2003 in review

The last days of the old year tend to be a time of reflection, appreciation, and the setting of new goals for the fresh, New Year to come. Here are a few of the things the One Mouth Band accomplished in 2003:
• became part of the international a cappella scene, winning the following awards:
  • 3rd Place in Pop Category at Vokal Total International A Cappella Competition
  • 3rd Place in Jazz Category at Vokal Total International A Cappella Competition
  • 3rd Place in San Francisco Bay Area Regional Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Competition (as a member of The Irrationals)
• continued local and not-so-local performances, including the following festivals:
  • Singapore - Streats Explore A Cappella Festival (4 performances, 2 workshops)
  • Fairfax - Fairfax Music Festival (2 performances)
  • Graz - Vokal Total International A Cappella Competition (2 performances)
  • Boston - East Coast A Cappella Summit (2 performances, 1 workshop)
  • San Rafael - West Coast A Cappella Summit (1 performance, 1 workshop)
  • Raleigh/Durham - SoJam A Cappella Festival (1 performance, 2 workshops)
• established presence in local beatbox scene
• live TV & internet performance
• radio & netradio airplay
• performed/recorded/studied with several great musicians (including DJ Qbert, Danny Heines, Alex Acuna, Pete Magadini, Keith Terry, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Roy Rogers, & more!)
• invented LipBiz
• created One Mouth Band T-Shirts
• began experimenting with live looping
• redesigned OneMouthBand.com website

Thanks to everyone who helped make 2003 the biggest and best year yet for the One Mouth Band! There's plenty more in store for 2004!

Fun in the Studio!

Today The One Mouth Band recorded some new material at Studio D in Sausalito with veteran, award-winning, recording engineer Joel Jaffe and Grammy-winning producer (and Sam's father!) Roy Rogers. The first part of the session was spent figuring out the best ways to record unique talents of The One Mouth Band, and capturing solo numbers "Foxey Lady" and a Jazz medley of "Night & Day", "Till There Was You", and "Night in Tunisia" (click the links to hear MP3 clips). Then, for the first time, an experiment in multi-tracking, with a funky and reggae tinged "Fly Like An Eagle"!

Multi-tracking is how almost all studio recordings are made these days, as they allow the musicians more control over the recording process. In this case, the process included recording the vocal bass, then vocal percussion, vocal guitar, etc. The overall effect is that The One Mouth Band actually sounds much closer to being a real band! Give a listen!

Lipbiz Gets Applied

Sam Rogers has now secured distribution agreements for Lipbiz (the first lip product designed for vocal musicians) with both major a cappella retailers, Mainely A Cappella and Primarily A Cappella. Since it's introduction less than one month ago, Lipbiz was introduced to three major a cappella markets (both Summits and SoJam) as well as the San Francisco Beatbox Community (The Vowel Movement). By next month you can expect the full website (www.Lipbiz.com) and testimonials from several vocal percussionists and beatboxers.