Questions for Cantus!

As we are near the culmination of our touring season, we recently asked members of the group some questions about their interests, pastimes, and favorite activities. TIme to find out vital information from some singers this week: get to know what makes Cantus singers tick!

Most Recent Book You Read:

Tim Takach: I read The Colorado Kid by Stephen King over Christmas, and surprisingly I didn't like it. It was a short, pulp fiction paperback, and I get what he was did with the story, but it left me needy.

Aaron Humble: The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart. by Bill Bishop

Matt Tintes: Pure Drivel by Steve Martin



Toughest Thing You Sing this Season:

Matt Tintes: Mountain Nights. Seriously! It's hard for me to be that quiet.

Gary Ruschman: There's one section of the Schubert that just goes too fast to breathe!

Aaron Humble: I'm guessing it will be something in the Weill!



Motto:

Aaron Humble: Work smarter not harder.

Gary Ruschman: Fearful people do stupid things.

Matt Tintes: It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Tim Takach: Work hard. Play harder. Eat plenty of bacon.




Guilty Pleasure TV:

Tim Takach: I only watch two shows, Lost and Heroes, both about a season and a half behind on DVD, and neither are guilty pleasures. I enjoy being a geek. My favorite goes to Battlestar Galactica.

Matt Tintes: Oh God, too many to count. Let's say..."Smallville".

Gary Ruschman: Police Chases!

Peace after Easter

Yesterday, Cantus sang as part of the Artists for Peace event put on by the Nonviolent Peaceforce at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul. We were performing alongside some notable Twin Cities artists: Butch Thompson, Pat Donohue, Noah Brandow, Prudence Johnson, Sabine Perrin, Peter Johnson, and T. Mychael Rambo. Each of these artists have a different sound and different audience, and to bring everyone together was very moving and impactful. Cantus sang a 10 minute set of There Is A Meetin' Here Tonight, Wanting Memories, and Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi wo, then led the audience in a sing-a-long of the great folk song 'Let There Be Peace on Earth'. The entire evening closed with a rousing group-sing of 'Down By the Riverside', complete with wonderfully peace-laden lyrics and Cantus gentlemen singing with exuberant enthusiasm. We enjoy having a chance to really rip into a big-time sing-a-long like that and with everyone on stage, it sounded great!

Yesterday's event followed a very nice Easter weekend for me. After working quite a bit throughout the week, my wife and I took a much-needed trip up to the MN/Canada border to visit her father in the tiny little town of Birchdale, MN. Usually at this time of year, the snow is still on the ground up in Birchdale. But this year, the balmy weather of the Twin Cities carried up to the border, making the entire weekend a snow-free affair, even if there was a bit of rain. Birchdale is about 45 mins slightly NW of International Falls, MN--the coldest place in the lower 48. It was a great Easter weekend, with great food and a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go fishing on the Rainy River, due to the rain, but the day that we returned to St. Paul, my father in-law Kit did catch a 32-inch walleye.

Lunch in St. Louis

Driving from Springfield, MO to Muncie, IN yesterday, we found ourselves in St. Louis at lunchtime. We decided to stop at a place called Frazer's in the Benton Park neighborhood, which proved to satisfy everyone's appetites. The weather was beautiful, so we even sat outside! A luxury virtually unheard of for March in Minnesota.

The sweet potato bread was the perfect amuse-bouche, whether one awaited the horseradish/pecan/breadcrumb-encrusted salmon over mustard sauce or the hearty, flavor-rich slice of chorizo/ground beef meatloaf, wrapped in bacon.

When you view their website, be sure to scroll through the daily-updated "specials" list... If you're not about to sit in a mini-van for five more hours, do yourself a favor and order from the daily-updated "desserts" list.

Oh, and sitting in front of the restaurant, one has a clear view of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. You might want to schedule a walking tour after your meal. The health benefits of the walk notwithstanding (it's a big place, so you might actually get some exercise!), some would suggest that the end of the tour would also provide a satisfying finish to your gastronomic enjoyment that afternoon.

His Old Kentucky Home

Well, we certainly experienced some wonderful hospitality this weekend in Erlanger, Kentucky. Tenor Gary Ruschman brought us down to his alma mater, Northern Kentucky University, to perform at Greaves Hall.

There was a little time for sightseeing and experiencing some local flavor, so a few of the guys made a trip to Skyline Chili and another group visited St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington to view the famous stained glass windows.

On beautiful days like we had this weekend, though, and in anticipation of long driving days, most of our off hours are spent relaxing, enjoying some sunshine and fresh air and catching up on work.

No matter what, it's always fun to perform in one of the artists' hometown and meet family/friends while we're there. Many thanks to Gary's family for making us feel so welcome this weekend. We hope to be back again soon.

Happy Birthday Shaz!

In honor of Shahzore's birthday today, I thought I would post a fun birthday video. We are from the Sesame Street generation, so this is very appropriate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGyFG4QFWOs

Watch and enjoy.

Happy Birthday Shaz!

Drumming at Red Lake

On March 1st, Cantus visited the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota. It was an amazing experience...one that none of us will ever forget! We sang for over 600 elementary school students in the afternoon, and in the evening we held a concert for the general community.

In between these two events we were blessed to see several performance by the elementary school's dance troupe, accompanied by an authentic drumming circle. We decided it would be great to post one of the videos we recorded that day. You could feel the gymnasium's bleachers shaking with each beat of the drum, and the dancers' intricate clothing chimed away with other fascinating sounds.

We hope you enjoy!

“The stars at night are big and bright (clap, clap, clap, clap), deep in the heart of…” well, somewhere. I forget how that song goes. Anyway, Cantus was just in Texas! It was a great week, and I’m sure you want to read all about our shenanigans. Well, alright, I’ll tell ya, but I have to say, I don’t appreciate the condescending tone. “Shenanigans”? More like “Adventures” thank you very much.

This is Matt Tintes (baritone) and I just wanted you all to know that Cantus just spent an awesome week in Texas, touring to the cities of Corpus Christi, Houston and San Antonio. We sang in some wonderful spaces and met a lot of wonderful people. People who fed us a LOT of great Mexican food! They say everything’s bigger in Texas. Well, as our waist lines can now attest, they weren’t kidding!

When we’re on tour we stop to eat at all kinds of places, but usually when we’re traveling we just go the places closest to the Interstate. Well in our endeavor to find a, let’s say “Panera”, one day, we came upon an eatery called…are ya ready... “Cantus’”! We sat down and a nice young girl came to wait on us and was wearing a t-shirt that read Cantus’. We asked her if we could get that shirt, and her look of confusion conveyed a sense of “Either y’all have girlie tastes in t-shirts, or that’s the most to-the-point pick up line I’ve heard in a while.” After some hasty explanation we met the owner, Mark Cantu, and he gave us all Cantus’ drink holders, and we gave him a CD. We almost sang for him, but we didn’t want to compete with the Kid Rock album that had been playing…for nearly an HOUR…not that I’m complaining.

When we arrived at our hotel in San Antonio we were greeted by the hotel’s official mascot, Luke the Dog. Luke was a welcome sight for those of us who were missing our pets back in MN, and he was a good dog. A good, good dog. Yes you are! Yes you ARE! You’re a good doggie…

After our matinee performance in San Antonio, myself, Shahzore, Eric, Gary and Paul walked over to look at the Alamo, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. I took a photo of the group in front of the “Shrine to Texas Liberty”, but unfortunately my camera isn’t letting me upload that photo, so here’s one of the façade that I took with my phone. I also took a picture of the interior of the Alamo…which I wasn’t supposed to. Do you SEE what I’m willing to risk for you loyal blog readers?!?

All in all, our Texas trip was a ton of fun! It was great to sing for the people of Texas, and to enjoy the weather. However, regarding the weather, since they started recording weather patterns (125 years ago) it had only snowed in San Antonio 31 times. On our second day, it became 32 times. I SWEAR we didn’t mean to bring it with us!