The vocal arrangements are a big part of the formula for a Bad Religion song - layered harmonies and background vocals. So when I start to describe the elements of Bad Religion's sound, it starts to sound like a Christmas choir.
I love 'South Pacific.' It's got beautiful music. But there have been so many, you know, renditions of this in high school or college productions.
Fleet Foxes are a really talented band. They make beautiful music.
Probably my two biggest musical influences were the Everly Brothers and the Beatles, in chronological order. Both of them have had a very simple-sounding musical style that's actually quite complex as far as popular songs are concerned.
I came in after the Smokey Robinsons, Temptations, Clovers, and Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters. I came along at that level, when there was harmonizing.
It's extremely important, a cappella groups get so easily pigeonholed into essentially just being a cover band, and we want to be at the forefront to show it's its own art form and just a different way to have a band. Only we just use our voices.
Destiny's Child's harmonies remind me of Earth, Wind & Fire.
When I go back to seek inspiration - whether it be from Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, the Beatles, Hank Williams, Ray Charles or Bob Dylan - it's from the performance. Those artists are in the studio playing their instrument and singing. There's no going back and redoing the vocals.
I think being part of Pentatonix has helped my arrangement style a lot, and that's helped me expand myself.
I'd been trained in choral, gospel, and a little bit of opera.
I think I enjoy Sondheim so much because of the lyrics. The lyrics, the cornucopia of options.
Singing was always the thing - I played some leads in musicals. Then when I went to college, I joined a singing group.
I remember being obsessed with 'The Score' by The Fugees. I used to listen to a lot of really melodic music with a lot of harmonies. The Beach Boys used to make me happy, and Simon and Garfunkel, and I used to listen to a lot of film soundtracks as well.
I collect musical theatre anthologies. I have a whole library of them.
I've always loved opera; it never occurred to me that I would write a proper libretto.
I have an understanding of Queen and the way Freddie Mercury did his harmonies. I know what tablas sound like, because my father played a lot of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
I got this Christmas gift with the entire Beatles catalog. I had fun trying to duplicate what I was hearing on these records, only using the instruments I had at hand - an acoustic guitar, and that's all. It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.
A cappella group names are hard!
When we were first started we were doing a lot of Motown stuff, but actually playing it more in a rock way. Everybody in the band sang and we did a lot of harmonies.
A lot of times, that's hard to capture: what you sound like in person versus what you sound like on record. If I had total control, I would do a lot of the old songs - not only my songs but Sam Cooke songs, Luther Vandross, melody songs. That's what I would really do if I had an opportunity to do a record.
Beyonce did an incredible job of differentiating the sound of Destiny's Child in her songs. When you hear Destiny's Child, you know it based on the harmonies and the melodies.
I would love to do an album of standards!
I've recorded a few Bacharach songs over the years and performed some in concert and always felt they suited me.
My favorite thing to hear is when people will come up and be like, 'I started an a capella group at my school!' or 'I got my best friend, and we wanted to sing, too!' And then they start groups.
I feel like a lot of like the old-timey Christmas songs, the classics, a lot of it is very vocal. A lot of harmonies and, like, crooners, it puts you in that holiday spirit, I feel like.
