Off the Beat wins big in a cappella awards

The group picked up an annual award for the fourth straight time. For the fourth year in a row, the University's co-ed a cappella group Off the Beat won the annual Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award -- one of four annual awards given by the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. "CASA is like the Grammys of a cappella," noted Off the Beat President Sid Khosla, a College junior. "It's really the only national organization to rate and review mixed collegiate a cappella groups." And Off the Beat's winning CD, When Mama's Not Around, swept three out of CASA's four awards, presented in March. The CD, recorded last May, is a 15-track compilation of the group's favorite songs from the 1995-96 season. "Every year we perform at least 20 new arrangements," Khosla said. "We need something we can hold onto in a tangible form -- otherwise certain songs would be forgotten." The large number of a cappella groups on campus often prevents individual groups from standing out, but Off the Beat has remained successful and unique, according to Khosla. In addition to repeatedly selling out campus performances -- like its series of tenth anniversary performances the weekend of March 21-22 -- the performers continue to gain national recognition. The group largely credits its success to its unorthodox style -- which is visible in both its song choice and its complex arrangements. "For one, we [usually do songs] within a week of becoming widely played on the radio -- and for the most part much before other groups are doing them," said Engineering freshman Jeffrey Marrazzo, a soloist in the group. "The second thing is that we pride ourselves on the complexity of our arrangements -- a regular listener might not notice, but there are so many different things going on," he added. To date, the group has recorded five CDs, which have included selections as varied as the Violent Femmes' "Add it Up," Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and the B-52's "Love Shack." While Off the Beat has won the "Best CD" award three times before, the group was somewhat surprised to learn they had won it again. Five of the group's anchoring members -- including Music Director Gabe Rutman -- graduated in 1995, before this year's CD was recorded, but Khosla said it is the group's "cutting edge" quality that differentiates them from others. "The reason CASA's appreciated us year after year is that we're always one step ahead," he said. "We'll record something -- like 'Gangsta's Paradise' -- completely different that no one else expects." The group also captured CASA's "Best Arrangement" title, and junior soloist Alex Jarige won "Best Soloist," bringing Off the Beat one accolade short of its four-award showing in 1996. When Mama's Not Around has sold almost 1,000 copies, which the group sells at its University performances and during tours. "If we're really successful monetarily [on tour], that's one of the ways we measure how well we do," Marrazzo said. According to Khosla, the group has sold as many as 50 to 60 CDs at individual off-campus performances. The group -- which recently voted on their favorite15 selections from this year -- will begin recording for next year's CD in late May.