We put the igad in
Brigadeers
(but in a good way)


Brigadeers formed in the Spring of 2005 with a dream: to misspell "Brigadiers". Having accomplished that, they decided to sing in the Spring 2005 barbershop quartet competition of the Pioneer District of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

There was just one problem: they live quite far apart, and hadn't all even met. Undaunted, they shared sheet music and learning CDs from the Indiana and North Carolina Harmony Brigade programs some of them had attended, and met on April 16th, 2005 for a practice.

On April 29th, the Brigadeers arrived in Kalamazoo, MI for the preliminary round of the competition. After singing, they were very pleased to have made the cut to the final round the next night, where they finished fifth place in the district.

The Brigadeers are honored to have shared the stage with so many fine barbershoppers, and are very thankful to Gene Hanover and the Quartet Champions Association of the Pioneer District for the invaluable coaching and support they provided!


The 'Deers react with surprise upon learning their scores.
(Left to right: Steven Bogaerts, Joe Queen, Rick Mangas, Mark Ream)

Bios

Steven Bogaerts (Bloomington, IN)
Singer, scholar, patriot. Thanks to years of graduate study in computer science, Steve has developed colossal web design skills, as demonstrated in this elaborate page. When he is not studying, Steve enjoys singing tenor and balancing on one leg.

Joe Queen (The Great State of Detroit)
Joe sings the beautiful melodies you just can't get out of your head. His dedication to his craft is admirable, as he wears scarves in warm weather and refuses to talk for days to protect his voice for competition. I think I speak for everyone when I say he should compete more often.

Mark "The Weapon" Ream (Rocky Mount, NC)
As the baritone, Mark sings the colorful notes that bring forth that distinct barbershop style. His powerful "weapon" of a voice particularly shines through on some massive tags.

Rick "Rick" Mangas (Rensselaer, IN)
Just a sentimental gentleman from Indiana, this silky smooth bass drives the women wild almost as much as the tenor. Other talents include directing the Rensselaer barbershop chorus, and spelling "Rensselaer".

Additional Events

- 11/5/05 - The Brigadeers were happy to reunite for the first time since the 2005 PIO contest, at the Indiana Harmony Brigade weekend. On the Saturday night show, they performed Down Where The Swanee River Flows, which can be heard on the IHB 2005 Show CD. They are very thankful for the valuable coaching of Larry Triplett prior to the show!

- 1/14/06 - The Brigadeers had another great weekend of singing and camaraderie, this time at the North Carolina Harmony Brigade. On the Saturday night show, they again performed Down Where The Swanee River Flows.

- 10/21/06 - The folks at the Rensselaer chapter put on a great show ("The Phantom of the Barbershop"), and were kind enough to invite the Brigadeers to be a part of it. The Brigadeers sang about a 25 minute set, and a few more at the afterglow. While Joe's recovery from a vocal injury dropped his verbal output to only about as many words as the rest of us combined, his singing was solid as always. What a great time!

- Spring 2007 - Will the Brigadeers get tattoos on their biceps so when they line up and flex it spells "Brigadeers 4 Ever"? Yes, definitely.

Repertoire

The Brigadeers repertoire includes the following:

- Blackbird Medley
- Bye Bye Blues
- Creole Cutie
- Darktown Strutters' Ball   (PIO Spring 2005 Finals contest song #2)
- Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?
- Down Where The Swanee River Flows   (PIO Spring 2005 Semi-finals contest song #2; IHB 2005 Show song; NCHB 2006 Show song)
- Each Time I Fall In Love
- Everybody Loves A Lover
- Give Me A Night In June
- Have A Little Talk With Myself
- Hello, Mary Lou
- Hey Good Lookin'
- I Can Dream, Can't I?
- If I Love Again
- If I Only Had A Brain
- I'm Alone Because I Love You
- I'm Gonna Live 'Till I Die
- I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World
- Indiana
- I've Been Workin' On The Railroad
- Lazybones
- Louise
- Lover, Come Back
- Lullabye In Ragtime
- Mona Lisa
- Paper Doll
- Royal Garden Blues
- Sentimental Gentleman From Georgia   (PIO Spring 2005 Finals contest song #1)
- Shine
- Too Marvelous For Words
- When There's Love At Home
- You Make Me Feel So Young   (PIO Spring 2005 Semi-finals contest song #1)

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