Straight No Chaser are reinventing the idea of a cappella on the modern pop landscape. The group originally came together in the fall of 1996, at Indiana University. When the founders began graduating on 1999, and went onto jobs mostly outside of music, they chose replacements and established SNC as an ongoing group on campus with future generations of ambitious IU grads. More than 50 members have passed through the groups ranks so far. Such was the impact SNC made at IU that the school hosted a 10th anniversary reunion show for the original lineup in 2006, and when Stine posted clips from a 1998 concert on YouTube, SNC's fan base grew exponentially. In 2007 alone, the group's version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" was viewed more than seven million times. Today that number has surpassed 11 million, and the group’s cumulative YouTube views clock in at more than 25 million.
Among those viewers was Atlantic Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, who found SNC's music, "brilliant, fresh and totally compelling." Kallman e-mailed Stine, who initially thought it was a prank but thought otherwise when he was whisked to Los Angeles to meet with the label chief. A few days later, the entire group was in New York City to sign its recording deal. The current incarnation of SNC includes later members of the group, including Michael Luginbill, Seggie Isho, Don Nottingham, and Tyler Trepp. "A music career was definitely not on my radar; getting the guys back together, not just for someone’s wedding or bachelor party, but to spend the majority of the year together touring and recording, is a dream come true." Stine says. "I pinch myself all the time and hope it continues and becomes a longstanding career."
Straight No Chaser are playing the Aronoff Center on Saturday, November 25th! Tickets go on sale Friday, May 19th. Make sure to buy your tickets early, this show will sell out!
