Newsletter of the Danbury Chapter, Yankee Division, Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society

Meeting every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Church of Christ, 90 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, Connecticut

Volume 21 Number 8 www.madhatterchorus.org October 2014

Singers Get’em Standing in

Newtown

By John Bradley

Newtown, CT – September 14 will be a day long remembered

in Mad Hatter history. The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop

Chorus received a standing ovation and calls for an encore! It

was a bright, yet chilly late summer morning and a few of the

singers’ hands were getting cold in the Newtown Arts

Festival’s Music Tent, but it all seemed to come together

musically for the group.

“This was one of the best performamces I can remember,” said

a pleased music director, Joe Hudson, shorttly after the chorus

performed its encore, “Breaking up is Hard to Do,” “We’ve

already been invited back for next year’s festival.”

The Danbury barbershoppers performing in the Music Tent.

Picture by John Bradley.

“The way the audience applauded, I thought they might have

vistied the wine and beer garden right next to the stage,” said

bass section leader, Dick Zang. “But it was probably a little

too early in the morning for that.”

The chorus even had instrumental accompaniment, as two

young children in the front row joined in with their kazoos.

Loco Fedora pleasing the crowd at the Newtown Arts Festival.

Picture by John Bradley.

A number of the audience members sang along, and “showed

they knew the words better than some of us,” said the Mad

Hatter raconteur, Lee Smeriglio.

“The only problem with a reception like that is we’ll be

expecting it every time for now on,” said lead Bob Bradley.

“So we’ll have to continue to focus, emote, sing well and,

most importantly, have fun.”

The Danbury barbershoppers also performed at the 25h Taste

of Danbury Festival, on Sunday, September 7, at the

CityCenter Danbury Green off Ives Street.. After the chorus’s

performance it was fun to wander around and sample all the

great food from local restaurants.

Taste of Danbury Festival

The Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus

Hatter

Chatter

- 2 -

Quartet Corner

News from our chorus quartets

Traveling Men – By Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox

Yet another fall is upon us, and this fall, the

Traveling Men are on a grueling schedule of preparation for

our first-ever performance on the stage of the Northeastern

District Convention.

We are rehearsing close to three nights each week (much to

the chagrin of some family members) and are being coached

by the illustrious likes of Joseph Hudson, Joseph Hunter, and

Daryl Bornstein. We are planning for a first night of "White

Wings" and "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," with the

goal of singing on Saturday.

The Travelers have also done a number of other gigs recently,

including singing for a former barbershopper's 90th birthday

and singing at a retirement home in Newtown.

Real Chemistry – By John Bradley

Being tenorless, we took most of the summer off. But in

September we recruited a potential new tenor and have slowly

been shaking off the dust and getting the tenor up to speed.

It’s amazing how dusty things can get in two months.

Hopefully, it will all come together for an appearance we have

scheduled in November at the Mahopac Library in Mahopac,

NY.

Emails to the Editors

Please e-mail your questions and

comments to either the Hatter editor, John

Bradley, at jbrad1313@earthlink.net, or

the Chatter editor, Dick Zang, at

jezang@charter.net. If your e-mail

appears, you will receive an autographed

picture of our 2008 Yankee Division

Bulletin Editors Award

In reference to Robert Bradley’s “District Dirt” column in the

August HATTER CHATTER.

Bob, I read your District Dirt column in this month’s

HATTER CHATTER and must point out to you that Joe

Millet was not the only Danbury representative on the

international quartet competition stage. The Persuaders quartet

actually had three members from Danbury. The tenor, Jack

Williams, and the bass, Clark Coughlin, were also Danbury

members. In fact, Clark and Jack were active members,

whereas Joe and the bari (whose name I forget) only appeared

for shows and a few chapter meetings.

My first contact with the Mad Hatters was a drop-in by me

and Ed Ryder. Ed (a future Mad Hatter president) had heard of

this new group so we wanted to check it out.

It so happened that the Persuaders were there that night at the

motel on Main Street where they first rehearsed. Their sound

blew me away and I was hooked.

Jack also sang on the international stage with George King, a

lead from the Mad Hatters, a number of years later at the Cow

Palace in CA.

You’ve awakened some great memories.

I’m helping our new director at the Hernando Harmonizers by

teachin, and teaching and teaching crafts to some old dogs.

I’m also singing in two quartets. At the age of 84 I’m trying to

get as much barbershop in before the voice disappears.

I hope all is well with you and your family. Please give my

best to all my friends at the Mad Hatters.

Bill Manion

The quartet pictured is The Brotherhood, with Tony Gross (a

former director of the Mad Hatters) singing bass.

Submitted by Jim Hopper.

I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can not only help

improve your singing but can prolong your life as well. Is this

true?

Frank from Fairfield.

Frank, during exercise I find it very hard to sing fluidly and on

key, and after exercise I’m really out of breath, which also

negatively affects my singing. So, for me, exercise and

singing is out.

In terms of prolonging your life, a heart is only good for so

many beats, and then that’s it. So, don't waste them on

exercise. Everything is going to wear out eventually, so

speeding up your heart rate will not make you live longer. Do

you extend the life of car by driving faster?

In the song, “The Old Songs,” the second line states how we

"love to hear those minor chords." Yet, there are not any

minor chords in the song. In fact, most barbershop music

contains mostly the happy sounds of major chords and few of

the sadder sounds of minor chords. If this is the case, why do

we, in that song, sing about loving minor chords?

Terry from Teaneck

Continued on the next page

- 3 -

Emails

Continued from the previous page

Terry, I’ve wondered that myself when singing that song. I

think what the songwriter is writing about is the seventh

chord.

When defining a seventh chord, think of the place on the

musical staff where a chord starts as position 1, or the primary

note or root or the chord. If you count up the lines and spaces

on the staff to position 8, the note there is an octave higher

than the primary note. If you only go up to position 7 on the

staff, that note is called the seventh, and the presence of that

note in a chord is what gives it the name seventh chord.

A simple seventh chord contains the notes in the first, third,

and fifth staff positions (called a major triad ) plus the note in

the seventh position.

There are also major seventh chords and minor seventh

chords. The key signature plays a role in this. C. E. G and B

is a major seventh chord. C, E, G and B Flat is a minor

seventh chord.

A major seventh chord has a dissonant, unpleasing sound and

is seldom used in barbershop music. The minor, or dominant

seventh chord, is used constantly in barbershop music,

so much so that it has acquired the name barbershop seventh

So, the minor chords referred to in ‘The Old Songs” are the

dominant seventh chords containing the minor seventh interval

that we now call barbershop sevenths.

Repertoire Notes

"Blue Velvet" is a popular song written in

1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris.

Originally recorded and performed by Tony Bennett who

charted with it in 1951, it was remade four years later by the

traditional R&B group the Clovers. Many other artists have

recorded the song, most notably Bobby Vinton and Lana Del

Rey. David Lynch wrote and directed a film of the same

name.

ROLLING STONE called the song “a doleful prom anthem.”

The most popular recording of the song is that of Bobby

Vinton, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on

September 21, 1963, and held the top spot for three weeks and

also spent eight weeks atop the U.S. Middle-Road charts.

Vinton's recording failed to make the British charts when

originally released, but a re-release in 1990 went to #2 in the

United Kingdom. It was #7 in Australia and #9 in Korea.

Filmmaker, David Lynch, was inspired by the song, “Blue

Velvet.” Lynch selected it because, as he said, it conceptually

matched the mood of the film.

The film itself heavily incorporates portions of the song.

In the film, psychotic criminal Frank Booth is infatuated with

the song. His slave-lover, Dorothy Vallens (played by Isabella

Rossellini), performs the song at a seedy nightclub, which

Booth enjoys attending.

A fragment of dialogue in the film revolves around the song.

In it, Booth asks Vallens on the telephone why she performs

the song every night, to which she replies, “Why? But, I love

blue velvet.’"

Frank uses a strip of the fabric as a fetish object, holding it

while watching Dorothy sing, and using it during his

sadomasochistic episodes with her.

Madhatter.org Updated

The chorus website has gone through another of its periodic

revisions.

According to Joe Hudson, chorus music director and

webmaster, there is now a link in the menu for THE HATTER

CHATTER where you can find this month's and previous

HATTER CHATTERS going back to 2010.

The Events Calendar has been updated as well.

If anyone has any photos or videos of the chorus or its

quartets, current, old, or ancient, please send htem to Joe.

You can find the contact information on the website.

- 4 -

Twenty-Five Years Ago…

Here are the Mad Hatters at the 1989 Division Contest in East Hartford under the direction of George Schwerdt. From this group

only Dick Walter and Dick Zang will be back on the stage this year with the Mad Hatters in Providence. Don Sutherland is still a

member and George now sings barbershop in Flemington, NJ.

Three Things

By the Danbury Mad Hatter Barbershop Chorus

As is tradition following a coaching

session, we compile “three things” from

that coaching session submitted by chorus

members that they want to remember, or

pass on to to others.

Here is our collection from the September 23 coaching session

with Joe Hunter.

1. End each phrase with a lift (like throwing a Frisbee) as

opposed to a clamp (like catching a baseball).

2. Basses -- the rhythm for "where is she" has changed. We

are now holding the "where" a little longer.

3. Strive for unconscious competency (not having to think

about the fundamentals, because it is second nature).

4. When the technicals become second-nature, then the

emotion can deliver the story.

5. Avoid spaces between words--connect the words and

keep it smooth.

6. Keep the resonance forward and bright--not dark.

7. To make the music more than just technically correct we

must sing with emotion, and show it in our facial

expressions and body language.

8. Work hard on our music outside of rehearsal so we don't

keep making the same mistakes. Joe shouldn't have to

work on wrong notes being sung after we have been

working for weeks on a song.

9. Sing lightly. A heavy sound is a bad sound.

10. Joe Hunter is a marvelous coach.

11. Don't be afraid to tell your story.

12. Leads need to know when they have to bring out their

note and when they have to sing softly.

13. Try singing to yourself in the mirror or doubling up or

singing in a quartet to practice expressive singing.

14. Implicit is the concept that learning to perform starts after

we know the notes and words perfectly.

15. Use the “eh” sound in the word “face.”

16. Understand the emotion of the song.

17. Sing to those emotions.

On Emotion

By Daryl Bornstein

In a competitive chorus, arriving at a unified understanding of

emotion is an enormous challenge. In the end, no two people

will experience emotion the same. But as a group, there can be

agreement on the emotion to be expressed and the basic means

of doing so.

Emotion in music is expressed through:

Tempo, and variations in tempo

Dynamics, and variation in dynamics

Vocal color, and variation in color

Pronunciation and articulation (not accuracy, but

variations in technical pronunciation)

Body language and facial expression

Continued on the next page

- 5 -

Three Things

Continued from the previous page

For a barbershop chorus, choreography is an additional story

telling option.

In a chorus, the interpretation of a song must be clear and

unified. The variations in tempo and dynamics need to be

absolutely unambiguous and consistent.

Each song tells a story. The chorus takes the audience on the

journey of the story, describing in subtle detail the events that

lead to the conclusion at the end of the song.

All of the technical talk about singing through phrases,

building through words, contrasting dynamics and tempi, and

achieving unified vowel sounds (not to mention note and word

accuracy) are all in service of telling the story -- maintaining

the unbroken attention of the audience. Engaging the audience

in a heartfelt, meaningful tale, regardless of how silly the story

might be.

It is your task to make the audience believe that it is their

story, and that it is the truth.

I remember auditioning for a group in high school, and being

asked to sing the same phrase with different emotions. I

couldn't do it. I didn't have a clue. I'm not sure I have much

more of a clue today.

But when singing with a chorus, I can contribute to the unified

emotion of a song when it is agreed upon and sung

consistently.

It is the director's and section leaders' responsibility to present

a clear, consistent, and appropriate (meaningful) song

interpretation.

Emotions don't have to be understood. They are felt. You can

try to feel what the director and the chorus are portraying as

feelings in the song.

And if you don't feel it, I suspect you are not alone.

Stop the rehearsal and ask for clarification. You will be asking

the question that others are afraid to ask, or don't even know to

ask.

The single most powerful element of choral performance is an

unambiguous and fully committed emotion. It trumps

beautiful, accurate singing every time.

No one goes home saying, "My, wasn't that chord beautiful".

They remember being moved by a performance - emotionally.

On Showing Emotion

By Joe Hunter

Some of us are “open books” – we show our emotions on our

faces and bodies and it is a natural thing. Most great actors are

like that. But lots of us are not wired that way. It is harder for

us to “act” our way through emotions. That is why we talk

about the STORY of the song – who are you, and how can you

relate it to YOUR life experience?

There are all kinds of ways to do that. In a song like “Where

is Love?” can you hark back to a time when you felt

abandoned or needy? Was there any moment in your life when

you yearned for love? Can you connect yourself to that time?

I’ll bet if we asked the chorus guys to relate their personal

“stories” for this we would come up with some really

emotional and potentially inspirational moments. At the end of

the day, it’s all about shared experiences and touching people.

Music has the amazing power to uplift and heal and change

lives. Ultimately that is the power we can wield.

Did the leads really sing that note?

They did!

- 6 -

The Director’s Den

By Joseph Hudson

Hello members of the Mad Hatter

Barbershop Chorus. As you are

reading this, we are about a week

away from our Northeast District (NED) contest for 2014!

At this time, I think it is best to look back and see where we

were, and how far we have come. I took over as director of the Mad Hatter Chorus in May of

2004, with my first BIG performance being the NED Contest

in October of 2004. We went there and came in 22nd out of

22, and scored a 52.3 in music, a 52.8 in presentation, a 52.8

in singing and an average score of 52.7.

Fast forward to the Yankee Division contest 10 years later.

There we scored a 64.5 in music, a 64.0 in presentation, a 69.0

in singing and an average score of 65.8, and from there we are

going into the district contest ranked 6th with a possibility of

getting a medal! I do not expect to get anything because if you set up an

expectation, you have a different mindset, and it will not come

true. Instead, I have set goals for myself. My goal is to see

the chorus score, at minimum, one point higher in each

category. How can this be accomplished? Very simply, but

with difficulty. Follow my three S’s of singing in a performance and you will

succeed! My S’s for a performance are: Stay Focused,

Sing Relaxed,

Sell Your Story. Stay Focused: There have been too many times where we go

into auto-pilot and make mistakes. If you remain focused at all

times during the performance, you will not make those

mistakes. Sing Relaxed: If you tense up ANY part of your body it comes

across in the singing. So, sing with a relaxed tone. Sell Your Story: No one can sell anyone else’s story, but

everyone can sell their own story. So, establish your story for

each part of a song, and sing so that your story comes across

to the audience. I am very happy to be able to go that deep into performance

strategy with you. It is a far cry from where I started, and I

thank you for going through this journey with me!

District Dirt

By Robert Bradley

Not much to report from the District right now as

there is a quiet time between the August

meetings and the October meetings. We have

had a few phone conferences that we got correct after

realizing that our district president is in a different time zone.

October contest is set, and we will be in Providence, Rhode

Island. Make sure that you stop by Newport on Sunday even

if only for lunch. Vikki and I and the Horhotas found a good

restaurant in Newport a few years ago, and when I think of the

name of it I will let all know.

There will be a special meeting of the House of Delegates on

Friday to approve the contest site for 2015.

The approval of the HOD is a throwback to the good old days

when choruses used to compete to host the location. There

were years when we would have three or four chapters who

wanted to host, and the HOD would make the decision after

chapter presentations.

I remember those days when I first became president of the

Danbury chapter. We hosted a competition in Bethel and we

had to present to the HOD. Now, even with bribery we can’t

get hosts. I feel that the locations for contests can be decided

just as well by the Northeast District Board of Directors.

The location proposed for 2015 is in Burlington, VT, and will

feature not only a contest but a boat tour of Lake Champlain

on Sunday. In October it ought to be lovely.

Leadership Academy is coming up in January and we have an

all-star cast lined up.

Paul Ellinger will be supercharging NED, and it would be

good for all membership, music, and performance VPs to

attend his class.

For the presidents, we have Dick Powell, the former MAD

president and a member of the Society Board of Directors,

teaching and discussing common problems and solutions.

There will, of course, be a director’s track and classes for all

officers and some extras that will be announced soon.

Continued on the next page

Baritone Deep Thought of the Month

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from

betting on people.

- 7 -

The President’s Podium

By Danny Anderson

The District contest will soon be here. We have

made great strides as a chorus in preparing for

the contest. We proved to ourselves that we can perform the

contest songs at a high level, but we need to do this

consistently. Along with consistent good singing, we need to

communicate the feeling of the songs with our faces and

bodies. Remember, presentation is important.

Thank you to Walt Barlow for bringing the mirror to rehearsal.

It allows us to see our facial expressions while singing. It

might be good for each of us to practice in front of a mirror at

home, with emphasis on improving our expressions. As Joe

has explained to us there are different emotions we should be

presenting throughout the songs.

We need to be confident of our ability to sing and perform the

songs. As Joe said this week, we should be confident that

each member will sing and perform at his highest level, so

don’t be the one to let the other members down.

As you know, Traveling Men and Surefire will be competing

on Friday night, October 17. We welcome your support by

being in attendance and leading the audience in applause. We

may not be able to see you because of the lights but knowing

we have friends and family rooting for us helps encourage us

to do our best. So if you can be present Friday night, please

applaud and yell loudly for these two quartets. The judges are

influenced by the audience’s reactions to the quartets even if

they won’t admit it.

I was saddened to learn that Al and his wife are moving to

Florida. Al has worked hard at improving as a singer and

performer. He has been a great chorus advocate in his

capacity as VP of Marketing. He has gotten the chorus to

perform in venues we had never performed in before, and he

got the chorus’ name in front of the public by obtaining

advertisements on radio, TV and print. Al has had many ideas

to help expand the public awareness of barbershop singing. I

wish that we could have taken advantage of more of his ideas.

Al will be missed, but I am sure he will find a home with a

chapter in Florida.

Thank you to the board members who have agreed to continue

in their current capacities. I want to again thank Art for

stepping up to fill the VP of Marketing position. His past

business experiences will enable him to do a wonderful job.

Thank you to Walt for accepting the position as Member at

Large, replacing Art. Walt has a great business background

and I feel will represent the membership well in this capacity.

Thank you to the membership for supporting the board

throughout the year. I have expressed at meetings with other

barbershop chapters how blessed we are to have the members

of our board and the membership not fighting and

complaining. I hear their war stories and give thanks to God

for each of you.

The Board has renewed the chapter’s subscription to

Groupanizer. This is a great tool for the chapter and we need

to use the tool to the utmost. Check it weekly for updates,

performances, meetings, music and announcements. If we do

this regularly then we can cut the business meetings shorter

and use the time for quarteting, etc.

We have a guest night scheduled for October 21. We will

have announcements going out on Facebook, The Patch and

the other media avenues, but the best way to get a guest to

come is to personally invite him. Let’s make this a great

evening and have several guests present. Remember we need

to make them feel comfortable and help them enjoy the

evening. Please personally invite someone and make sure

that we each greet our guest and encourage him to return.

It is great to be a Danbury Mad Hatter barbershopper.

.

Dirt

Continued from the previous page

School is on January 17, 2015, in Worchester, MA, same great

food and great classroom space as Harmony College. We

invite all members of the chapter to attend, especially the Paul

Ellinger presentation. That alone will be worth the trip to

Worchester.

The school will be the same low price as in the past, $200.00

a chapter and $25.00 an attendee to cover the cost of your

meals.

I’ll continue to keep you all informed through the “District

Dirt.”

September Board

of Directors

Meeting

Respectfully submitted by Robert Golenbock, Secretary

Meeting called to order by Danny “Hakuna Matata” Anderson

at 6:07 pm on August 5, 2014, at the Church of Christ.

SECRETARY’S REPORT was finally sent out in time. The

minutes were received on a motion by Al Paparesta, seconded

by Dickson DeMarche.

TREASURER’S REPORT: The good news is that we’re still

solvent. We cashed out our CD. At this time the money is

sitting in our checking account, but some of our financial

wizards are considering how to invest the money more

productively. One percent interest here we come! The report

was received on a motion by Andy Bayer, seconded by Robert

Golenbock.

Continued on the next page

- 8 -

Board Minutes

Continued from the previous page

MEMBERSHIP REPORT: We have some memberships

pending. We are also planning a guest night for October 21,

the Tuesday evening after contest.

VP PUBLIC RELATIONS: We sold 104 Macy’s coupons.

Thanks to all who sold them. The women’s chorus Harmony

on the Sound has invited us to their (free) get-together to be

held on September 10 in Trumbull at 7pm. Al has the details.

Al also announced that he is in the process of moving to

Florida by the beginning of 2015. Members of the Board

expressed their gratitude for the work he has done on behalf of

the chapter in the short time he has been a member.

Meanwhile, Al recommends aggressively recruiting guests

leading up to our guest night.

MUSIC COMMITTEE: The Minutes of the last meeting were

printed in the Hatter Chatter. Based on the recommendations

of the Committee, the chapter has bought the music we will be

doing in 2015. Our next song is “Blue Velvet.” All the music

and all the tracks that we have are on Groupanizer.

OLD BUSINESS: The promotional DVD is being assembled.

The Guest Night preparations are under way. A poll about

contest and the need for extra rehearsal is being uploaded to

Survey Monkey. The concert at Richter House is being

uploaded, and we hope to put it on YouTube.

NEW BUSINESS: Pending final approval by the Board, the

guest talent for our 2015 show is Up All Night. The date of the

show is May 16.

By acclamation the Board approved subscribing to

Groupanizer for one more year at a cost of $238.08.

Next Tuesday at 6:15pm we will meet to discuss the position

of chorus manager. As this position needs to be a Board

position as well as a person who involves himself in all the

planning of the chapter, we think this position should be

merged with the position of Executive Vice President, which

is not presently filled.

Joe will be taking nominations for the 2015 Board of

Directors.

Joe also mentioned that he is looking to get another chorus to

sing with us at our Christmas show.

There is an Inter-chapter at Poughkeepsie on Wednesday,

November 12. Let Danny know if you’re planning to attend.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Carl Zlamany, Józef Piłsudski

Gabriel Narutowicz, Maciej Rataj, Stanisław Wojciechowski,

Maciej Rataj, Ignacy Mościcki.

OFFICERS PRESENT: W. Wilcox, A. Paparesta, J. Hopper,

A. Bayer, D. Anderson, J. Hudson ex officio, R. Golenbock

Meeting adjourned at 7:10pm. Next meeting 10/7/2014.

2015 Board of Directors

The Danbury Mad Hatters, during their September 30

meeting, completed the process for electing their 2015 Board

of Directors. The board members will be:

Presisent Danny Anderson

Membership VP: Andy Bayer

Music VP Jimmy Hopper

Public Relations VP Art Cilley

Treasuer: Dickson DeMarche

Secretary Dr. Robert Golenbock

Member At Large Peter Dauber

Member At Large Wynn Gadkar Wilcox

Member At Large Walt Barlow

Immediate Past President Robert Bradley

Congratulations and best of luck to the 2015 Board.

Contest Information

Dates

Friday October 17, 2014 – Quartet Semifinals

Saturday October 18, 2014 – Chorus Finals and Quartet Finals

Location of Events

RICC - Rhode Island Convention Center

1 Sabin Street, Providence, RI.

Cost

$25 – Give to Dickson

$11 – Parking (3 – 10 hours)

$18 – Parking (10 – 24 hours)

Times

Friday October 17 Quartet Semi-Finals

4pm – Registration Opens at the RICC

5:30pm – Auditorium opens for seating

6:00 PM - Intl' Preliminary & District Quartet Semi-Finals

Contest (SUREFIRE! singing 7th

, Traveling Men singing

18th

)

10:00 PM - Announcements & Quartet Contest Results (time

approx.)

10:45 PM - Quartet Evaluations - (except finalists) HQH

11:00 PM - Afterglow - HQH- TBA

Saturday, October 18 - Chorus Contest

8:00am – Registration Opens at RICC

10:30am – Auditorium Opens for Seating

11:00am – Int'l Preliminary & District Chorus Contest

(Danbury singing 11th

out of 15)

11:15am – Warm-ups

*Please make sure you are dressed and ready to warm-up at

this time

11:50am – Run the Set as Much as Possible

12:30pm – Final Bathroom Break

12:43pm – Leave Dressing Room

12:45pm – Arrive at the Warm-up Room

Continued on the next page

- 9 -

Contest

Conttinued from the previous page

12:55pm – Leave Warm-up Room

1:00pm – On Stage Time

1:10pm – Picture Time

After Pictures – Stay In Uniform and Go Watch The Rest Of

The Contest

2:00pm – Announcements & Chorus Contest Results

2:30pm – Chorus Evaluations

Saturday, October 19 - Quartet Finals

5:30pm - Registration at RICC (until 7:30 pm)

6:30pm - RICC - Auditorium Opens for Seating

7:00pm - Int'l Preliminary District Quartet Final

9:00pm - NEDAC Show

Interesting Musical Fact

American composer John Cage (1912–1992) composed a

work in 1952 titled 4′ 33″, which consists of four minutes and

thirty-three seconds of silence.

Chorus Order of Appearance

1 Fall River, MA- G20 Chorus

2 South Shore, QC-

South Shore Saints

3 Manchester, CT- Silk

City Chorus

4 Saratoga Springs, NY-

Racing City Chorus

5 Nashua, NH- Granite

Statesmen

6 Concord, NH- Concord Coachmen Chorus

7 Central, CT- Connecticut Yankee

Chorus

8 Portland, ME- Downeasters

9 Hanover, NH- North Country Chordsmen

10 Concord, MA- Vocal

Revolution

11 Burlington, VT- Green

Mountain Chorus

12 Danbury, CT- Mad

Hatters

13 Lowell, MA- Gentlemen

Songsters

14 Natick, MA- New Sound Assembly

15 Providence, RI- Narragansett Bay

Chorus

Society and District Notes

Help Wanted

The Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society

comprises an area of the US and Canada that has some of most

brilliant and accomplished men and women of anywhere else

in our vast business world. You may be JUST the person we

are looking for – and I encourage your consideration and

cooperation to enhance the lives (and efficiencies) of our

hobby among us all. Plus, volunteering your time can be some

of the most productive, appreciated effort and success you’ll

ever achieve!

NEDshed “Shop” Manager

As many of you know, the Northeastern District offers the

opportunity for members to wear, display, practice, listen,

learn, tune, live - a more fulfilling barbershop experience with

the availability of wares and goods of barbershop harmony

distinction - through products available at events - through the

NEDshed. The NEDshed is the local, community, NED

version of Harmony Marketplace. We bring the good stuff to

you at NED events.

Our district has been "an example" of a well-managed local

shop through the many years of dedicated and committed

service of Scott Salladin - who escaped the New England

colors and cold last Fall (2013) and settled in Florida,

permanently. We wish him great success! Thank you Scott for

your many years chairing this effort.

Since then, I have been blessed to have some GREAT

volunteers to assist running the NEDshed at events over the

last year, and would like to specially recognize Dave Cole and

his wife Debbie and their daughter Michelle, who have

tirelessly managed the displays and transactions, running the

NEDshed with great success – and as a perk, also raising

funds for the Portland chapter.

And so, a unique and fabulous opportunity to serve your

fellow singers and fans is upon us! The NED is currently

looking for a person to chair and manage the NEDshed.

Briefly, duties include the complete oversight of the effort,

reporting to the District VP-Marketing. The ideal candidate

will have some retail and merchandising experience, please,

but may also rely on co-volunteers to assist in managing the

ordering, receiving, merchandising and sales of products -

including our own NED inventory as well as a stock of goods

ordered for each event from the Society's Harmony

Marketplace manager in Nashville.

Product selection and placement, managed with time to spare,

at events is a critical function, in order to maximize exposure,

opportunity to buy and overall sales and reporting. We need a

Continued on the next page

- 10 -

Notes

Continued from the previous page

pro-active person to bring his or her enthusiast and join the

great teams of volunteers who make our events work so well. I

believe this person needs to have a keen eye for “retailing”

and bring new ideas and solutions for running the NEDshed

with great success.

I am happy to relate, that the Society is currently re-

establishing its own priorities with regard to Harmony

Marketplace. They have just completed a huge closeout sale,

with a goal of reducing and narrowing their current inventory

– and are now adjusting their product offering to mainstream

BHS-labeled items, music, apparel, etc. and are eliminating

miscellaneous, obscure and slow selling items. My

understanding this very week, that new items are arriving

daily in Nashville – and we will see some of those at our

District Contests in October, in Providence.

I will keep this message short (lol) - only to add that I am

ready and happy to discuss this in more detail with you.

Steve Salamin

Excel or Access database expert

Our need and the challenge right now: database merging and

data manipulation, to occur on a regular basis, which initially

requires the formulation, writing and implementation of a

script, macro or program to perform the processing and

produce an accumulated output/result in a specific, desired

format – to be used/uploaded for communication and

marketing purposes for the District. Make it easy and quick to

use.

The data source is the Barbershop Harmony Society

Ebiz/Aptify roster output – either in Microsoft Excel or

Access format.

History: (briefly) The BHS has a data system that is generally

NOT suited for District use. We have some output available to

us, as members and as officials of the Society, but that data is

incomplete and split between two or more database

results/outputs. The resulting resources, individually, are not

suitable for District use. I have personally requested of the

BHS and its IT and leadership for their cooperation to assist

the NED and the other 16 Districts with data output … that we

can use. It has been three years and there has been no progress

on this front. I hope it is appropriate for me to mention that I

have grown impatient – and we need to discover our own

solution(s). This is where you – or someone you know – can

help. Please.

May I request that you reply to me directly if you have the

qualifications and the time to assist your Northeastern District

with a solution, please.

I believe the right person will have a quick solution, be able to

write the script/macro and provide instruction for its

processing. I am ready to provide samples of the data and

delineate the required output needed/desired. I would be

thrilled to speak with you today!

Please reply with your interest and qualifications. I believe

this to be a rather easy task, actually – but one I cannot

achieve on my own! I need your help, please!

Steve Salamin District VP - Marketing & Public Relations 2012/2013/2014 Northeastern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society 2013 Northeastern District - Barbershopper of the Year - Thank you!

Auction

It Can Be Your “Best Seat In The House”!

It’s a Unique Harmony Foundation Auction and Fund Raiser!

Very COOL!

Harmony Foundation and the NED Contest & Judging

program have teamed up to auction off a single seat at each &

every contest session, including our 2014 Fall District events

in Providence, as well as to any/all other Prelims, Mid-Winter

and International contests - nationwide. Check out the "Best

Seat In The House Video" starring LunchBreak's funny-

man baritone and Harmony Foundation's National

Development Officer, KJ McAleesejergins!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v

=NkVNR6hj3n8

- 11 -

Ye Olde Joke Boarde

Submitted by the Unknown Barbershopper

A barbershop lead, tenor and baritone all work for a boss who always goes home early every day. "Hey guys," says the lead, "Let's go

home early tomorrow. He'll never know."

So the next day, they all leave right after their boss. The lead gets some extra gardening done, the tenor plays golf, and the baritone

goes home to find his wife having sex with this boss. He quietly sneaks out of the house and returns at his normal time. The next day

at work, the lead says, "That was fun. We should do it again sometime."

"No way," says the baritone. "I almost got caught."

. . .

One day a barbershop quartet was walking down a road when someone shouted, “'Look at that dead bird!'

The baritone looked up at the sky and asked, “Where?”'

. . .

After an elderly couple starts getting forgetful, they visit their doctor. Ther doctor tells them that many people find it useful to write

themselves little notes to help them remember things. So when they get home, the wife says, "Dear, will you please go to the kitchen

and get me a dish of ice cream? And maybe write that down so you won't forget?"

"Nonsense," says the husband, who is a barbershop baritone, "I can remember a dish of ice cream."

"Well, I'd also like some strawberries and whipped cream on it," the wife replies.

"My memory's not all that bad," says the baritone. "No problem -- a dish of ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream. I don't

need to write it down."

He goes into the kitchen, and his wife hears pots and pans banging. The husband finally emerges from the kitchen and presents his

wife with a plate of bacon and eggs.

She looks at the plate and asks, "Hey, where's the toast I asked for?"

Current Mad Hatter Repertoire

Regular Repertoire

Almost Like Being In Love

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)

It's Only A Paper Moon

Keep The Whole World Singing

Kentucky Babe

On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Over The Rainbow

Shenandoah

I'd Rather Have A Bottle In Front Of

Me Than A Frontal Lobotomy

Ten Feet Off The Ground

There Is Nothing Like A Dame

Patriotic/Inspirational

Amazing Grace

Armed Forces Salute

God Bless America

I Believe

Impossible Dream

Lord's Prayer

Star-Spangled Banner

This Land Is Your Land/America The

Beautiful

Coming Soon

They Say It’s Wonderful

Beach Boys Medley

Blue Skies

Come Go With Me

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Happy Together

How Deep Is The Ocean

Moonlight Brings Memories

I Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About You

- 12 -

The Danbury, CT Chapter

SPEBSQSA 104 Lexington Blvd.

Bethel, CT 06801

203-744-9480

President: Danny Anderson

Musical Director: Joseph Hudson

Assistant Director: Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox

Director Emeritus: Don Sutherland

Membership VP: Andy Bayer

Public Relations VP: Al Paparesta

Music VP: Jim Hopper

Secretary: Robert Golenbock

Treasurer: Dickson DeMarche

Program VP Vacant

Member at Large: Peter Daubner

Member at Large: Art Cilley

Member at Large: Wynn Wilcox

Immediate Past President Robert Bradley

Uniform Chairman: Andy Bayer

Harmony Foundation

Chairman: Danny Anderson

Music Librarian: Peter Daubner

Sunshine Chairman: Don Smith Package

Show Chairman: Dick Walter Chorus

Manager: Robert Golenbock

The Hatter Chatter Serving the Mad Hatter community since last Tuesday

John Bradley, hatter editor Dick Zang, chatter

editor 39 Beekman Drive 2 Camelot Crest

Lake Carmel, NY 10512 Sandy Hook, CT 06482

Jbrad1313@earthlink.net jezang@charter.net

Proofreader: Miss Taralily

The editors of the Hatter Chatter welcome

submissions from all chapter members and friends

of the Mad Hatters. E-mail, mail, paper airplane

us your thoughts, observations, opinions, singing

tips and whatevers, and we’ll turn them into

Pulitzer Prize copy

Keep the whole world singing. Picture by John Bradley

Mark Your Calendars Performance

Sunday, October 12, Maplewood of Danbury, 22 Hospital

Ave, Danbury, CT, Warmup 2:30 pm, sing 3:00 pm.

Northeast District Convention

Friday October 17, Providence, RI. Quartet Semifinals

(Traveling Men & SUREFIRE!) Saturday October 18,

Chorus Finals & Quartet Finals. Details TBA.

Guest Night

Tuesday, October 21, Church of Christ, 90 Clapboard

Ridge Rd., / Danbury, CT. 7:15 pm.

Performance

Saturday, November 8, Meadow Ridge, 100 Reading

Ridge, Redding, CT Warmup 3:30 pm, sing 4:00 pm.

Inter-chapter

Hosted by the Poughkeepsie Newyorkers. Wednesday,

November 12, 6:30 pm. Details to be announced.

Holiday Performance: The Secret of Christmas

Saturday December 6, Church Of Christ, 90 Clapboard

Ridge Rd., / Danbury, CT. Warm-Up Time 12:00 pm.

September and October Milestones

Birthdays: Wedding Anniversaries: 9/4 - Jane Golenbock

9/6 - Judith Kreiger

9/7 - Bill Gleissner

9/12 - Susan Roberts

9/14 - Shirley Walter

9/26 - Charlotte Cilley

9/30 - Art Roberts

10/33 - Danny Anderson

10/6 - Joanne Bartley

10/6 - Marti Hopper

10/15 - Eileen Paparesta

10/17 - Augie D'Aureli

10/31 - Bill Manion

9/6 - Al and Eileen Paparesta

9/12 - Dick and Shirley

Walter

9/22 - Dave and Sharon

McKee

10/21 - John and Vivien

Cheeseman

Working and watching at the inter-chapter night. Picture by

Peter Daubner.