Following in the path of classic harmony groups like Boyz II Men, the Temptations and Take 6 but with a modern, urban, post-millennial twist, the five member vocal band Ball in the House brilliantly blends a wide range of influences, from classic R&B to pop, hip-hop and gospel.
From singing the praises of Cool Whip on 21 national commercials over the past few years to averaging over 250 annual performances, BITH is making a cappella music hip for the hip-hop generation and beyond. They have performed from their hometown of Boston to San Francisco, from Singapore to New York, in theatres and playhouses before audiences ranging from 500 to 50,000. They've opened for and played concerts with Jessica Simpson, Howie Day, Blondie, 98 Degrees, Smokey Robinson and The Temptations, last year opened at home for Gladys Knight and KC and the Sunshine Band. On July 28-29, 2005, they are sharing a bill with Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Clay Aiken, Phantom Planet and Maroon 5 at the Tom's River Fest in New Jersey.
On days off between a constant slate of new tour dates, the group—which consists of founding members Dave Guisti, tenor, and Jon J. Ryan, vocal percussionist, and more recent additions Dan Szymczak (baritone), Aaron Loveland (tenor) and Tim Faust (bass)--has been in the studio, hard at work on their new, full length project with Tim Coons, the legendary vocal group producer who won a Diamond Award (10 million units sold) for his work on the Backstreet Boys' first album. Coons has also done arrangements and production for NSync, Take 5, VonRa, Rob Thomas, The Bangles, and discovered teen singer JoJo (the youngest artist in history to hit #1) when she was just 11 years old.
Ball in the House's popular six song indie EP Think About It is the first featuring the current five member lineup—which is celebrating their first year and a half together—and current sound. Yet the group has been going full throttle since the late 90s, when Jon J. Ryan asked his former Boston Boys' Choir School classmate Dave Guisti to hop on board. BITH got off to a quick start with at the famed Apollo Theatre in New York, SUNFEST in West Palm Beach, Florida (opening for Paula Cole) and winning the 1998 National Harmony Sweepstakes – New England Region.
While other original members of BITH went on to pursue other interests post 9/11, but Jon J. and Dave remained, still believing in their music and still loving performing together. After exhaustive nationwide auditions, the group improved exponentially with the addition of Aaron in early 2002 and then Dan and Tim in 2003. Each member brings distinctive individual musical influences to the fold.
“Some of our touring schedule includes an outreach to students, from kindergarten to college age,” says Jon J. “We customize our shows to fit the age group and grade level, and mix high energy music with the educational aspects of what we do. We teach them about voice parts, songwriting and the history of a cappella music amongst other things. Tim and I demonstrate the way bass and drums mix to form the group's rhythm section and they really respond to my beat boxing. It's important to us to also stress the affect of our own schooling in the arts, and encourage our audiences to pursue them the same as they might with academics and sports.”
“While we sell our CDs online and at our shows, we also set up consignment through the schools, donating a big chunk of the proceeds to their arts programs,” Aaron adds. “It's important to keep presenting a certain message out in the schools. Being from Boston, we notice that the arts seem to be the first thing to go when schools cut their budgets. But from all we've seen, it's obvious to us that arts are important to kids. We see their response. We get e-mails. We see them share their art with us. We believe this work is a responsibility we have to our community, and to the country to give back, but in a very entertaining way.”
“The biggest challenge,” Dave says, “is overcoming people's perception that an a cappella group does only barbershop or doo-wop. What we do is 100% contemporary, using those same harmonies but in a very different way. It's very cool to us that the fans at our shows range from teenagers who come for the hip-hop to adults who love the doo-wop. Kids are dragging their parents to the shows, and they're listening and enjoying it together.”
BITH—which, true to the playful spirit of the band, was named for a classic line from a famous Brady Bunch episode--has released three previous full-length CDs, From the Bin (1998), Ball in the House (1999) and The Way It Has to Be (2001). Their song “Change Face” (from the current EP) has received significant college radio airplay, and its video has received spins on independent video channels in the U.K. and Japan, as well as some indie stations stateside.
