Barbershop Quartet Festival
Hoover Auditorium
Hoover Auditorium

September 4, 2010
8:15 pm

Lakeside will celebrate the 61st anniversary of the Lakeside Barbershop Quartet Festival with “The Show of Champions” at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Hoover Auditorium. The show will feature three award-winning groups: The Men of Independence, Lightly Seasoned and 4-Way Stop.

The Men of Independence: The Men of Independence is the chorus of the Independence, Ohio, chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). The chorus competes in the Johnny Appleseed District (JAD) of the BHS, which covers Ohio, parts of West Virginia and the southwest corner of Kentucky. After consistently placing in the top three for several years, the Men of Independence were Chorus Champions in 2010.

Lightly Seasoned: Lightly Seasoned is a quartet from northeast Ohio. The group is comprised of lead George Alcorn, tenor Joe Fraley, baritone Greg Batchelor and bass Darryl Flinn. Together, the four were the 2009 JAD Senior Champions and the 2010 International Seniors Bronze Medalists.

4-Way Stop: 4-Way Stop has been performing since 2004. In 2009, they were the JAD Quartet Champions and International Collegiate 5th Place Medalists. The group is comprised of lead Robbie Churgovich, tenor Mike Wright, baritone Joe Downey and bass Ryan McDivitt. All four men are past or current members of The Alliance Chorus, a two-time International Bronze Medalist and consistent top 10 finisher.

Lightly Seasoned spent the weekend entertaining the island folk at Put-N-Bay on Friday, and Middle Bass on Saturday, for the annual barbershop bash~ Thanks to Bob Gainer our host for putting us up in his “luxury barn” where the quartet worked on craft, new music, and just plain spent time together doing what quartets do. We were very proud to be asked to close the show at Middle Bass on Saturday evening, out of 17 quartets that performed! On the Ferry over to the island on Friday, we witnessed the plane that crashed into the Lake. Thank God, all people made it out safely. We rode back Sunday on the 10:15 Miller, with a group of our buds….singing the whole trip back. What a great weekend we had.

Saturday evening in Philadelphia, at the 2010 International Convention and Contest where Darryl judged his final contest, was a proud and humbling moment for our Bass singer. Darryl was inducted into the Barbershop Hall of Fame, after all of his many years of dedicated service to the society, as judge, Executive Director, quartet man, and just plain giving his life to our hobby. Lightly Seasoned is proud to have such a barbershop icon as our bassman, and we salute you Darryl, on a job well done. Cudos!

Even Memorial Day weekend was a busy one for Lightly Seasoned. After spending a “Lovely Day” on Lake Erie looking for “Minnie the Mermaid”, the quartet sang for food and drink at George’s and Greg’s home away from home at Fenwick Marina on Saturday. Leaving for Cleveland on Sunday, the 4-som sang for the “Ladies of the Knights” of Columbus luncheon, at The Rennaisance Hotel in Downtown Cleveland. WOW!

Lightly Seasoned is proud to be invited to sing in Steubenville tonight, for the Upper Ohio Valley Chapter Show, sharing the stage with Cadillac Jack.

Lightly Seasoned will be singing Friday Evening, at the RiverChurch, North Olmsted OH, in the District Quartet Competition. Singing 7th, the quartet will be onstage at approximately 7:15, among over 30 other competitors. In addition, they will present their 2009 Seniors Champion trophy to the new 2010 Seniors Champion Quartet. We hope to sing our best, have a blast, and see ya there!

Lightly Seasoned is proud to be on stage Saturday, March 20, 2010 on the Akron Chapter annual show! We hope to see you there.

Tampa Florida was a Cinderella Story weekend for Lightly Seasoned. We were a wild card invitation to the Midwinter International Seniors Competition, held on Friday afternoon, Jan. 29th at the Performing Arts Center in downtown Tampa. Lightly Seasoned performed number 23, singing for a full house out of a field of 27 quartets. Our goal was to be the best entertaining quartet on stage that day….regardless of how we faired in the standings. When they announced the official scoring standings……We finished 5th, earning a bronze medal. What a rewarding experience we had, and such a surprise! Our thanks goes out to our coaches, Don Anderson, and David Wallace, our beloved Canton Chapter, and JAD, for helping us get there. It only gets better from here.

Well, its almost here. One week from now, Lightly Seasoned will board their flights and head to the sunny (hopefully) south, to be one of four quartets to represent JAD Friday January 29th, at the Mid Winder Convention and Seniors Contest in Tampa, FLA. We have had some excellent coaching, are bringing out a new tune, and we are excited! If you are in the Tampa area, you can buy a ticket for the contest round on friday, January 29, at the Convention Center. The contest starts at noon. Rock on Lightly Seasoned, and all the quartets representing JAD.

Lightly Seasoned sang for the second year in a row, at Akron’s First Night Celebration in Downtown Akron. Singing in the public Library, the quartet sang 3 sets, one at 5, 6, and 7. It was a great evening of singing, with nearly full seats for each performance. We then celebrated the New Year at Spaghetti Warehouse with our wives for a delicious dinner! Lightly Seasoned wishes you all a Happy New Year, filled with much Harmony……..!