Denver barbershop quartet 'Verse' celebrates National Barbershop Music Appreciation Day

[00:00:00]This week we're celebrating barbershop music appreciation day. But I'm guessing barbershop quartet is where we're There are more barbershop quartets singing across Colorado than you might know, including First Quartet. Hi.

[00:00:12]>> Hi.

[00:00:13]>> Welcome in. Oh my gosh, you you almost did that in harmony. I love that.

[00:00:16][laughter] We have Grant, Holly, Hunter, and John here. So let's just start Talk about how you guys all got into this.

[00:00:25]>> Well, it's a longer story than I feel like we have time for, but just for this quartet, uh we had a last chance next generation quartet, which is 25 and under, and I was aging out that year. So and that was two or three years ago at this point. So we uh we went, we competed in Cleveland, and then competed last year here in Denver, and then this year here in out in St. Louis, and we're still here together. So >> Is that where the national competition moves to?

[00:00:48]>> international competition. Yep.

[00:00:50]>> know they were like Is it a big thing in Cleveland? I was wondering.

[00:00:53]>> No.

[00:00:53]>> [laughter] >> It's good to know. All right. So explain it for people who don't know what barbershop is. What is it?

[00:01:00]Any of you, feel free.

[00:01:02]>> Yeah, I mean, it is just four-part harmony at its most basic level. It's um you know, there's actually a lot of really specific stuff about the style, but generally speaking, it's just four people singing together, and usually the melody is not on the highest part. Um those are really the two components of it. So >> Which is so interesting cuz you're so used to the like being in a choir. I was the choir president in high school.

[00:01:26]>> Excellent.

[00:01:27]>> like [laughter] 25 years ago, but everybody expects the >> sopranos to have the high part, but really is it bass, baritone? Where where does it live?

[00:01:34]>> Uh it lives on what For people in choir, what they would call tenor two, but in barbershop we call it the lead part.

[00:01:41]>> Okay.

[00:01:41]>> Um and that's usually where the melody sits, but sometimes it can also switch between the baritone, sometimes the bass gets a feature, rarely the tenor gets a feature sometimes, but it it just kind of depends on the arrangement and you know, what makes sense.

[00:01:53]>> I was always a tenor because I had to be because there were so few tenors.

[00:01:57]>> [laughter] >> in the choir. And I'm really probably a baritone, but so you guys were all part of the international competition and you brought back some hardware.

[00:02:07]Tell us about that.

[00:02:08]>> Uh these are the Rocky Mountain District Champion medals. We were the 25 2025 District Champs.

[00:02:16]Uh so this year in about September we'll be handing off the trophy to a new quartet.

[00:02:19]>> Down in Colorado Springs this year actually, so.

[00:02:22]>> Oh, staying closer to home?

[00:02:23]>> Yeah, sometimes we've gone to Ogden out in Utah, we've gone to Cheyenne up in Wyoming, um but this year yeah, the competition's going to be down in Colorado Springs around September, so.

[00:02:32]>> Love it. All right, so for people at home, what's one thing about being in barbershop that like that you think is interesting that people don't really know?

[00:02:40]Mhm.

[00:02:41]>> It's a good question.

[00:02:43]>> Uh the coolest thing that happened this year uh back in 2019 is we introduced everybody in harmony in the Barbershop Harmony Society, which allowed women and other people to come into barbershop uh in Barbershop Harmony Society, which is what we're all a part of. And this year in St. Louis one of our favorite quartets GQ won, and that stands for girls quartet. It's the first women's champions to win in Barbershop Harmony Society, so >> I love that. Cuz it's so traditionally something and I was going to ask you this. It's so traditionally like thought of I maybe the stereotype is that a barbershop quartet is is men.

[00:03:16]>> Absolutely. And I guess actually to add on to that point, one of the other quartets that's local to Denver, Sunday Night Social, they would became the first barbershop quartet to earn a medal that was mixed because their tenor and their bass are actually married. They also became the first married couple to medal as well, I believe, so. Super super fun and super cool to also see you know, like the Denver barbershop scene represented at the international level.

[00:03:41]>> All right, I've got under a minute, so tell people how they can find you and where you guys perform, first of all.

[00:03:47]>> Uh social media, Versus Quartet on Instagram and Facebook, and we'll be around um I don't know what other gigs we have, but we're down in Arizona if anybody wants to travel to Arizona.

[00:03:57]>> [laughter] >> And then I'll let you guys take it away.

[00:03:59]Hot You're going to be singing throughout [clears throat] the show. Oh, he's got >> Oh, we got it. Love it.

[00:04:04]>> Last night alone.

[00:04:06]>> Last night alone [singing] on our way home, you turned and said [music] to me, to me, "I love you so >> [singing] >> and I want to know what do you think about me?" [music] Sweet [singing and music] and lovely, that's what you are to me.

[00:04:34]Sugar and spice [singing and music] and everything nice, you're all a [singing and music] girl should be.

[00:04:45]Soon [singing and music] we'll marry, you'll be my blushing bride.

[00:04:52]I will smile all [singing and music] the while you're by my by my side.

[00:05:02]I will [singing] smile all the while you're by my my side.

[00:05:26]>> Oh, absolute chills. First [laughter] quartet, ladies and gentlemen.