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The group was begun by Claude McKnight as the Gentlemen's Estate
Quartet
 (borrowing
their name from their college's freshmen housing complex) in
1980 at Oakwood College, a small Christian school
in Huntsville, Alabama.
Several months later, Mark Kibble, who had been a childhood friend
of Claude's in Buffalo, NY, joined the group when he heard the quartet singing in
the bathroom and decided to add a fifth part to what they were doing. He did so
and performed with them in a concert that evening.
The group eventually evolved to six members with the addition of Mervyn
Warren, and took on the name Sounds of Distinction and later Alliance, changed
only when they found out another group was already using the name. A change of members
brought Cedric Dent, David Thomas, and Alvin Chea into the group, and in
1987 that lineup of singers arranged a showcase
for thirty gospel record company representatives at a Christian bookstore in Nashville.
However, only about ten people turned up, including one uninvited guest, Jim Ed
Norman of Warner Brothers. He had heard a cassette demo of the group's version of
David And Goliath and was curious to meet the group. He signed the group to Warner
Brothers that very day, also arranging a separate distribution deal with Reunion
Records to get their album into Christian book and record stores.
That lineup of singers remained the same until Mervyn Warren left the
group in January 1991, and was replaced by
Joey Kibble.
Eva Simontacchi: How
do you prepare a new song for your repertoire?
David Thomas:
A lot of times when we're singing
in the studio, we have to adjust the arrangement a little bit to actually go into
the live show repertoire. So we work that out, and then rehearse for maybe about
two or three weeks, and that's it! As a matter of fact, we rehearse all of our songs
for about two or three weeks.
  
E.S.:
We wanted to touch this subject
because many vocal groups are interested to know how you work all this out! What
you say is very important to all
 these
groups and singers because you are giving a great example. Now, the next question.
To what extent are rehearsals important?
D.T.:
Rehearsals are very important. Before
our album came out, and we were preparing to do a showcase where we invited record
companies to hear it, we rehearsed maybe for a year, about 30 to 40 hours a week.
We were all in school, and that happened in the weekends, so from Friday to Sunday
we rehearsed about 30 hours. We rehearsed "at nauseam".... it was sickening! We
did that so much until our blend and our harmony became second-nature. So now, that's
something that we have to kind of brush-up every now and then, but we don't have
to work as hard on, because it's important to put the time in advance, up-front.
E.S.:
How do you rehearse now, and how
many times, say, per month or per week do you meet before singing a new song during
a concert?
D.T.:
One of the benefits of all the extra-rehearsals
that we did at the beginning is that now we've been doing this for so many years
we can focus, we needn't go into the studio, we remember how we did it, and that
helps us to minimize the time that we need before every show. So we rehearse after
doing an album a concentrated period of about three weeks, and then after that we
brush-up just a little bit to make sure that we're cutting off at the same time,
we're breathing at the same time, the inflections, you know, we make sure we're
emotionally on the same page. We do that every now and then. Then if a song starts
to fall apart a little bit when we're doing a show, we say "Oh, that didn't sound
good", then after that the next day we rehearse a little bit more.
  
E.S.:
A must for a vocal group?
D.T.:
I would say two things. It's important
to have your voice in good form when you do a show, so one of the things that we've
found, especially if you're a touring group, if you're on the road a lot, you have
to get your sleep. You cant party all night, because if you do that for a couple
of weeks, then you just go
 hoarse,
and that's the end of the tour! So you have to get your sleep, drink a lot of water,
and then warm-up for about half an hour to fourty minutes just before the show.
E.S.:
And you always do it, all of you,
is that right?
D.T.:
Yes. We don't necessarily have to
do it toghether, even on our own, just as long as we're all warm. Then when we come
for the sound check, we kind of get ourselves together.
E.S.:
How do you deal with issues in
your group when you don't agree with one another? I'm being a little nosy.....
D.T.:
No, that's a good question! That's
how groups stay together, that's where longevity comes from.
 E.S.:
I mean, everybody looks
up at your group, you're an example, and we all need your suggestions.
D.T.:
To be honest, we have problems just
like any other group. What we've learned, we've learned it the hard way, is that
we're a pure democracy, so it has to be a majority. Sometimes 4 out of 6, sometimes
4 to 2, sometimes it's an absolute unanimous decision where all of us agree, sometimes
we don't. And there are some times where, even if you are the minority, and you
just say: "I cannot do this", and you appeal to the rest of the guys, then they'll
say "Ok, for your sake, we won't do it". So it's a mix of pure democracy, and then
if somebody has a very hard time with something, you have to deal with that. We
treat it like a family.
E.S.:
Being a Christian group, and believing
in love, I'm sure this might help, even when you quarrel...... there's something
more to that.
D.T.:
You see, the thing about it is that
if it was a pure democracy and the couple of guys who didn't agree got a "we don't
care about you", that's one thing....... But because God's love is part of us, if
it's just too much for you to bear, then for your sake, we just won't do it. There
were some deals that were worth millions of dollars that we just wouldn't do because
one guy said "I just don't feel comfortable"..... That doesn't just come easy, to
be honest with you, believe me, I'm telling you. But it's the fact that God has
done so much for each one of us, that that's the least we can do for each other.
  
E.S.:
Gospel, jazz, doo-wop, latin, R&B,
opera and pop........ Are you planning to include other styles in your vocal a cappella
group repertoire?
 D.T.:
One of the things
that we've learned over the years
is that when we're listening to any style of music, when you can feel someone's
emotion, and they're really into it, then that makes it even more interesting, so
when you see that, you say "Hey, that's a nice music!
We should do something like that!"
That's how it incorporates. We've been blessed enough to travel the World, that
we could pick up influences from everywhere.
E.S.:
I'm sure you're going to pick up
something else soon.....
D.T.:
I'm pretty sure. We have to do it
sometimes just to keep it interesting for us. It has to be fun.
E.S.:
Is there a project that you have
not yet undertaken and that you would wish to realize as a group?
 D.T.:
Oh yes! And one that we've
been slowly working on. From time to time we do dates with Symphony Orchestras and
we've been working on charts, and so we're very much looking forward to doing a
whole project with a symphony orchestra........
E.S.:
You surely deserve it! Hope you
can bless us with such a recording soon!
The Concert
Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, Joel Kibble, Mark Kibble,
Claude McKnight and David Thomas start off their a cappella concert
at Blue Note
with "Come On", and
their warm voices fill the hall with awsome harmonies. During the evening we have
a chance to listen to "Wade In
The Water", "All Blues", "Just
In Time", "Lamb
Of God", "My
Friend", "Smile"
(by Charlie Chaplin, with arrangements by
Take 6), "Over
The Hill Is Home", "We
Don't Have To Cry", "Grandma's
Hands" (Bill Withers –
Marcus Miller),
"I've Got Life",
and "Spread Love",
where Take 6
involve all the audience to sing with them. The concert was extremely involving,
at times very touching, at times full of energy, and all they did, they did uniquely
with their voices: rhythm, accompanyment, bass lines, and melodies. Outstanding
concert, we are hoping to have them all back soon with their inspiring music!
 
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Publishing Date: 20/11/2005
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