Straight No Chaser melds holiday tunes into tour stop in Pittsburgh

Last fall, Straight No Chaser released an album in “One Shot,” that commemorated the 10th anniversary of the a cappella group with a selection of cover songs that related to highlights and special memories from across the history of the group.

Although the album is only a year old, Straight No Chaser doesn’t plan to perform songs from “One Shot” on this “Open Bar Tour” with a Dec. 18 stop at the Benedum Center, Pittsburgh.

Turned the page

“Looking at the set list here, I think we’ve turned the page from ‘One Shot,’” vocalist Tyler Trepp said in a late-October phone interview.

In a very real sense, Straight No Chaser has opened a new chapter in its career this year. The group has completed its deal with Atlantic Records and started its own label, SNC Records, which will be affiliated with Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division, which is part of Warner Brothers Records.

The label’s focus, Trepp said, will be on holiday projects and singing acts with unique vocals.

And the group has a new stand-alone single out, a version of Lewis Capaldi’s smash hit, “Someone You Loved,” plus a new EP, “Open Bar,” which was released Nov. 15

Trepp’s enthusiasm for the next phase of Straight No Chaser’s career is understandable, given what the group has already accomplished and the opportunities that would seem to lie ahead with its SNC Records label.

Its history

Certainly, Straight No Chaser has been one of music’s more unusual success stories.

Straight No Chaser’s saga began when it formed as a college a cappella group in 1996 at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. The then-10-man ensemble commonly performed at campus sororities (a great way to meet girls, the guys have noted) and various university events and went on to perform at events around the country during what was a three-year run with the original members.

Then graduation came for many of the original Straight No Chasers in 1999, and some moved on to regular jobs and others to musical or theatrical pursuits.

Then the totally unexpected happened when singer Randy Stine reunited Straight No Chaser and the group landed its deal with Atlantic Records.

The unlikely return of the a cappella group stemmed from a 10th anniversary reunion of the collegiate version in 2006. To generate enthusiasm for the occasion, Stine made DVDs of a 1998 Straight No Chaser concert and posted a performance of the group’s wacky rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” to You Tube. It went viral and caught the attention of Craig Kallman, the chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records, who tracked down Stine and eventually signed the group.

Eight of the original members signed on to be part of the reformed Straight No Chaser, and two singers who were part of later editions of Straight No Chaser at Indiana University filled out the lineup. A few singers have left over the years — each replaced by singers from later lineups at Indiana. Today’s lineup has nine members — Stine, Morgan, Trepp, Walter Chase, Dave Roberts, Jerome Collins, Michael Luginbill, Charlie Mechling and Seggie Isho.

Thinking Christmas music was the perfect introduction to the group, Kallman and Atlantic had the group debut with the 2008 Christmas album, “Holiday Spirits.” It was an immediate hit. Since then, the group has released two more holiday albums, four full-length albums and three EPs.

Latest project

This brings things to the “Open Bar” EP, which started to take shape in the spring when Luginbill presented his idea for the project.

“He (Luginbill) wanted to call it ‘Open Bar’ because his idea was to have songs that everybody would know and everybody could sing along to in a bar-type setting,” Trepp said. “That’s where we got the inspiration for all of the songs that are on there.”

The songs the group chose fit that criteria — Dan + Shay’s “Tequila,” Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight,” Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Smash Mouth’s “All-Star.”

Straight No Chaser’s shows on this tour will include most, if not all, of the songs on “Open Bar.” The show, though, will evolve some as the tour moves closer to the holidays. At that point, the group’s holiday songs will become a bigger part of the show.

“We’ve got those (“Open Bar” songs) in there and a couple of other new ones that people (in the group) have arranged, and then a few older songs at the start of the tour,” Trepp said. “Then once it gets closer and closer to the holidays, we’ll add some more (Christmas songs). It tends to usually be about half the show, holiday (songs) versus non-holiday. That’s kind of where we are right now.”