ROXY: THIS IS OUR STORY....
What follows here is the original introduction to ROXY. …so a few years ago, some of us found ourselves out of sorts, at loose ends, purposeless, dull, married to routine, wearing lots of taupe and flat, sensible shoes; we were reduced to mocking TV reality talent shows for sport: yes, we were without Quartet. We (Tori, Darcy, Lynn and Cindy) were (and still are) Sweet Adeline quartet veterans, one of whom has actually led a previous quartet to the crowns! All have been quarteting for years, some for decades, quite frankly. All have had International Competition experience, and all have a true love of the art form. So, who are these women, and what is ROXY? Read on!
TORI HICKS, happily married to Daniel for years and years, has two lovely children, Jenelle and Jordan, both in college. Though she holds a BA in vocal performance, Tori has been a pre-school educator for over 20 years. For the last few years, she has been the Director of her pre-school, and because she is quite bossy, this position suits her very well. Though this position meets her professional needs, another provides the perfect merge of her bossiness and her musical training: choral director. And not just any “choir!” Oh, no! Tori directs The Midwest Crossroad Chorus, a mid-sized Sweet Adeline chorus, past regional champion of Sweet Adelines Region 3 and, arguably, one of the best choruses on the planet. Her indomitable will and the enthusiastic response of the chorus made her a Sweet Adeline Master Director. An insatiable love of music has also led her to direct her church choir, a much lower- key experience, but one that continues to allow her to wave her arms energetically and compel normal people to produce delightful music a few more nights a week and once or twice on weekends! The proud owner of a sonic boom laugh, a set of Barbershop parents, two dogs, a warm home open to innumerable friends and a husband who loves cooking, building bonfires, barbershop music and his family above all else, Tori is an upstart baritone, a dyed-in-the-wool lead whose claim that she could never sing/hear “that” part has been proven empty and false every time she fills the chords to the bursting point as the baritone in ROXY! Lead and tenor roles in a variety of Region 3 quartets garnered her blue ribbons again and again at the regional level, but after training her eyes to read the lower staff and her ears to forgive the random beauty of the baritone part, Tori straps on her heels, finds her opening note and shows us all how it's done! What a pro!
DARCY NEWELL, lead of the 2002 International Sweet Adeline Quartet Champs, Fanatix, and former film producer with Darcy/Fox Productions out of Los Angeles, California, abandoned the jet-set lifestyle of the not-so-rich and kinda-famous-depending-on-who-you-were-talking-to back in 2006 when she packed her pick-up truck full of plants, coerced her only sister Jenna into taking a long ride with her, and set off from the family ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to her new home in the town made famous by “Joliet” Jake and Elwood Blues, via old Rte. 66. Darcy landed in Joliet, Illinois, because she had made a truly remarkable and courageous decision to leave film-making to Spielberg and begin an entirely new adventure, i.e., teaching Algebra to 14 year-old high school students. If you think tanking up in preparation for a brutally long tag post while wearing a pair of just a teeny bit too small Spanx is tough, try teaching freshmen how to solve an equation-puts a whole new spin on the meanings of “challenging” and “frustrating!” Known in Sweet Adelines for her sense of humor, amazing tag durations and height, Darcy uses all of these gifts in her classroom as well. Okay, so she doesn’t bust a tag in front of her class, but she does out talk even the most talkative of teens, and that’s saying something! She gives her students mnemonic devices to help them remember important things, such as her name. “Ms. Newell is cool!” is one of her successful memory tools, and it appears to work because she hears it so often, she is beginning to believe it! In her seventh year of teaching, cool Ms. Newell was named one of the Joliet Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Great Teachers.” No surprise for those of us who know her! Animation, entertainment savvy, energy, timing and presence launched Darcy toward her crown in 2002, and she certainly brought all of those assets with her when she moved to the smaller stage in Room 109 at Joliet Central High School! Darcy began her career in Sweet Adelines after she heard a female barbershop quartet singing a song in a hotel lobby in California—she was unfamiliar with the habits of the barbershopper at the time, but instead of wondering why this was occurring, she was simply taken by the beauty of the singing. The group, International Queens of Harmony Panache, became Darcy’s idols; she would go on to sing with one member of that phenomenal quartet in Fanatix. In the meantime, though, she joined the organization and sang with the Santa Fe chorus (where she was attending college) before moving to California to produce commercials and music videos. The rest is history. An inveterate lead, Darcy towers over her peers and has sung in two Region 3 quartets since her move to Illinois. Both have been regional champs, but ROXY gave her the risk factors she seems to enjoy managing in the form of a baritone used to charging through a song as a lead and a bass trained to listen, tune and cone as a 30-year veteran baritone. Deep-breathing, yoga, a second master’s program in educational technology, 120 Algebra students: all serve to take her mind off of what she hears from the bottom of the cone in ROXY! Her mom and dad, Betty and Bob Newell, are her most devoted fans, and they, too, soothe her when she is just about to take a swing at someone. Her family, her truck, Joliet Central High School and its Steelmen, Sweet Adelines, household projects, travel, movie popcorn and sleep are just a few of her favorite things, and all of us who know her agree, Ms. Newell is cool!
LYNN VAUGHN, the elder statesman of the group, has sung baritone in a variety of regional champion quartets and choruses since 1981, but in 2009, in a flight of whimsy or a fit of madness or maybe just to protest against the growing numbers of arrangers who insist that baritones should sing above the leads at any given moment in their songs, Lynn switched to bass. Friends who had blazed around their own homes slamming down windows when Lynn decided to share the baritone line of “Piano Roll Blues” while channeling Ethel Merman as she helped them wash supper dishes now simply drop their heads and avoid eye contact with strangers as she shapes up her bass voice in the best conversational style and volume of the great TV evangelical thunderers during dinner, at the movies or in doctors’ offices. Her struggle to keep her eyes at the bottom of the staff and her voice down where it belongs has been notable; the horror of matching octaves with any one of the other three parts is fading, and the certainty that she is singing melody an octave lower than the lead is weakening. During a five minute voice lesson with the amazing Darlene Rogers, Lynn begged her to give her the key to avoiding the Foster Brooks belching sounds she had come to associate with her own production of low Cs. Darlene came through, and now Lynn has a 90% success rate in terms of hitting those notes and making identifiable, musical sounds. Lynn was an educator for 33 years. She taught high school English for 28 years and was a district administrator for five. She retired on June 30, 2011and has been traveling, visiting her family, reading and feverishly studying the lives, characteristics, practices and vocal qualities of the world’s great Sweet Adeline basses, Fedyski, Graham, Albrecht , Berndts, etc. Just as she provides the base [sic] for the barbershop chord, Lynn is the foundation, the anchor, the ball and chain, the straight man in ROXY. When the others are celebrating a stirring tag with high, sideways karate kicks aimed at imaginary audience members’ heads accompanied by wild, spirited cries of “Hi-Yah!” or “Take that!” or “Yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-YAH!” or something to that effect, Lynn merely protects her head and eyes, retreats a few paces and says, “Can we try measure 52 through 59 again? I think I heard something….” Lynn is renowned for her patience, her speed-reading, her poor eyesight, her number of teeth and her love of family, friends, silver jewelry, chocolate-covered peanuts, Jane Austen, her Kindle and good, strong coffee. Who knew she could sing bass?!
Cindy Ahlgrim, gorgeous red-headed front-row Melodeer tenor section leader, wife of Craig and mother of five-year old Bennett, is as goofy as one human being can be and still live to talk about it. Temper that goofiness with great kindness, an adverse reaction to confrontation, and a compulsion to help when help is required, and you have the true essence of Cindy! Did I mention her singing? After all, that’s why she’s featured on this page! Okay, so she is a high-flyin’, ear-splitting, chord-ringing tenor! She actually enjoys singing up there, and she can hold out a tag post until some members, usually the bass, would like to punch her. She also likes to shop. She and Tori win those awards. They are really, really good shoppers. They actually sang together in another regional champ quartet, so they perfected a variety of techniques together! Now they are the bookends of ROXY, and they can make silly faces at each other when they sing if they want to. They do-watch for it! Cindy blows the pitch pipe and now keeps all members of ROXY on their toes because that bedeviled pipe usually makes at least one high-powered escape during rehearsal and crash lands on a coffee table laden with recording devices; some members have been known to jerk their hands off steering wheels or leap out of their socks while listening to these recorded rehearsals, forgetting that what sounds like a major explosion is truly just the pitch pipe evading Cindy’s fluttering, feeble fingers! Be still our beating hearts! In addition to blowing and throwing the pitch pipe and singing tenor like Anya, Cindy manages her busy home with barbershop husband Craig. Together, they are raising their own future barbershopper, Bennett, a whirlwind of activity, curiosity and speed who remains silent and still only when confronted with the video of barbershop quartet Stormfront! Odd, but true! Cindy and Craig’s other dependent is a large golden retriever named Norman. As fast as Bennett with 50 times the hair and an additional 70 pounds, Norman isn’t particularly fond of barbershop and would rather sit on the feet of quartet members than listen to the music. He has been known to bark during a song, but he has no pitch or rhythm. Cindy is a busy, successful hair stylist when she isn’t practicing hands-on motherhood, wifery or singing tenor. A skinny mini, Cindy fits in small spaces, but she eats huge amounts of food (probably has something to do with the limitless energy necessary to corral Bennett, saddle Norman and throw her voice into the earth’s outer atmosphere during various barbershop songs…). Always good-natured, endlessly patient, able to leap small children with a single bound, Cindy adds brightness, wit and positive energy to ROXY. Wait…did you hear that bell? Did an angel just get his wings? No! That was just Cindy making that chord ring for ROXY!
So, there you have it. These four women were, serendipitously, quartet free at the same time a few years ago. They were (and still are!) friends who would never get to sing together unless some risks were taken, some changes were made. Lynn called Tori to see if she would attempt the one thing she swore she could not do, sing baritone; in return, Lynn promised that she would attempt to re-wire her own brain to accept bass as a viable alternative to singing baritone. Both promised Darcy and Cindy that they would try to stick to their new parts. To this day, heads tilt, ears elongate and perk up, accusations fly when three-part chords sneak into old chestnuts as the bass lands on a baritone note or the baritone joins the lead line in a passage…did I mention that the lead sometimes sings tenor notes when she likes them better than her own part? Well, she does! Yep, on occasion, chaos in the chorded world of ROXY reigns supreme. But sometimes, even more often than not nowadays, it does not! What a blast! We’re ROXY, a Sweet Adeline Region 3 champion quartet of quirky women who sing four-part harmony, barbershop style! Nice to meet you! (Picture: (c) Jon B. Petersen, Tulsa
ROXY decided to retire at the end of 2016. We had an amazing six years together, singing on chorus shows throughout Region 3 and at public events such as the 32nd Annual American Music Festival at Fitzgerald's; the Christmas Celebration at the Fortnightly Club of Chicago will, in fact, be our final performance together. We've also performed at at four ROXY Raising The Roof fundraisers, at numerous Region 3 regional weekends and competitions, and, of course, at four International Competitions! We have coached with the best teachers: Jean Barford, Jim Arns, Renee Porzel, Darlene Rogers, and Lynda Keever. We were delighted to collaborate with two awesome arrangers who listened to our ideas and produced cool new charts specifically for ROXY; one is a legend in the Sweet Adelines world, Nancy Bergman, and the other a local arranger new to the barbershop world, Jeremy Landig. Their music added to the overall personality of the quartet, and besides that, was a blast to sing! Our friends, Donna Hufeld and Lori Kerschbaum, made our clothes fit, and Lori and her husband Bill (Tori's parents) opened their home to our out-of-state coaches, offering their guests a warm and generous hospitality. The Melodeers, the Midwest Crossroad and the Choral-Aires Choruses staunchly rallied behind us, providing emotional, financial and vocal support at Regionals and Internationals! Our non-barbershop friends came to our shows and followed our exploits on Facebook! And then there are our families. The Ahlgrims, the Hicks, the Newells and the Vaughns: we could not have had the successful run that we have enjoyed without them. At one time or another, all of us had family members in the audience, even Darcy, whose folks left their home in New Mexico to fly to Regional and International performances and ROXY Raising The Roof! One family member in particular made a huge difference in the lifespan of ROXY, and that was Jenelle Hicks. We are so grateful to Jenelle for becoming the fifth member of our quartet! She stepped into Darcy's shoes and performed beautifully on stage in Las Vegas, her very first appearance on the International Competition stage! Gorgeous, talented and smart, Jenelle gave ROXY one last international performance, and she did it with style and grace. What a champ!
Our teachers, choruses, friends and beloved family members gave us the wherewithal to go onto a stage with confidence, joy and excitement. ROXY loved being together; our rehearsals were perfect balances of pure silliness and meticulous grunt work that let us be quite comfortable on stage. We will be friends forever, and ROXY will be one of our favorite topics of nostalgic conversation. We thank you all for loving our songs, and we love you all right back.
ROXY decided to retire at the end of 2016. We had an amazing six years together, singing on chorus shows throughout Region 3 and at public events such as the 32nd Annual American Music Festival at Fitzgerald's; the Christmas Celebration at the Fortnightly Club of Chicago will, in fact, be our final performance together. We've also performed at at four ROXY Raising The Roof fundraisers, at numerous Region 3 regional weekends and competitions, and, of course, at four International Competitions! We have coached with the best teachers: Jean Barford, Jim Arns, Renee Porzel, Darlene Rogers, and Lynda Keever. We were delighted to collaborate with two awesome arrangers who listened to our ideas and produced cool new charts specifically for ROXY; one is a legend in the Sweet Adelines world, Nancy Bergman, and the other a local arranger new to the barbershop world, Jeremy Landig. Their music added to the overall personality of the quartet, and besides that, was a blast to sing! Our friends, Donna Hufeld and Lori Kerschbaum, made our clothes fit, and Lori and her husband Bill (Tori's parents) opened their home to our out-of-state coaches, offering their guests a warm and generous hospitality. The Melodeers, the Midwest Crossroad and the Choral-Aires Choruses staunchly rallied behind us, providing emotional, financial and vocal support at Regionals and Internationals! Our non-barbershop friends came to our shows and followed our exploits on Facebook! And then there are our families. The Ahlgrims, the Hicks, the Newells and the Vaughns: we could not have had the successful run that we have enjoyed without them. At one time or another, all of us had family members in the audience, even Darcy, whose folks left their home in New Mexico to fly to Regional and International performances and ROXY Raising The Roof! One family member in particular made a huge difference in the lifespan of ROXY, and that was Jenelle Hicks. We are so grateful to Jenelle for becoming the fifth member of our quartet! She stepped into Darcy's shoes and performed beautifully on stage in Las Vegas, her very first appearance on the International Competition stage! Gorgeous, talented and smart, Jenelle gave ROXY one last international performance, and she did it with style and grace. What a champ!
Our teachers, choruses, friends and beloved family members gave us the wherewithal to go onto a stage with confidence, joy and excitement. ROXY loved being together; our rehearsals were perfect balances of pure silliness and meticulous grunt work that let us be quite comfortable on stage. We will be friends forever, and ROXY will be one of our favorite topics of nostalgic conversation. We thank you all for loving our songs, and we love you all right back.