Epic Bass Battle: Tim Foust vs Avriel (Avi) Kaplan vs Geoff Castellucci | #FeatureFriday

It's #FeatureFriday! 
We know that I love me some bass men :)

I have three names in the cappella world that primarily come to mind.
Tell me that a song's got any one of these mighty men of the bass and I've got my headphones on and am fully prepared for full-out fangirling.

Allow me to introduce you to:
Tim Foust (Home Free)

Avriel Kaplan (formerly Pentatonix, currently independent artist)

Geoff Castellucci (Voiceplay)

TRUE STORY, many concert speakers in performance venues have met their sad, sound-sharing end because they couldn't handle the sheer awesome of these voices. This has happened LIVE before.

Actually...now that I'm thinking about it, I'd add Jonathan Young to my list of bass-men, but this is specifically for acappella, so...yeah. Just throwing that out there! :P 

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So, as a fan, you're DEFINITELY going to start wondering...who sings lower?
Has someone ever put these three ridiculously talented men in the same room and had them "complete"? 

I chanced across this video as I thought about this question this week, due to my #MusicMonday being about Avi's album (Sage and Stone) and also the fact that Home Free's new album (Timeless) came out 9/22/2017. 
They will be next week's #MusicMonday! :D

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Enjoy the bass-off for yourself!:
Be sure to have on headphones or you may not even be able to HEAR the note they're singing. The video has the name of the singer in the top left corner and the note they've sung in the bottom center (will turn red when they hit it).


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Hope you guys enjoyed this quick, one of my favorite topics to discuss, #FeatureFriday! 
As stated earlier, our next #MusicMonday will revolve solely around Home Free's newest album, Timeless. I'm really excited! 

Stay tuned by subscribing ("SUBSCRIBE" in the top right corner and enter your email)!
See you Monday!~

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Avriel and the Sequoias | #MusicMonday

By this time, those of us who enjoy Pentatonix's acappella music know of Avi Kaplan (the bass singer)'s transition out of PTX into his own. I'm very much looking forward to where this talented man goes and I hope to be able to see him perform LIVE once again.

This guy pretty much single-handedly increased my appreciation for a good bass (or bass singer), and it's great to see that Avi's never really changed from the start of his time with PTX till now. He's still the kind, gentle man he's always been, albeit with a good deal more experience as an artist.

Here's a little snippet from his site regarding his new album:

The release of Sage and Stone, the debut independent release from singer/songwriter Avi Kaplan, may not seem like a natural musical progression for the Grammy Award-winning performer and arranger of a cappella phenoms Pentatonix. For Kaplan, however, this EP is simply – and profoundly – an homage to where his passion for music was born and an introduction to the next chapter of his musical journey. It is honest and humble. It is thoughtful and emotional. It is Kaplan at his core – passionate, emotional, inspired and unapologetically vulnerable.

Born and raised in Visalia, CA, Avriel Benjamin Kaplan developed his love for the wilderness within nearby Sequoia National Park. It’s where he found inspiration and escape and where he first discovered music in its most organic and truest form. The majestic Sequoia trees became the backdrop for Kaplan’s earliest musical inspirations – Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bill Withers – and throughout his life remained an essential component in experiencing current influences, including Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Ben Harper and José González.

Sage and Stone, Kaplan’s introduction to Avriel & the Sequoias, is inspired by and purposefully presents the full spectrum of his folk palate without ever abandoning its lush, layered vocals, intricate arrangements and tasteful acoustic performances. “Folk music is everything to me; it’s where I come from; It’s home,” Kaplan explains. “It lifts me up. It inspires me. It intrigues me. And it heals me. I can only hope that the people who find it feel the same.”


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So, "Quarter Past Four" is officially my favorite from Avi's new EP.
Check it out! :)

Hauntingly gorgeous, yes? <3

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You can find Avi online here:
Website: http://avrielandthesequoias.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AviKaplanMusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avikaplanmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avi_kaplan/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/avi_kaplan
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/1/111511081058217055112

Also, here is the "farewell" post that he put up on social media.
Tearful eloquence...kill me now TT-TT

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A little #tbt on this week's #WeeklyWednesday. My "origin" story for how I got into beatbox/rap! Subscribe and find out!

See you Wednesday!~

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Journey Mercies (An Original Musical by a Singaporean Church) | #FeatureFriday

It's #FeatureFriday! 
And I've loved sharing things with you guys, but this one, I have to say, is one of my favorites! <3 

So, on September 12th, my dad showed us an original musical, Journey Mercies, by the Mt Carmel Bible Presbyterian church in Singapore. It was written and staged to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church, which evidently has quite a few original musicals in their history. How cool is this? :) If you DO decide to watch it, our family friend is the guy who owns the chicken rice stall, "Johnny", or Weng Cheong.

In my personal opinion, there were a couple of rough edges here and there, but honestly? I'm extremely proud that a church from my home country could produce something of this caliber :)

Good job, Mt. Carmel BP Church! :D

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Here's the official synopsis from their website:
Uncle Leong is a devoted Christian mentor to a group of mischievous but good-hearted youths who frequent 220, the neighbourhood coffee shop.

One of the older youths, Jason, wants to pursue his passion for music overseas against the wishes of Ah Seng, his adopted father. Another youth, Cassie, faces disapproval from her materialistic mother who disapproves of her socialising with the youths and stall holders at 220.

When the landlord of 220 plans to sell the coffee shop for a more lucrative business, everyone at 220 comes together in a bid to save their community. But as Uncle Leong becomes more involved, he does so at the expense of his family life.

As events unfold, lifelong secrets are revealed. Soon, the community begin to question who they can trust and if they can forgive.

Don't start watching until you're prepared to sub it in for "movie time". 
It's a legit production of almost 2 hours and it's vastly entertaining (particularly for those of you who think my Singaporean accent is hilarious). Also, I want to put this out there that "Susie's" accent exaggerates how we speak. We don't sound like that haha XD



Did you like it? LOVE IT? What was your favorite song? Comment below!

My personal favorites were (in no particular order):
I'm also quite sure that I have the titles wrong, so don't judge me.
- My Abba Father (because it was awesome)
- Money (sung by Cassie's mom because I LOVE my fabulous/sassy villains)
- #scandal #vengeance #betrayal (how cool was that? the concept was awesome)
- 4 part song between Cassie + Mom and Leong Husband and Wife
-- reminded me of the 4 part song from Love Never Dies (Phantom of the Opera Part 2)
- ending duet between Jason and Cassie

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Our next #MusicMonday, I will share some music from my favorite bass-man, Avi Kaplan. 
Look forward to it!

Stay tuned by subscribing ("SUBSCRIBE" in the top right corner and enter your email)!
See you Monday!~

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Who Wins in the "Ultimate" Showdown? | Missions/International Sunday vs Craft Sale | #WeeklyWednesday

Believe it or not, I do actually think quite deeply about things, though my lack of eloquence on this blog may leave some of you believing that I'm all about...well, not elaborating on things. That's essentially due to the fact that this blog primarily serves as a way to update friends who are far away, and as such, I try to keep the tone of my blog as close to how I'd speak if I were really telling my friends about the things I've shared in person.

So, on Wednesday, Sept 13, 2017, the new calendar that I had purchased for my mom (because I'm a model daughter who buys cute planner-style calendars for my mom to use because she's pretty much the reason I turned out as type A as I am) was finally being filled in. When I began to fill in my column, I noticed, with a sinking feeling in my gut, that Missions/International Sunday (depending on which "era" you were at Calvary, you know it by different names) was November 12th. 

Now, you all know that I try to attend what craft sales I can, given that I am NOT financially prepared (or...well, any form of prepared, really) to travel to a convention or craft sale that isn't based here in Carbondale/Carterville. One of the LARGEST craft sales in our area is the AutumnFest Arts & Crafts Show at John A. Logan College (about 20 min from my house). And it's set, this year, for November 11th and 12th. 

Photo Cred @Unsplash.com

I was suddenly faced with a decision. And it was NOT small.
For those of you who think taking crafts seriously is a joke, that's fine. You have your hobbies and vices, I have mine. I can respect that crafts aren't your thing.

But think of it from my point of view for a sec. Crafts are one of my MAIN hobbies. 
It's something I would genuinely enjoy spending HOURS doing if I had no other responsibilities. I'm a creator by default, whether it's digital something or physical crafty something. Think of what you enjoy the most and pit that against the biggest spiritual life related responsibility you can think of aside from 1) your own spiritual walk and 2) leading others to Jesus. 

Okay, NOW we're on the same page. 
The thing with craft sales like that, is it's an all-or-nothing deal. You're either there for all of it or you're there for none of it. You can get blacklisted or penalized for leaving early from events like that and booth fees are typically non-refundable. But amidst the stress of Missions/International Sunday vs AutumnFest (in my mind), there were a few things that clearly stood out to me.

I immediately thanked God for the fact that I learned the date for Missions/International Sunday when I did because I had LITERALLY planned to send out a check for the JALC fest the next week. I'm grateful for friends willing to step into the fray and sit with me on Saturday to learn the ropes and fully prepared to man the table for me on Sunday (unfortunately not an option due to how Missions/International Sunday works with practices and such).

But it's okay. 

Missions/International Sunday is something that I've been committed to since our family started going to Calvary. Though I wished the dates didn't clash, there was really no question in my mind of which one I'd give up and which one took the real priority in life.

Because people get SAVED at Missions/International Sunday. 

It's amazing to think about the fact that whether CCF "performs" or not is actually kind of important. We've had people emotionally touched by our performances and have really heard people tell us that they felt God's presence in the room during certain parts of the song. We've had ladies cry during the performance and get all emotional about it because despite the fact that they couldn't understand the language (there's translation on the wall), they could feel the reverence for God through all the hard work they see us putting in to prepare for Missions/International Sunday.

I'd committed to taking my crafts more seriously by attending craft sales, but I've been committed to CCF and the testimony that it serves as, in addition to the familial community that we've been building since I was 13. I'm not going to just up and let them down now.
Sure, CCF may have to function (Missions/International Sunday-wise) without me after I graduate, but for now? I'm still here. I'm still part of the CCF body. 

And I'm going to do my part for as long as I can.

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PHEW that was heavy. 
*insert Jabba the Hutt noise and head shake*

This #FeatureFriday, I'm especially excited to share an original musical with you. 
The best part? It's 100% made by a church in Singapore!!

You do NOT want to miss this next post! If you haven't actually subscribed yet, please do so by clicking the "SUBSCRIBE" button in the top right corner of your screen, enter your email, and you're done!

See you all on Friday!~

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Moon Songs: (The Hound + The Fox) | #MusicMonday

I have been so excited for this album to come out and I'm super proud of Reilly and McKenzie for all the hard work that they've put into working with it!

They've got all kinds of great collabs, including Peter Hollens and Kevin Olusula!

The artist they got for some of the art, Connie Walker, has a very Beatrice Potter feel with her work in that everything has the nostalgic look of Peter Rabbit, etc. :)

It's quite comforting to look at and definitely a soothing thing to listen to :3

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Here are some of the reactions that my sister and I had from some of the their earlier releases from this album!

Baby Mine



The Fox



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Pick up the digital copy of the album here:
Amazon
Apple Music/iTunes
Spotify

I'll update with links for hard-copies when they release them.

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Fun, semi-pensive thoughts coming up this Wednesday :)
Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss it (top right corner of your screen)!

See you soon!~

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The Little Things Tapastic Web Comic by "deslim" | #FeatureFriday

It's #FeatureFriday! 
I wanted to share about one of the artists I love and support, "deslim"!

Deslim's work is ranked up there in my top 3 favorite chibi (adorable mini versions) artists.
She draws things from her daily life and I have loved each and every one of her comics thus far. They're SO CUTE, very slice of life (which is bad when done wrong, and awesome when done right), and she has the talent to animate her art as well, so there are times when the chibis will actually MOVE (i.e., walking, flapping her arms around, flying tears while crying, etc). LOVE IT when it's done right and she always seems to have the perfect touch of when to animate and when to leave it alone. 

And here's something fun for a change. I'll let her introduce herself! XD

I first found her adorable art on Tapastic (the web comic platform that my sister is on), via her comic, "The Little Things".

Here are some of my favorite snippets from her comic (just to give you an idea of what her work is like):

 

 

Isn't this just the cutest - What?! Not convinced?!

Okay then, how about this one? It's a shot from one of her "life updates".

How precious is this?! She's such a filial girl and with adorable art to boot.
...still not a fan? Urgh, you drive a hard bargain.

Fine, I was saving this for last. You don't stand a chance against the cuteness!

If you don't subscribe or at least go check out her stuff after seeing how she draws her cat, I can't help you. You're beyond help if cute art + cute cats don't entice you to check out Des...

I still love you all though :P
And yes, boys, I don't expect you to like it as much, so long as you concede that her stuff is cute :P

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You can find Des and all her things here:
Tapastic: https://tapas.io/desannlim
Website: http://www.deslim.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deslim
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dichi_lim/
deviantART: https://imperfectangell.deviantart.com/
Picarto: https://picarto.tv/deslim

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Our next #MusicMonday will feature a super exciting announcement regarding my favorite musical couple, Reilly and McKenzie Zamber, aka The Hound + The Fox!

Stay tuned by subscribing ("SUBSCRIBE" in the top right corner and enter your email)!
Byee!~

P.s. if you guys see my little Japanese chibi floating around, Des drew that too! :D

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My Sister is 19 Years Old! (A Disney Meme Celebration) | #WeeklyWednesday

Guess what, guys? 
My sister turned 19 this week!! 
YAY!~ Look at her pretty face <3

What happened to me, Mom? :P

So, since we all know that I'm a model older sibling that has taught my sister to be mature beyond her years because she has hung out with me and my friends since...well, the beginning of her wanting to do so, I'm going to commemorate her 19th birthday (earlier this week) with an embarrassing post filled with:
- disgusting, gushing sisterly pride (yeah, you knew this was coming. Don't lie)
- Disney memes that perfectly describe our relationship (because I love Disney, she loves Disney, and this was gonna happen)
- whatever else I feel is necessary to properly 1) embarrass her, 2) let her know she's loved even though she's gone from home for school, and 3) make my little sister smile because that's a sister's privilege and I would say I'm pretty darn good at making mine do so.

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These are some of the most relate-able memes that I found on my quick search for Disney memes that would describe my relationship with my sister. You're gonna get a few laughs, but also probably understand why the two of us turned out as hilariously strange as we did. But also why we're proud of it. ;)

My sister and I share the same initials: AYL. If you really wanted to, you COULD break it down as AYNL (me) and AYKL (sister), but that typically takes more effort than people are willing to put into doing, so we have this issue quite a bit. More so than initials, however, is the plethora of people (including our own parents) who call us by the wrong name. It also doesn't help matters that we have practically the same voice XD

Self-explanatory. Every older sister who has a good relationship with their younger sibling has had AT LEAST...there's no number, really, of moments like this XD

My sister says I treat her like a dress-up doll sometimes. But at the same time, she also respects my opinion on what looks good on her and what doesn't. So it's NOT always just me having fun, but it IS always fun when people are like "Oh, I like your clothes" and she responds "Yeah, well, except for the purse, the rest of it is my sister's stuff." lol XD

Relate-able. 'nough said. Some of the best sister moments come when:

- we BOTH forgot 

- one of us forgot and the other one doesn't want to have to deal with the leftover angry emotions from Mom, so they decide to help finish it to keep EVERYONE out of trouble

Always. But she's grown up a bit, so she's learned to ask because she knows my answer is typically "Yes", so long as she asks me first.

Little sis used to have a bad habit of eating my stuff.

So, I began keeping it in a box. :P

If the ice-cream's gone...if the nutella's gone...

If it's gone, it was probably little sis. lol

 

Mwahahaha XD

I was an unintentionally awful sibling sometimes.

This hasn't happened yet, but God help the person who makes her cry.

Well, that was fun, right? I hope you're all cringing at my fabulous display of sisterly affection. But that's enough for one post. XD

In conclusion,

Happy Birthday to my plush-toy angel pipsqueak. 
You may have grown up, but you'll always be my baby sister. >3< *air kisses!*

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This #FeatureFriday, I'll provide you with a fun display of art from one of my favorite artists from the web comic platform, Tapastic!!

If you haven't subscribed yet, please do so :)
Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button in the top right corner of your screen, enter your email, and you're done!

See you all on Friday!~

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Adam and Arielle Jacobs | #MusicMonday

What, another musical couple?

NO. SIBLINGS!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA
You didn't see that coming, did you? :P
I win.

In light of the recent announcement of who the actors were for the live-cast of Aladdin, I figured it would be fitting to have an Aladdin related #MusicMonday post!
Namely, Aladdin the Broadway Musical ;)

Everyone, this is Adam Jacobs, and his younger sister, Arielle Jacobs.

Sibling goals, anyone? They both perform on Broadway.
Something else that's cool is that Adam is currently played Aladdin here in the US and Arielle was most recently (I forget the exact date) cast as Jasmine for Australia Broadway company. :) Hilarious, no? Even better, check out this vid that the two of them made to surprise their parents with the Jasmine announcement!

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Here are a few roles Adam's played on Broadway:
- Marius in Les Miserables
- Simba in Lion King
- Aladdin in Aladdin (currently)

He's also got a CD album out called "Right Where I Belong" where he sings a ton of Alan Menken songs. My personal faves are:
- Go the Distance (Hercules)
- If I Never Knew You (the deleted Pocahontas song, he sings it with his wife. FAVE)
- Her Voice (Little Mermaid Broadway)
- Goodnight My Friend (from Galavant, RARE FIND)

Arielle's got her Broadway street cred in a ton of things too:
- Nina in In the Heights (she played opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda, guys, let's think about this)
- Nessarose in Wicked
- Jasmine in Aladdin

The best part of their sibling relationship is how hilarious they are about the fact that they've #1 never played in the same show together and #2 the idea of playing lovers (since they both clearly have what it takes to have the male/female leads) is gross XD



Aren't they funny? :P

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Check 'em out online!
Adam's Website: http://adamjacobs.net/
Arielle's Website: http://ariellejacobs.com/

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Did you know about Adam and Arielle Jacobs before this? Where and how?
Comment below and let me know! I'd love to fangirl with you :D

What's coming up next #WeeklyWednesday? NO idea. We'll go on this adventure together!
Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss it (top right corner of your screen)!

#siblinggoals!

See you soon!~

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