COURTNEY MIRANDA
Opinion Editor
mirands@plu.edu
During their guest appearance on The Mast Radio Hour, PLUtonic revealed all about their arrangements, team dynamic, and preparation for this year’s International Championship of Collegiate A Capella.
Q: What is different about PLUtonic this year?
“I think this group is a very different group than we’ve had in the past. It’s a generally younger group than we’ve had, but it’s an incredibly talented group of musicians. They all bring so much individuality to the table.”
Q: Do any of you guys do original arrangements?
“Yes, we’re going to be premiering an original song of mine later on this year at a very special conference that has not been announced to the public. Will be giving you more information as it comes up.”
Q: What [did you do] to prepare for the ICCA’s?
“Over J-Term, we kind of had to plan together our schedule based on our classes to rehearse. [It was] pretty laid back up until J-Term break where we pretty much had rehearsal everyday. Lots of practice, lots of taking care of our voices.”
Q: Do you guys have any ritual to get prepared for performances?
“Yes we do, it’s such a brotherhood and we really take the time to get to know each other and really prepare not just musically but emotionally and spiritually (“attitudionally”) as brothers. Our main ritual before every performance we’ll get in a circle somewhere secluded and freestyle rap. We call it a rap circle. Some of us have gone from zero to hero doing that.
Q: Who’s the best rapper?
“Peter Olschner, his nickname is Slim no Shady.”
Q: How did you pick your ICCA song?
“When we were first deciding what music we were going to do, a big email was sent out about any song you think is cool. There’s around 50 maybe 100 songs on that email chain. Dominic (DeSoto) sent this link to the Piña Colada Song and Tuesday, and we had a big meeting and put all the songs on the board and we went through all these different iterations of what the potential set might look like, at one point it was a giant man cover of a bunch of Adele songs. It took about two hours of just striking one song after another until we got our three songs that would show off our voices the best.”
Q: Where can we listen to your music?
“We have some videos on YouTube; quite a few years ago there was a PLUtonic group on America’s Got Talent. We have a pretty cool legacy. We also have Facebook. If you want a CD, contact Kyle Mitchell, our director. There are always CD’s at our concerts, they’re just $5.”
See the PLUtonic Facebook page for a full list of PLUtonic members and more information about the group!
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