Vocal heroes

>> New York a cappella combo
Naturally 7 take it to another level

DON’T JINX THE LARYNX: Naturally 7

By GERARD DEE

Popular music has always had a place for a cappella tunes by groups like Take 6 and Manhattan Transfer, but the New York-based septet Naturally 7 has taken the style to another level. While other such outfits sing without instruments, these guys incorporate instrumentation in a very unique way.

“Everything you hear is voice-generated,” explains founding member Roger Thomas. “We’re doing our best to mimic any type of instrument we’re trying to do. Our view is that if we want to do something electronic, like a distorted guitar, we put our voice through whatever you would put an acoustic guitar through to get that distorted sound. That’s the rule—everything’s got to be from the voice.”

The group has even coined a phrase to describe this intricate process: vocal play. “It’s taking [a cappella] one step further,” says Thomas. “You know a cappella, by definition, is just singing without instruments, but vocal play is when you decide to become the instrument itself.”

Quite a feat, considering six out of the seven band members have never actually played the instruments they’re imitating. For instance, Thomas’s brother and fellow founding member, Warren, has perfected the art of vocal drumming without ever having hit a drum.

“What he’s done is that he’s studied what a drummer looks like and what a drum kit sounds like. You have to understand what the operation of that instrument is so that you can do it vocally. Basically, each person in the group found something unique that the rest of us couldn’t do.”

Furthermore, Thomas says the group has improved their skills over the years. His brother is a prime example. “When we first decided to do what we do, Warren could only do the drums for about 30 to 60 seconds, maybe a minute and a half at a time, so we would work the arrangements so he would only have to do a minute and a half, sing something else, and then come back to the drums. Now, he can do those drums for about two hours straight.”

Not surprisingly, Thomas says that it’s crucial that the group keep their voices in peak condition. “None of us smoke, none of us even drink. We’ve got to be so careful because if one guy’s voice is down, just one, that’s really going to affect the show. But we’ve not ever, in the seven, eight years we’ve been doing this, not ever had a show we could not do because someone’s voice was so far down we couldn’t perform. It’s just like you wouldn’t take your violin and put it on a hot surface. We’ve got to be that cautious with our voices, and we’ve got to be very careful with the sleep we get.”

The group has opened for an eclectic range of artists, including Justin Timberlake, Gnarls Barkley and now Michael Bublé. But one thing is a constant—the audience reaction to them.

“In general, we’ve been kind of spoiled because people love us everywhere we go. Most of the agents tell us that they have never, ever seen a support act get a standing ovation. And I must tell you that we’ve gotten a standing ovation more times than we haven’t.”

With Michael Bublé at Bell
Centre on Wednesday,
Jan. 30, 8 p.m., sold out