Review of American Harmony (2009) by Tim T — 22 Aug 2009

There are those that still think of barbershop quartets as 'four guys holding up a lamp post and singing 'Melancholy Baby". Friends, it's time to come out of your caves and see what's happening in the barbershop world. The times have been changing, and barbershop quartetting has changed right along with them. American Harmony takes you right into the middle of this brave new world.

I'm one of those fortunate guys whose quartets were good enough to compete at the International level several times. The movie vividly brought back the feelings of being backstage, waiting for the MC to call your name and trying to get all those butterflies in your stomach to fly in formation, then hearing yourselves announced and going onstage to feel the warmth of the audience's welcome. It's the musical struggles of ordinary guys who have regular day jobs, trying to hone their craft and eliminate imperfections. (The best quartet I ever sang in - "Perfect Arrangement" - was composed of a radio news director, a salesman, a master carpenter, and a film emulsion mixer. No professional musicians here!) What are the rewards? The biggest one is the challenge (and satisfaction) of becoming better; the better you get, the more shows you're asked to sing on, and the more people you get to meet. Mike Morgan, my bass in the PA, had a sign on his office wall -- "God respects me when I work, but He LOVES me when I sing!" How true -- I NEVER got a standing ovation from 7,500 people for closing a sale...

I knew Tony DeRosa long before he became the barbershop icon he is now. His dad Joe was the assistant director of the Rochester (NY) Fun-damentals chorus, and would often bring Tony to rehearsals. At that point, he was two or three years old. The chorus would be rehearsing, and Tony would be crawling around on the risers, popping up in various places in the chorus and singing. His mother, Lois, sang lead in a Harmony International Championship quartet, so Tony was bound to have barbershop in his blood. (One of the really neat spots in the movie for me was the very brief picture of Tony and Joe singing in a quartet with two other guys. The guy on the far right was Mike, my bass!).

What comes through very clearly in American Harmony is the incredible sense of fraternity that barbershoppers of both sexes have with each other. Competitive quartets deserve (and get) respect and support from their competitors. The members of your quartet become family, and you care deeply about them. American Harmony clearly demonstrates this love.

In the quartet, each of you brings individual talents and personality to the group; you must then mold your individuality into the quartet persona and the 'product' the four of you produce. I can promise you this -- if you're a singer, and you enjoy group singing, the first time you get together with three other guys and really 'lock' a chord and experience the overtones and undertones that you were part of making, you'll be hooked! American Harmony shows you what this can be like, the challenges of making it better, and the satisfaction you'll feel when you get there. The movie is a terrific picture of an amazing and wonderful hobby that you can take with you for all the days of your life! Go see it -- you'll love it!!

Tim Taggart.

Houston, TX.

Baritone, "Easy Does It" Quartet.