Keeping The Beat With

‘Ball In The House’

By Larissa Lytwyn

The a cappella band Ball in the House found its name in a Brady Bunch episode.

“Remembered how [maid] Alice used to tell the kids not to throw the ball in the house?” band member Jon J asked with a wry grin. “That’s how we got our name!”

Fusing pop, blues, jazz, and hip-hop, Ball in the House brought down the house during their recent performances at Newtown Middle School and St Rose School, part of the district’s ongoing cultural arts program.

With a sound reminiscent of the boy-band groups of the late 1990s, the five-member, all-male band, peppered their introductory lessons on vocal parts, harmony, and rhythm with infectious all-vocalized beats.

Drummer Jon J taught students how to personify three basic beats — kick-drum, snare, and cymbal — through the pronunciation and delivery of different sounds.

For example, he said, to create a snare sound, one can hiss “Pf” in razor-sharp staccato.

Pairing the various sound together create “drum patterns.”

Band member Aaron explained how the group worked in three basic vocal parts, the lowest, bass, followed by the midlevel baritone and higher baritone.

The parts are divided into the bass, background, and ever familiar lead vocals.

Band member Dan discussed a cappella’s Latin roots, literally translating into “in the chapel.”

“While worshippers wanted to use music in their services, using instruments was considered disrespectful to the church,” he explained. “So slowly the practice of forming one’s own kind of ‘instrumentation’ without the actual use of instruments became what we now know as a cappella.”

A cappella, he continued, is a way to produce music encompassing scores of styles including jazz, blues, barbershop, doo-wop, disco, techno, and even hard rock.

Throughout the performance, students clapped, cheered, danced in their seats, and applauded the musicians without prompting.

“I loved listening to them,” said one Newtown Middle School seventh grader, Zoe Walter. “They reminded me of the Backstreet Boys!”

Her friends, Casey Schulz, Rachel Marcucilli, and Cara Colacurcio agreed.

“It was better than I expected it would be,” said Casey.

“They are very talented,” Rachel added. “They’re great to listen to.”

Cara enjoyed the different songs they performed, ranging from do-wop classics from the 1950s to contemporary hits from Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, and even Boy George’s Culture Club.

The Boston-based group, all graduates of Berklee School of Music, has been performing together for about four years.

They have toured with groups including ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees, Sugar Ray, Lenny Kravitz, Jessica Simpson, and Cher, as well as performed at a number of schools and colleges across the United States.

“They did a really good combination of education and musical performance,” noted Newtown Middle School seventh grade teacher Judy Cantonese. At one point, Ms Cantonese leapt up to bust a few moves with sweet-faced, longhaired bassist Tim.

Kathy Keating, another Newtown Middle School seventh grade teacher, especially enjoyed the doo-wop songs. “It reminded me of my high school days,” she said.

Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff also enjoyed the show. Dr Pitkoff, who tours the district’s schools regularly, said the performance at Newtown Middle School carried a great “cross-generational” appeal. “Both the teachers and students really seem to have enjoyed it,” he said.

For more information on Ball in the House, visit www.ballinthehouse.com.