The NED’s own, Men In Black the 2005 Collegiate Gold Medal Champs are performing on NBC's Star Tomorrow program on (EST) Monday evening 8PM - July 31, on WPTZ Channel 5 Plattsburgh Burlington (Channel 52 on Illico.)

Men in Black reaches for the stars as the quartet moves into the second round of auditions for "StarTomorrow," NBC’s first offering of a full national series online.

This week the guys flew to Los Angeles to tape an audition that is expected to be televised. If all goes well, we’ll be seeing our 2005 collegiate champs on an audition special broadcast Monday, July 31, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central time on NBC. Then get ready to vote online.

The quartet passed the first audition in New York City for the interactive music competition that will put viewers in exclusive control of choosing the first Internet superstar band, singing group or solo act.

The finalists will then compete in the second half of the series. The format will include covers of pop favourites and original material, but as the series goes deeper into the competition, the focus will shift more to original songs. Winners will be awarded a recording deal with Foster and his recording company.

More to come…meantime vote early and often!

So, all members of the Board take note! We are meeting on Tuesday, August 8, 2006. An agenda, location and starting time will be announced at the meeting tonight.

Talk to somebody about barbershop this week! Our target for members this year is for a 7 member NET INCREASE by the end of 2006.

Last night I had a rare opportunity: I saw the debut of a wonderful new quartet, in a wonderful small-town venue.

It was a great moment in my barbershop career. It was the debut performance of One More Time, in Peterborough NH, the home of Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town." Now THIS is good old-fashioned great-sounding barbershop! (I'm not a die-hard kibber - I just know a fine sound when I hear it.)

"Terry Clarke (bass) and Larry Tully (baritone), members of The Boston Common, have joined with Scott Brannon, former lead of the immensely popular Cincinnati Kids (four times International competition finalists and twice medallists) and Jamie Carbone (tenor of several East Coast champion quartets) to form 'One More Time.'"

(For those who are new to our hobby, Boston Common won the International gold in 1980 - the last time a Northeast District quartet did so. Indeed, they won more International medals than anyone else - 8 - because they placed in the top five 7 times before they got the gold.)

The sound was WONDERFUL! You know the kind of performance where, from the very first chord in the very first song, you know this is going to be special? That's what it was like.

Get your barbershop fix from iTunes

Now you can legally purchase barbershop performances from iTunes.

The first wave of iTunes content from the Barbershop Harmony Society became available in June 2006, and there are now nearly 1,000 tracks from past International Contests online. Every song by every quartet and chorus since ‘97 will be available! Get a single track for $0.99US, or a 12-song "volume" of a particular contest session for $9.99 US. The money will help to fund the Society

For a general survey about Midwinter and International Conventions, please go to the following web address: