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Inside Vocal Majority
Eddie Thunders from Down Under-Part Two
The Vocal Majority is honored to share a two-part podcast-interview with our own Eddie Martinez, recently produced by two of Barbershop Harmony Australia’s movers & shakers…Richard Reeve and Ash Schofield on their “Good Morning BHA” podcast. Eddie is an accomplished singing professional and educator, BHS judge, coach and gold medalist as well as a Vocal Majority tenor, section leader and director of the VM small group…VM Express.
Eddie shares more personal, and sometimes very emotional stories about his life and decades dedicated to coaching, teaching and encouraging barbershop singing, not only across the US ,Canada & UK…but to nearly every corner of the continent of Australia.
We hope you enjoy both episodes with Eddie, Richard & Ash. Check out “Good Morning BHA” for more entertaining, barbershop related podcasts from our brothers in Australia. And be sure to look for new and previous episodes with more stories and music from the Vocal Majority, right here on “Inside Vocal Majority”.

Inside Vocal Majority
Eddie Thunders From Down Under - Part One
The Vocal Majority is honored to share a two-part podcast-interview with our own Eddie Martinez, recently produced by two of Barbershop Harmony Australia’s movers & shakers…Richard Reeve and Ash Schofield on their “Good Morning BHA” podcast.
Eddie is an accomplished singing professional and educator, BHS judge, coach and gold medalist as well as a Vocal Majority tenor, section leader and director of the VM small group…Vocal Majority Express. Eddie shares personal stories about his life and decades dedicated to coaching, teaching and encouraging barbershop singing, not only across the US ,Canada & UK…but to nearly every corner of the continent of Australia.
We think you’ll enjoy this 30-minute conversation with Eddie, Richard & Ash …so be sure to check out part-two of “Eddie Thunders from Down Under”.

Inside Vocal Majority
I Thank My Lucky Stars
Americans celebrate the Fourth of July every year, marking the founding of the United States. Usually an occasion for parades, parties, barbecues, concerts and fireworks, this most significant national holiday on the American calendar will be different this year. It may be quieter… with smaller gatherings…closer to home. But this doesn’t change the fact that Americans love this country and cherish our independence and freedom. On this day, we “thank our lucky stars to be living here today.” We also know that freedom isn’t free. Millions of men and women have put their life on the line to protect our freedom.
So we thought you might like to meet some of the brave men of the Vocal Majority who served in different branches of our Armed Forces. In this episode, you’ll hear stories about the military  experiences of VM members Dave Huff, Clark Magee, Jim Patterson, Tony Stafford, Joe Frazier and Mike “MJ” Johnson. And of course the VM will sing a few of our favorite patriotic songs… The Star-Spangled Banner, Armed Forces Medley and God Bless the USA.
A note about the production of this episode…longtime VM member/performer and historical contributor Frank Eastman traveled around the state of Texas during our time in quarantine and met (properly socially-distanced) and recorded the interviews you hear on this show. Then Frank and Nick Alexander, another longtime member/performer/show host and “voice” of the VM, edited the hours of interviews into this episode. The VM is extremely grateful for the efforts and dedication of these gentlemen.
So Happy 4th of July everyone. We hope you enjoy hearing our stories and music. And we think you'll agree with us when we sing:
“I thank my lucky stars...
To be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom...
And they can’t take that away.”

Vocal Majority "Live & In Concert at White’s Chapel”- Part Two
Hosted by Clint Blalock
As we rewind to the time of this podcast, the universe had yet to try to hit “pause” on our songs. On that Valentine’s Day evening in South Lake Texas, we finished our performance with this sentiment….“If you want to know…What the world needs now…is love sweet love…it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of”. Who knew how true this message would become just a few days after this show. So until it’s safe for us to “riser” again and have Jay blow his pitch pipe, we hope you find some peace and reassurance with this podcast of ”VM Live & In Concert at White’s Chapel” - Part Two. If you know someone who needs some love…to have their heart and soul touched with a song…we hope you’ll share this podcast. It would make us very happy to know our songs play on and that the universe couldn’t stop the music.

Vocal Majority Live and In Concert at White's Chapel - Part One
Hosted by Clint Blalock
It was Friday night. It was a beautiful February evening in Texas. It was almost Spring. It was Valentine’s Day. The start of our weekend was bubbling with anticipation and thoughts of love. The hundred men who made the trip to South Lake Texas that night were feeling exceptionally positive .…almost giddy if you will. Giddy because these guys love to sing…and they love to sing love songs. So what better way to start our weekend of romance than to serenade a few hundred patrons of choral music with an hour of love songs….all kind of songs. We sang songs about the people we hold dearly in our hearts…songs about our love of state and country…and songs about our love of God.But who knew this evening would also be one of the last times for many days to come that these men could greet each other with a handshake or stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the riser? Who knew it would be the last time, for now, that we could hug a visiting family member, a friend or newcomer in the lobby after the show? Who knew anything about “virtual afterglows”? Who knew that after this night, one of the only ways left for us to touch someone would be through a song? Who knew?However, Vocal Majority looks back on this podcast of that evening’s performance not with sadness or remorse, but with validation for why we exist. We sing the songs that touch people….that touch your heart and soul. We sing the songs that bring us together….connect us…embrace us. So we hope you find some peace and reassurance in these two ”VM Live & In Concert at White’s Chapel” episodes. And just know, the men of the Vocal Majority are doing ok…matter of fact, we are better than ever! We continue to sing and rehearse virtually. And when the day arrives when we all can be together again, be assured that we will be just as giddy about singing for you as we were on that night in February.

Inside Vocal MajorityNo Arms
Welcome back… All You Lovers…to Vocal Majority’s Valentine’s Day Podcast Episode-Part Two. You know, when you think about it, “Love” is a four-letter word that comes in different shapes, sizes and flavors — like what you find in a box of chocolates. (Forest Gump knows what we mean). And we express our love in the words we speak to close a phone call, in the heart-shaped emojis our fingers quickly type to BFFs and in the thousands of love songs that have been written and sung for the ones that live in our hearts. In this episode, Vocal Majority offers you this heart-filled box of chocolates while we will escort you down “lover’s lane” with a few stories about some of these love songs….and then we’ll sing them for you, along with a few special guests.Our first piece of chocolate is a VM classic from ‘96… “If I Give My Heart To You”, followed by an a cappella bonbon… ”What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life”…sung by two giants in the Barbershop world…. Jeff Oxley and Greg Clancy. Then with a nod to the sugar-sweet 60’s pop group The Turtles, The Nylons suggest “Imagine me and you, I do” with their caramel-treat “Happy Together”.Our next selection will be from longtime VM friend, Don Shelton and his vocal group… Singers Unlimited, with their delicious version of “My Romance”. The last two pieces of chocolate in the box will be two VM recordings…. “You Are So Beautiful” (with strings) and “No Arms Can Ever Hold You”.We hope the songs and stories we’ve shared on this episode show you how much we love “Love”. The VM wish you and all your loved ones a wonderful Valentine’s Day. And we hope it’s full of flowers, love songs….and chocolate!
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” —Charles M. Schulz