Everything You Ever Wanted To Know...
Chicago Voice Exchange (or CVX, to those "in the loop") has been
entertaining crowds
in the U.S. since 1991-ish. For detailed info on the CVX trail of destruction,
follow these links...
What is CVX?
How did CVX get started?
How did CVX get named?
What was CVX's first gig?
What kind of sound system does the group have?
Did CVX ever perform with more than 5 people?
What was the first recording that CVX made?
When Thano left, was the group sad?
Did the group ever make a video?
Does the group have a CD?
When did Ted leave the group to make movies?
What's up with the rotating tenors?
Does CVX do holiday music?
Tell me about the glory years of Midwest Domination...
What's up with CVX corrupting our youth?
Do the guys in the group have nicknames?
Who is the oldest CVX member?
CVX is an entertaining award-winning five-member
a
cappella
group based in Chicago. CVX is
a
three
-time winner of the Midwest Harmony Sweepstakes competition, and has
entertained crowds at venues
such as sports events (Cubs, Sox and Bulls games, the World Cup), holiday
events, festivals, industry conferences
and bake sales.
How did CVX get started?
In the Summer of 1991, Thano Chaltas and Tim Eaton moved to the Chicago area
from Boston,
where they had been members of the esoteric and offbeat performance art group
"
Thano's Boyz
". Thano and Tim were eager to bring their nutty
a cappella
vision to Chicago, and set about recruiting for a new group. It was difficult
to find potential members who met
the twin criteria that Thano and Tim had laid out (being able to sing, and
willing to sing rather than argue).
Just when Thano and Tim were about to shelve the plans for a group, they met
Peter Harlan and Joe Dennis (recently
of the seminal folk-blues trio "
Peter, Joe, and Amy
"). Peter and Joe were also looking to found an
a cappella
group in Chicago. After a 2 hour session
at the 3D Goethe Studio in Old Town, the four agreed to start a group. Soon
after that first meeting, the group
found its fifth original member, Dan MacDonald.
How did CVX get named?
One of the first actions of the group was to argue long and hard about what the
name of the
group should be. There were a whole host of possible names: WeWopDoo (from
Peter Harlan, master of cheese), New
Caboose, Vox Populi, Digital Voice Exchange, Five Guys named Moe, etc.
Eventually, a compromise was reached with
Chicago Voice Exchange. Hurrah.
What was CVX's first gig?
The first time CVX sang in front of a (captive) audience was at a party in a
friend's apartment
in November of 1991. During the holiday season of 1991, CVX sang for shoppers
in the streets of Chicago. This was,
surprisingly, not a bad way to make a few bucks. Less than an hour of singing
could lead to hours of inebriation
thanks to the gentle citizens who appreciated the
a cappella
chestnuts roasting away on Michigan Avenue.
The group's first foray into the world of amplification came at the Harmony
Sweepstakes
competition
in the Spring of 1992. Having just learned a jazzed-up National Anthem
arrangement, the group led off the 10 minute
competition set with a patriotic display that left most of the audience in
total confusion. Soon after this debacle,
the group purchased a sound system.
What kind of sound system does the group have?
Originally, the group purchased 6 AKG 1000 microphones, and ran these through a
TASCAM 8
track out to whatever sound system we could get a hold of; the group doesn't
actually remember what we used for
amps and speakers back then. The AKGs are great mikes, but tend towards feeding
back, so the group replaced the
AKGs with Shure Beta 58 microphones in 1993. Currently, the group usually sets
up with the Shure mikes, some kind
of head, two Bag End monitors, and two Peavey mains.
Did CVX ever perform with more than 5 people?
CVX had a problem in the summer of 1992; Thano had been attending
NU's Kellogg school of business,
and had landed an intern job in New York. The group couldn't afford to fold in
the summer while Thano was gone,
so Ted Schillinger was brought in as a summer replacement. Ted and Joe had sung
together in a college group, the
Duke's Men of Yale
, and
Ted was available and interested in doing some singing again.
When Thano returned in the fall, Ted wanted to continue singing. The group
already had 6
mikes, so the group became a 6 person group for some time.
What was the first recording the group made?
The group made their first album, "Look Ma, an Album" in the fall of
1992 at the
3d Goethe Studio in Old Town.
When Thano left, was the group sad?
Not really; Thano's version of James Brown's classic "I
Feel Good" was way over
the top, and the onstage fistfights between Tim and Thano were getting old.
(Just kidding Thano, we love you. Thanks
for calling last time you were in town!)
Did the group ever make a video?
Yes; that is, the group
shot
a video. Ted was the producer, and found a large number
of venues for us to record in. After the footage was done, he made a pass at
the director, and she left the project.
The tapes are still somewhere, but nobody knows where.
Does the group have a CD?
Yes, three in fact:
Inner Child Proof
,
Live From Paris
, and
CVXmas
.
When did Ted leave the group to make movies?
1994.
What's up with the rotating tenors?
Dan begat Steven begat Mike begat Doug begat Bryan begat
Torin, begat Mike again - and finally begat Jason.
Does CVX do holiday music?
Yes. In fact, CVX has a holiday CD,
CVXmas
.
Tell me about the glory years of Midwest Domination...
In the early days of CVX, the Harmony Sweepstakes wasn't a huge success for the
group. In
1991, the contest was the group's first foray into amplification (as well as
the last year of
Acme Vocals
). In 1992, there wasn't even a Chicago Regional contest.
In 1994, John Milne, though not yet a member of the group, helped pick our
contest rep, including a 6 minute rendition
of "Uncle John's Band". ("It'll kill!", urged John.) Again,
we didn't place.
However, things changed in 1995. We went on early in the contest, and didn't
feel too good
about the show. In fact, John went home right after we finished our set. Much
to our surprise, we actually won
the regional! The nationals in San Francisco were tremendous fun (except for
Dan's choice not to go - he wasn't
willing to take time off of a show he had just gotten into.) Steve Ban came
instead, for a high-pressure first
gig with the group.
In 1997, we won the Chicago regional again (after hosting in 1996), and had a
good show at
the nationals. In 1998, we hosted Chicago once more, raising our hilarity to a
high art. Then...
We won again in 1999! As Dan would've said, "Woooooohooooooo!" The
victory caught
us with our pants down (Bryan literally, as he was in the restroom at the time
of the announcement), but we swore
to do our best at the National event in San Francisco.
In total, an unprecedented
three
consecutive Midwest wins-- a hat trick, if you will
(we can't say thr**peat, or we'll have to pay royalties to Pat Riley).
What's up with CVX corrupting our youth?
Recently, we've started singing for school assemblies. The kids seem to like it
(as John
points out during the show, "Anything's better than class!" Even the
teachers agree to that.) The show
for the kids is clean (mostly).
Do the guys in the group have nicknames?
Yes. The official dwarf nicknames for the group members are:
Andrew - Anal
Bryan - Dopey
Jason - Rockstar
Tim - Grumpy
Joe - Angry
John - Silly
Mike - Big Sack O' Soul
Torin - Waiter
Who is the oldest CVX member?
While not one of the original members, "Uncle John" Milne is a
mainstay of the
group's roster, and the eldest - by a
longshot.
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