Our History

I'm not a very good student of history, much less can I say that the history of this group is something that a novelist would want to write about, but here goes.  Casey Clements (lead) and Tom Wiedenhoefer (Tenor) were looking to form a quartet.  Frustration after frustration besetith them.  Then they heard of a baritone, Bill Parks, who might be looking for a quartet and would be flexible enough to join their current barbershop chapter.  Ask and you shall receivith!  Sure he said yes.  Then they set out to steal, I mean look for a bass.  For there was a good one singing doo wap music with another chapter quartet.  But they knew he, Ron Welch was an easy mark.  So now Ron does sing Doo-Wop and Barbershop.  We are all members of the South Cook Chapter - Singing Men of Note Barbershop Chorus.  It, in turn, is a chapter of the Society For The Preservation And Encouragement Of Barbershop Quartet Singing In America, Inc.  Individually we have each been barbershoping for over 15 years.  We believed that to have the most fun singing it has to be done in a quartet, and shared with other people.

Each of us had previously been members of other quartets, each with varying degrees of success and pleasure.  This prior experience along with our voice qualities and listening abilities enables us to create a successful harmony quickly.  With little assistance, we are able to get a song into performance quality with two or three rehearsals.  While we work hard on quality of sound, we realize that entertainment value is high on the list of each audience member.  Therefore, we always like to surprise our audience with unexpected and often hilarious song interpretations, and maybe a few stories along the way.  We have been accused of making audiences have very entertaining evenings. 

Contacts