Beat Outside the Box

I was just going back through some of the beatboxing videos here on BOtB and I noticed that there’s nothing here by Kenny Mohammad! As connoisseurs of beatboxing,I’m sure you all realize that Kenny (AKA the Human Orchestra) is one of the originators and creative forces behind today’s beatboxing scene. While easily confused with Rahzel, Kenny’s definitely got a style of his own. Here he is with the New York Philharmonic, among other things.

Check out the article below, from Wisconsin’s Daily Cardinal newspaper with one of our heroes, Jeff Thacher.

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After their 1990s fame from singing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” as well as commercials for Folgers coffee, Rockapella is singing their way to the Memorial Union Theater with UW- Madison’s men’s a cappella group, the MadHatters, as the opener.

Rockapella, a professional men’s a cappella group with only five members, are nationally famous and has been touring the country almost since they were discovered in 1990.

“To survive this long you really have to diversify as a working musical act,” said Jeff Thacher, Rockapella’s vocal percussionist. “Most bands out there usually… CONTINUE READING.

We saw Minimum Wage a few years back at the West Coast A Cappella Summit. Very funny. Legitimate performers. And their beatboxer Charlie LaGreca is the real deal. Now they’ve got an off-broadway musical in New York City!If you’re in the NYC area any time soon, check it out. $35 for the most expensive seats. Variety.com just laid down this review:A LaGreca Brothers presentation of a musical in one act by Charlie and Jeff LaGreca, with music by Sean Altman, Charlie LaGreca and Jeff LaGreca. Additional material by Mike Gribbin and Rob Utesh. Directed by Guy Stroman. Musical director, Will Bryan. Bradbury - Bill CaleoHux - Jeff LagrecaOrewell - Charlie LaGrecaPiercy - Elena MeulenerTitus - Tony Daussat
“When we sing, we are not losers,” croon the cast near the end of “Minimum Wage.” Truer words were never spoken: this sometimes infuriatingly confused little 100-minute musical sports a plot-free book full of embarrassing improv-y set pieces. But a surprising number of songs in the tuner, which played in the 2006 New York Intl. Fringe Festival, legitimately kick a**… Continue reading.

Adam Matta is, quite possibly, one of the most well kept secrets of Cornell University’s music scene. A professional beatboxer and visual artist from New York City, Matta has been making his presence known on the Cornell campus during the last year.

His performances of “Beat Box Bard” last spring at The Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts combined beatboxing and Shakespearean sonnets.

He returned this fall as one of Risley Hall’s artists-in-residences and is currently the man behind the mic in a series of bi-monthly performances known as “Cat and Mouth” which take place in Risley’s Tammany Hall.

“Cat and Mouth” is essentially an improvised jam session in two parts….  Continue reading.

Hernan Livolsi is an Argentinian musician living in Spain who plays an eclectic array of instruments. He’s particularly fond of, and skilled on, the didgeridoo. The video below shows Herman kickin’ beats live on the didge. He has a bunch more videos on myspace.

Everybody should check out this article from the Baltimore Sun about local professional beatboxer Shodekeh. He’s turned beatboxing into a full-time career for himself. He accompanies dance classes and instrumentalists, though he usually prefers to perform as a soloist.

The article also features a great demonstrational video where Shodekeh shows off his cool sounds (and the greatest vinyl static I’ve ever heard).

Wes Carrol, of Mouthdrumming fame teamed up with Dave Baumgartner, his prodigy ex-pupil, at SoJam, an annual A Cappella conference in North Carolina. This is some really, really good stuff. Enjoy.

This guy is kinda like the William Hung of live looping.  He’s actually pretty clever, but his strange singing (and lack of pitch) make it kinda hard to follow.

This is the video with the clearest, cleanest sound we’ve seen.  Check him out:

Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Everyone’s favorite French beatboxer has returned for another edition of France’s version of American Idol, “Nouvelle Star.”

Click here to watch this video. Just do it.