All A Capprofile: Straight No Chaser

Straight No Chaser, an all male A Cappella group, will be performing at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on July 28th of this year. The group, consisting of original members Randy Stine, Dave Roberts, Charlie Mechling, Jerome Collins, and Walter Chase, as well as newer members Michael Luginbill, Don Nottingham, Ryan Ahlwardt, Sargon (or ‘Seggie’) Isho, and Tyler Trapp, is a professional group that tours together most of the year.

The group first got together at Indiana State University in the fall of 1996 when ten friends, who incidentally liked to sing, decided to form an A Cappella group. They stayed together until they graduated, and then Straight No Chaser went on to find new members from the college to join.

In 2006, the University hosted a ten year anniversary celebration for Straight No Chaser and invited the original members back to the school for a performance. Ten of the members performed and soon after Stine decided to post a video of their 1998 performance of “The 12 Days of Christmas” on YouTube. Within the first year, the video had received more than seven million hits!

The Atlantic Chairman and CEO got in touch with Stine, held a meeting with him in LA, and a few days later Stine, Roberts, Mechling, Collins, and Chase met in New York City to sign a record deal. The rest, as they say, is history. The remaining members of the group have auditioned and made the cut since then.

You may have heard Straight No Chaser on All A Cappella — they’re one of our favorite groups to play! Though they are an all male A Cappella group, they don’t fall into the stereotypes that go along with that. They seem to have a great sense of humor and the songs they choose to perform are always exciting. The group has a great chemistry together that anyone would be lucky to see live. Check out WERS.org, or TheMusicCircus.org for more information on their upcoming performance at the South Shore Music Circus, and stay tuned to All A Cappella every Saturday and Sunday from 2 – 5 PM to hear them!

By Kali Rohrbaugh