Second life for a capella ensemble

A cappella group Straight No Chaser will perform Dec. 2 at the Wells Fargo Center.

By DAN TAYLOR
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

In 1996, 10 students at Indiana University formed a male vocal ensemble they named Straight No Chaser, after an old Thelonius Monk jazz album.

For the next three years, the group performed intricate and witty arrangements of holiday favorites and old standards, as well as newer tunes — all a capella, with no instrumental backup.

After graduation, the singers pursued other careers until 2006, when the group’s frantic, funny 1998 recording of “The 12 Days of Christmas” was posted on YouTube, sparking a nationwide sensation and a whole new career for Straight No Chaser.

Now a professional act with an Atlantic Records contract, the group has recorded its fourth album and is out on a national tour, with a show set for Dec. 2 at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa. There has been some turnover in the ensemble’s membership, but all of the singers are still from Indiana University.

One of the group’s original and current members, Dave Roberts, 36, of Chicago, called to talk about the ensemble’s origins and its surprising second life.

Q: The backstory for your group is fascinating. You basically met in college and then went your separate ways, right?
A: We got together at Indiana University in Bloomington to sing for girls and have a good time, and really didn’t think twice about it. After that, when we graduated, everybody did his own thing, and we scattered.

Q: Are the singers living all over the country now?
A: We sure are. There’s a guy in Houston, a guy in Vegas, a couple of guys in L.A. and one from Long Island. So yeah, we’re scattered from coast to coast.