CVX Members
CVX has had quite a few members during its run. You can read about
current members
and
former members
.
CVX is
Andrew Blendermann
,
Joe Dennis
,
Tim Eaton
,
John Milne
, and
Jason Bayle
.
While most of the group hates a cappella, Andrew is an avid a cappella
aficionado, and is always "in the know"
when anything new and unexciting happens to dramatically alter the face of a
cappella. Andrew hails from the Cleveland
area, but don't hold that against him (unfortunately, most of Cleveland already
does). That's what brought him
to Chicago, where he enjoys life as a working musician. An accomplished
pianist, Andrew pians all over the Chicagoland
area, both clothed and naked. You can catch his act at restaurants and piano
bars like Davenport's in
Bucktown, or at Howl At The Moon in the River North area. To book him for a
piano gig, take a look at
www.blenderful.com
.
Andrew is always driving around from gig to gig, so you might see him on the
road driving 50 in the left or
middle lane (or both). Here's what the dangervan looks like: (a picture will be
here eventually...)
Joe is our bass, and one of the two remaining original group members. In
college, Joe got a full-ride scholarship
for synchronized swimming, and also sang with the
Duke's Men of Yale
and the
Whiffenpoofs
. As well as singing with CVX, Joe is working on a startup software
venture (as long as his wife will let him get away with sitting at home all
day), and stars as "Po" on
young America's latest craze, the Teletubbies.
Tim is the high tenor, and one of the two remaining original group members (Joe
being the other original group
member that is not Tim). In college at Michigan, Tim sang with the
Friars
. After
graduating, Tim sang with the
Jabberwocks
, a professional group based in Boston,
but quit when one of the other members punched him in the face. Tim later went
on through careers in advertising,
finance, automobile sales, and undertaking before founding CVX. Tim's favorite
color is mauve, and he enjoys cooking,
pottery, and cooking with mauve pottery.
The old man of the group, John had little success in vaudeville, but years
later, did have one of the first
MTV videos while singing with "The Toons," a San Francisco based rock
band and steambath club. Recently,
John's audition with the Spice Girls' management for the role of "Old
Spice" met with wide disapproval
and raised eyebrows. He also fronts a punk/novelty/polka
band called "The Grim
Reminders". John joined CVX in the fall of 1994, and is the first
non-original member of the group to
win the coveted CVX
Singer of the Month
award for three months running.
Jason Bayle
Jason is an old friend from Octane
(from Northern Illinois University), with a tenor voice like
a Little Angel (tm). He's the newest member in our
Tenor 2 spot, the "single guy who gets all the chicks" spot.
Although they no longer sing with CVX on a regular basis, our former members no
longer sing with CVX on a regular
basis, nor do they regularly sing with CVX (although most are still as regular
as ever).
Mike is CVX's original "Fat Lady." (though he is neither fat,
nor a lady) He left the group in 1996 to study choral conducting, but
rejoined us for another term. The Grover Cleveland of CVX.
He's now a hot-shot vocal director at Willow Creek church in
Barrington.
Where Mike left off, Tom picked up. Literally.
Siamese twins at birth, conjoined at the upper lip, these
brothers have been interchangeable tenors in the CVX
organization. They both had equal amounts of
hair, just not similarly distributed.
Torin joined CVX in mid-2000 (when Bryan
finally
split town for
L.A.). He lives in an apartment so small, it actually has a negative
number of bedrooms. However, he has somehow parlayed this domestic taste
and charm into matrimony. In August 2001, he married his
longtime-Swedish-sweetie, Ingelill (and we have no idea if we're spelling this
correctly). Torin has escaped Chicago to work at a posh resort - we're
guessing he's probably singing with a speed-metal band, or announcing today's
specials.
The revolving seat that is our Tenor section once held a man named
Chadima. Formerly of Blind Man's Bluff
, Bryan entertained us with many...ahem...tales of romance, and yet he remains mysteriously un-married*
(halitosis
don't you know). Bryan has relocated to L.A., where he actually makes a living as a full-time
musician, recording engineer, voice teacher, adman, and escort. He even
sings in an a cappella quartet - with Dick Van Dyke! (known as
"The Vantastics"
, of course) To book him for a "gig," contact us.
To book him after a gig, contact the LAPD at 911. All joking aside, Bryan is
very familiar with our stalwart
protectors of justice in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and
Indiana, and can help you choose wisely
which stretches of our nation's highways compare favorably with the Autobahn.
*Which is why we all live vicariously through him.
Eric Bradley
Eric worked with CVX as our longest-running "alternate," subbing
mostly for Andrew, but occasionally
for some other folks. Eric left Chicago for L.A. (he's also a
"Vantastic"
), in search of writing and acting opportunities. Good luck, Eric!
Doug Wood
Doug replaced Mike as our lead tenor guy in the summer of 1996. He and Andrew
had sung together with
The Hi-Tops
before joining CVX. Doug left in January of 1998 to head out to
L.A. in pursuit of recording contracts
and the perfect tan. Good luck, Doug!
Mayor Daley
Mayor Daley has been an honorary member of CVX ever since he started attending
CVX shows in the early 90's.*
Thanks Mayor Daley!
Steven Ban
Steve replaced Dan when Dan got the show bug. Steve, previously a member of
Guy's In Ties
, has been involved in the Chicago a cappella scene since the late 80's. In
college, he sang with the
Princeton Nassoons
. Steve's first show with CVX was the National Harmony Sweepstakes
competition in 1995. Steve worked with the group for about a year, leaving to
pursue his first love, Squash.
Ted replaced Thano, and sang with the group from 1992 through 1994. Ted sang
with Joe in college in the
Duke's Men
. Ted's sardonic wit and creative coiffure are missed, but we're happy to see
him directing away, both in
television (American Justice) and in movies (Junk). Ted recently got married,
but forgot to tell us. Thanks Ted!
Peter, an original member of the group, sang with CVX until he moved to
Boston in 1996. Peter's "Big Boy" persona (muscular build, constant
appetite, resemblance to "Big Boy") is still missed 5 years later.
Peter was the group's designated crooner of the early 90s, during which he
fronted the group in pretty much every song, especially the pretty ones. Peter
also contributed heavily to the group's output of original songs in the early
CVX years.
Dan MacDonald
"They're clamorin' for a Danno song" was the battle cry of the group
in the early 90's. Dan was an
original member of the group from 1991. Dan's red hair and parsimonious
tendencies have departed the group, but
can be found on stage at the Royal George theatre, where Dan stars in
"Forever Plaid." In college at
the U of I, Dan sang with the
Other Guys
.
Thano Chaltas
Thano, the forefather of CVX, can be found in New York doing brand-type stuff
with food. Whoo-hoo! Before CVX,
Thano and Tim sang together in a group in Boston called the
Unsecured Notes
.
*
Mayor Daley has never attended a CVX gig intentionally
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