgeon also opened his office to me and checked my progress daily. He used the most advanced technology and methods, and God guided his steady hands while trying to fix the hole. This surgery in young adults is not prevalent and for that reason, the relative success rate is rather low. Because of an accumulation of blood within the eye, we are still unsure of the degree of success. I cannot currently see anything but vague light of out the eye in this fifth week after the surgery. I am confident, however, that it will improve in the near future.

This entire experience has been, for lack of a better term, an “eye opening experience.” Quite seriously, this ordeal has shown me just how fortunate I am to be blessed with such friends in my life. It showed me just how quickly things can be taken from us and just what we often take for granted in our lives. When it comes to true friends--people who really love and care about me--my cup overflows. Nearly 70 cards sit in my room, e-mails are stacked up in my inbox, and several teddy bears are on my bed, (one with a nice band-aid over the eye!) Every time I look out of that eye I’m reminded of that love I’ve been shown by you all and I’m at a loss for just the right words to express what that means to me… you might say I’m looking at the world through a rose-colored monocle! (HA!)

As of this last weekend, I’m thrilled to say I’m back to singing and travelling with OC Times. Special thanks go to Tom Metzger, bass of International Quartet Champs Realtime, and former OC Times bass, Drew Harrah, for filling in for me while I was laid up. Knowing that those two were my fill-ins gave me great peace of mind that our audiences would not be disappointed. I’m back in school, finishing my last semester at the University of Nevada, Reno and have help from family and friends with reading and catching up on missed work. I will continue to see the doctor regularly as we monitor the situation. No more softball this season – in the meantime, OC Times has promised softball lessons for me.

Again, I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for everything you have done for me. I am honored to call myself a member of this organization and blessed to call you my friends. One eye or two, I hope to see you all in the very near future…

With a heart full of love and thanks for the best friends a guy could ever ask for,

-Cory

PS. My next doctor's visit is Monday, February 25. I'll try to post an update later that day...

This picture was taken the day after the accident... it looks MUCH better now! :-)

Racking Up The Frequent Flier Miles In November!

2008-01-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

November 11 we performed our first show in Canada as the guests of the 51-year-old Simcoe Chapter in Ontario. Many thanks to our host Dr. Daniel Wilhelmus, his family, and of course his quartet for the amazing hospitality! It was also a pleasure to spend some time with the legendary Master of Ceremonies Doran McTaggart.

One week later we had one of our busiest weekends to date, starting off in Minneapolis, MN with two shows performing with one of our favorite choruses, the Great Northern Union. Director Pete Benson has this wonderful ensemble singing better than ever! We also had the pleasure of debuting a new arrangement by Adam Reimnitz, a current country hit from Josh Turner – “Would You Go With Me”. This was a special tune that was actually commissioned by a good friend of ours, Adam Woods, to perform at this show for his girlfriend and family. It was also great to share the stage with past Land Of Lakes District Champions Vocality, After Midnight, and the Little Rascals!

Thanks to our chapter contact Bob Cannella and our quartet host Bruce Watson – who both went above and beyond to make our stay in the ‘Twin Cities’ a great one!

Just a few hours after the ‘GNU” afterglow we were back to the airport, catching a 5:45am flight to Tampa, FL to take the stage with a fantastic award-winning Sweet Adeline group, the Toast of Tampa Show Chorus! One of our favorite barbershoppers, the legendary Tony DeRosa, is their new director – and they put on a GREAT show! It’s always great to return to Florida and see all our Sunshine District and Region 9 friends! Thanks to Bill Billings for calling a solid show, as usual - and to MC Mike Maino for always providing us with a more-than-generous introduction! Also on the show was one of the most well known quartets in the world, the Dapper Dans of DisneyWorld! Kudos to Linda Groner for making this busy weekend a very smooth one!

A 'MAD' Weekend!

2007-11-04T21:25:00.001-08:00

MANY thanks to the wonderful folks from the MidAtlantic District for inviting us to be the guest performers on their Fall Convention's Saturday Night 'Jamboree' - special kudos to Gary Plaag, Walt Griffith, Dennis Ritchey and the entire MAD Events Team for taking such good care of us! This year's contest was held in Wildwood, NJ - with all the events taking place at the Convention Center, right on the boardwalk... it was an absolutely beautiful weekend for the OC boys to truly enjoy the 'jersey shore'! We enjoyed a terrific contest, with the Alexandria Harmonizers winning the chorus honors, and our friends New Release winning the quartet championship! Also on the night show was a new quartet, "Old School" - featuring Jack Pinto, Joe Krones, Rick Taylor, and the legendary Joe Connelly... and they were nothing short of AWE-SOME! We enjoyed sharing the stage with them, as well as hitting the afterglow rooms together, well into the early morning hours!

This was a homecoming for me, as I joined the Barbershop Harmony Society back in 1995 living in the MidAtlantic District! It was great to see both my old chapters over the weekend, the Harrisburg 'Keystone Capital Chorus', and the Easton 'Brothers In Harmony'! It was such a kick to spend some quality time with all my old friends, and share some of my 'roots' with Shawn, Cory and Pat... I'm pretty sure we were all still singing tags at the Ramsey afterglow room when the sun was coming up! :-D

Thanks especially to all of you from the MidAtlantic District who stayed to the very end of the 'Jamboree', and showed us so much love and support - it was truly our pleasure... what an audience ----- we hope to see you all again very soon!
~ sean
(enjoy some great pictures of the MAD weekend in our website's photo gallery!)

FWD Convention in Phoenix

2007-10-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Another great weekend...

Friday Night had an awesome quartet contest with lots of groups going out there and putting up some memorable performances. After the contest, the Association of Far Western District Quartet Champs (AFWDC) had its annual show and it was a doozy! The show was dedicated to the memory of our dear friend, Lloyd Steinkamp, who passed away several months ago. Most every quartet on the show had a great story to tell about Lloyd, and shared one of their favorite Lloyd arrangements... Judy and Jill were in the front row with the grandkids on the floor at their knees, it was a memorable night. Quartets included: Metropolis, Finale, SRO, Western Connection, and our favorites, KIDDER & SONS, INC. and NIGHTLIFE!!

OC Times was honored to sing a song Lloyd arranged... an old World War I song called "Till We Meet Again." It has quickly become one of our favorites to sing around.

Sean, Shawn and Pat did an awesome competing with the Masters of Harmony, while Cory sat in the front row and watched in awe. Nashville is going to be one heck of a contest, quartet and chorus.

Speaking of good contests, the quartet contest came down to Saturday night, with seasoned quarters from Vocal Ease taking the championship with their mature ring and musicality. Second were our friends from Las Vegas, Stardust, and third was our good buddies and current international silver medalist collegiate quartet, The Crush.

A great weekend was had by all. Man, it's fun singing in the FWD!!

Denver

2007-09-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

Denver was a blast as always!! :) It was our third time back to Denver this year and it seems like every time we are there we have a better and better time (ok... International was pretty much the best, but as are as shows go, Denver is pretty awesome)! I even had the privilege of having a teddy bear thrown at me from the audience... that's definitely a first for me! :) I got some odd looks on the plane home. I didn't

The ladies of the Skyline chorus put on a great show for two VERY enthusiastic audiences. Not only did they sing and perform great, they had such attention to detail in the logistics of getting OC Times on stage when we needed to be, making special trips to the airport... everything was addressed in great detail. It was definitely very cool for us.

Pat and Shawn decided on Saturday night that they were again 7 years old. Shocking, I know, but the fort they ended up building pretty much sums up how we spend some of our free time. Finding something completely random, creative and fun to do. I think the photo below can only describe how amazingly ridiculous this 'fort' was... especially at 2 am in the morning. You're guess is as good as mine....

The next morning we woke up early, and were greeted by our very own limo with out favorite driver, Gray, at the wheel. He got us to the airport in style and we were off to SoCal, where we did a show with The Masters of Harmony in a private country club!

A long weekend in all, but lots of laughs, some fun singing, meeting old and new friends, and enjoying some truly fantastic hospitality across the board.

Until next time,

-cory

Labor Day Jamboree 07!

2007-09-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

What another great weekend at the Labor Day Jamboree!! We were honored to be invited to sing at LDJ for the second year in a row and it keeps getting better and better each year! Big props to Mark Schlinkert and his crew who put everything together at the beautiful Buena Vista Palace resort at Disney World!!!

The event was held at a new venue this year and the rooms were fantastic and the pool was the perfect temp all day long! For those of you who haven’t been or don’t know what the Labor Day Jamboree is all about, it’s just relaxing, enjoying some songs and tags, and catching up with old friends poolside. If you haven’t been, plan on going next year – you won’t regret it! (Plus, rumor has it that Crossroads, a new powerhouse quartet, will be headlining the Sunday night show!!!)

This year we were honored to sing with our new quartet champs, MaxQ, and they sang like the champs they are. Tony DeRosa strung out the rest of his quartet on pretty much every tag he sang and proved once again that he is THE MAN! Hangin out with Jeff, Greg and Garry (Harry?) was a blast as well… much of the best singing all weekend occurred in the pool.

On Saturday while Sean was getting some rest, Pat, Shawn and I decided to go on one of our infamous “adventures.” After finding that we couldn’t really go exploring anywhere, we got some inside info that there was a small lake nearby where we could rent jet skis. So we went. Just when we got there, a real “Florida Frog Gagger” (that’s how they say ‘it rained hard’ down South) started coming down and we couldn’t go. Persistent as always, we returned Sunday morning to Florida sunshine and blue skies, and rode the jet skis to our hearts content! It was AWESOME! Pat maintains that he saw an alligator that was trying to eat him but we think it was just a turtle… Anyhow, if you’re every in the area, check out Diamond Dave’s for wake boarding, tubing and jet skis! It’s AWESOME! (I hear they also do super cool weddings there!)

After a nice little break after International, this weekend marked our return on the road. It’s going to be an exciting year with trips to Canada, Sweden, Hawaii and Russia! All the while, we’re gonna keep working to be innovative and fresh, adding new songs to our rep and singing just as much as we possibly can!

Thanks again to all the great folks at LDJ. From the organizers, to members of the great Sunshine District, the crews from Atlanta, California and even New Jersey, thank you for sharing your weekend with us. It’s one of our favorites and we hope to be back as often as you’ll have us.

Let’s Fly-

Cory

New Blog!

2007-08-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to the new OC Times BLOG! We're going to be adding some history, sharing pictures and telling some fun stories from the road. Look for all the new content to come within the next week or so!

Let's Fly-
OC Times