That was the sound of Gentleman’s Rule, a Bloomington-born a cappella group, promoting tonight’s album release concert at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
The seven-man group includes five IU alumni and former members of the IU-based Straight No Chaser group, now known as Another Round. Gentleman’s Rule has opened for the Jay Leno Show, toured across the country and in Europe and shared the stage with artists such as Jazon Mraz and Carly Rae Jepsen.
“The Walk” is a follow-up to 2014’s live album “Gentleman’s Rule: Live at the Star Plaza,” recorded during a National PBS special. “The Walk” is the group’s first self-produced album and was partly recorded and produced in Bloomington resident and Gentleman’s Rule member Will Lockhart’s home studio.
A Jacobs School of Music and Department of Theatre and Drama alumnus, Lockhart is one of three Gentleman’s Rule members living in Bloomington.
On Thursday, he spoke with the IDS about the group’s three-year journey to international acclaim.
Q Straight No Chaser is a household name in Bloomington. Tell us about the transition from SNC to Gentleman’s Rule.
A “I joined Straight No Chaser in 2008, when the original group was just starting to get signed by Atlantic Records. It was still called SNC at IU, which was really exciting. I’ve been singing a cappella ever since then, really seriously. When I graduated from IU in 2011, we put Gentleman’s Rule together to audition for ‘The Sing-Off.’ We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into. Dan Ponce called us, put us together, got a manager and put together our first album in 2012. Now we’re coming on our third album, it’s been crazy.”
Q How has your music education affected your career?
A “It’s definitely helped me a lot. I became a better musician, I pick up on music quicker. I learned about being a good performer, knowing how to present myself on stage, keeping my voice healthy. There are a number of things I learned in school that have carried on until now.”
Q Tell me about recording this album. What is it like doing it without a producer?
A “I live with Sam (Bartel) from Gentleman’s Rule. He and I worked on the album mostly from our house. The post correction was done in our house, and the studio is set up in the house. We spent a lot of the summer editing, mixing and designing the album. One member lives in Chicago, there’s one in Nashville, another, Holland, lives in Bloomington and Brent lives in Indianapolis.”
Q Did you have any professors at IU who really influenced you?
A “Yeah, of course. Sylvia McMahon and Brian Horne were two amazing teachers. On the acting side, Fontaine Syer. She passed away. But she was great.”
Q How many members from the original Straight No Chaser are in Gentleman’s Rule?
A “Well, none actually. The original SNC began in 1996. When we joined, it was still called Straight No Chaser at IU. Five of us who are IU alums were in SNC as students. Our other two members who joined are from Canada and Ohio State.”
Q That’s pretty spread out. How do you get together?
A “It’s tough to make schedules and coordinate people’s time. We try and do this for a living, and we’re not quite doing it full-time. Most of us work in restaurants. We have a science now, though. When we do meet up, we get productive and we do a video or photoshoot and record a song.”
Q You cover a lot of really popular songs. Do you have any original tracks?
A “Yeah, we have four original songs, which for a cappella is a rarity. A cappella is mainly a cover game, but we definitely do have some original songs that resonate well with our friends. ‘FourFiveSeconds’ is my favorite song that we do. It’s a good groove. We found a perfect arrangement for it to make it a cappella. We recorded a video in February and got a lot of love from MTV and Billboard. It’s the song that I’m most excited about, and it’s on the new album.”
Q Tell me about a cappella. There are seven of you — how do you decide who does what to cover all the parts of a song?
A “We have quite a range. We can cover all the parts with just us. Our tenor ones can sing very high and get that super high falsetto. We have a bass who can rumble the speakers like no other. People are often amazed by how we’re making the sounds. People think there’s a track playing or instruments behind the stage. We come up with our own arrangements and everyone has parts throughout the song. We have one bass, two baritones, three tenors and Sam is our beatboxer. He kills it.”
Q How do you come up with the arrangements for songs?
A “It’s gotten pretty good, we sit around in a circle, everyone finds where their part is. For ‘Uptown Funk,’ we listened to that one, sat around, divided each other up, the main guitar part went to two guys and another trio sings the solo and synth part of the chorus. We did that in six hours, maybe less. With ‘FourFiveSeconds,’ we listened to it a lot, learned the chorus with the harmonies, built it out from there. Each song has its own way of coming to life.”
Q Where do you see Gentleman’s Rule in a few years?
A “Hopefully we’ll go back to Europe, maybe booking our own tour in clubs. It’s exciting. We worked hard on this album, produced it ourselves, it’s the first one without outside help or producers. It was basically a homegrown effort. Hopefully the momentum from this record will push us more to keep making a steady stream of content. We’re trying to build a presence, build a fan base to the point where we’re able to do this full-time. It’s tough making it as a singer, and I’ve already, in this group, had some amazing opportunities. From being on national TV to recording three albums, to being on a tour bus twice, to going to Europe ... In a band, that’s hard to come by.”
Q From Europe to the Buskirk! How about that?
A “Yeah, we’re really excited for the show on Friday, and we hope it’s going to be a fun time. We played there in college a lot for SNC, so we’re coming back for our old school roots and doing it up that way.”
Q Most people in Bloomington would recognize the name “Straight No Chaser.” Are you hoping that the connection will help draw a crowd this weekend?
A “I’m not sure if people get that connection. We try not to publicize that we’re ‘Straight No Chaser Part 2.’ Our show is a little different. Even if people don’t get the SNC connection early on, they probably will when they come see us in concert.”
The show will begin at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $20 for general admission and $50 for VIP, which includes pit seating, access to pre-show meet and greet and a copy of the new CD.
