The whole process started when the Zumbyes sent their audition tape to Varsity Vocals, the organizer of the competition. They were then able to move onto the semifinals at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston after winning first place out of seven groups in the quarterfinals that took place in January. This time they were up against other schools that had won first or second place in their respective quarterfinals-schools like Boston University, Brown University, Harvard University and Tufts University.
The preparation consisted of rehearsal, rehearsal and more rehearsal. The group came back during Interterm and the last few days of Spring Break to practice for the competition. Darryl Weimer '10 jested, "Part of my preparation was waking up every morning and drinking five raw eggs and then running around Amherst and finishing by going up Memorial Hill, then throwing my arms up and dancing in victory at the top."
Explained Andrew Rubenstein '07, "A number of our guys had been sick at various points over the past few weeks, so we were never at full strength when rehearsing for the semifinal. Luckily, we drank enough Emergen-C or slept enough before the event, that our voices all felt better. We were definitely able to sound fuller because of it and be more unrestrained during our set."
All their hard work came to fruition when the producer announced the Zumbyes as the winner of the New England region semifinals. They also won Best Choreography for Thriller, which was choreographed by James Park '08 and Chris Gillyard '08, who are currently both studying abroad in Japan. Other songs in their repertoire included "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" (soloist–Rubenstein), "Blackbird" and "Thriller" (soloist–Greg Curreri '09). The number of songs was kept to three because there was a strict 12-minute time limit which would disqualify them from the finals if the group exceeded it.
"We were disqualified a few years back for going 10 seconds over the time limit," explained Rubenstein, "so we were very conscious of getting our set timed exactly beforehand. We had to cut a few things out, but I think it made for a tighter 12 minutes."
When asked about the reason for their success, the consensus among the Zumbyes seemed to be that they were very different from all the other standard a cappella groups that were there.
For Pat Savage '07, "the key to [the Zumbyes'] success is that [they] have [their] own unique style and [they] have fun just being [themselves] and enjoying singing with people [they] like." He said, "I was surprised how similar all the other groups sounded. They all sang the same kinds of pop songs, their arrangements sounded the same, their on-stage appearance was pretty similar. They all, for some reason, have their vocal percussionist stand off to the side of the group with a microphone and overpower the group … things like that. They all seemed a little self-conscious, like they thought that's how they were supposed to be but weren't really enjoying it, whereas we did our own thing and just enjoyed singing and interacting with the audience. And the audience seemed to dig it, too. We were worried that the judges seemed more used to that style of a cappella and might penalize us for being different, but apparently they enjoyed our different take on it."
Similarly, Curreri felt that the Zumbyes had a unique approach to the competition. "The vibe I got from so many of the other groups was that they were just singing in their own little bubble and the judges were just looking at say ... a rehearsal or something .... whereas even though we were being judged, we put on a performance aimed at entertaining people not only with our songs but our energy, choreography, humor, etc," he said. "So that even though we trying our hardest to advance and it was a competition, we approached it trying to have fun and win over the audience, not [as] points on a score sheet."
Supporters of the Zumbyes had similar sentiments. Sawa Matsueda '07, one of the seven "groupies" who went along with the group to Boston commented that she was tired of a cappella by the end of the show. "All the groups have a standard image of what a cappella should be like, and most groups stay with that," she explained. "The background vocals and the styles are just too similar. You get numbed by it all. I mean, they're good but it gets really annoying after a while. I think the Zumbyes were the most comical, with their crazy shoes and the banana."
Other members in the group attributed their success to their ability to relax and have a good time. "A big reason for our success is the fact that we don't take ourselves too seriously," said Tim Deary '09. "We are all a bunch of college kids who like to sing and perform for the joy of it. We like to get the crowd grooving, we like to have a good time, and I think our performances really highlight that fact. Also, thanks to Chris Gillyard and James Park, the choreography for Thriller absolutely kills audiences."
The ICCA finals will be held on April 21 at the Lincoln Center in New York City. "We're excited just to sing at Lincoln Center," said Rubenstein. "We generally think about singing in terms of making an audience laugh and having fun on stage, so the idea of being judged is a bit strange. Luckily we've managed to pull out a couple wins so we have the chance to sing in NYC. It would be wonderful to come up big in the finals, but performing at Lincoln Center is a reward in and of itself. Hopefully we can get a big crowd of Amherst students to come and make it feel a bit more like home."
The Zumbyes are tentatively planning to visit Doshisha Elementary School and Doshisha University in Kyoto, and Tokyo Alumni Association and Tokyo Disney Resort in Tokyo.
Those interested in attending can order tickets online at http://www.lincolncenter.org/show_events_list.asp?eventcode=14351. For more information, visit the new Zumbyes Website (www.zumbyes.com) which includes information about members.