Scattertones to get groovy at Hollywood Bowl’s ABBA Fest

The disco days may be over, but a love for ABBA is still alive – throw in a little a cappella and the groovy lyrics are refreshed with a vocal twist.

This Sunday, the Scattertones, one of UCLA’s coed a cappella groups, will perform covers of the Swedish disco group’s “S.O.S.” and “Money, Money, Money” in the ABBA-Cappella sing-off, a part of the Hollywood Bowl’s ABBA Fest.

Performing in ABBA Fest for the first time, the Scattertones will open the concert.

The ABBA Fest is a showtune-style sing-off between three a cappella groups: the Scattertones, USC’s The SoCal VoCals and Chapman University’s SoundCheck.

The three a capella groups will open for Swedish ABBA tribute band Waterloo, the concert’s headlining band, who will also perform ABBA classics.

India Carney, a third-year vocal student at UCLA and the Scattertones music director, said the singers are approaching ABBA Fest with a positive attitude.

“We know we are going to go in with a good vibe and high expectations to perform our best, as well as have a mindset to have a great time,” Carney said.

To prepare for ABBA Fest, many of the Scattertones have had to familiarize themselves with the pieces individually. Because fall quarter has not yet started, they have not been able to collaborate together all at once.

As part of the rehearsal process, Carney said the Scattertones will learn their parts on the computer after finalizing the songs and arrangements. Through the computer, the Scattertones are able to view sheet music as well as record and replay their voices.

Sheet music is uploaded to box.com, so members may efficiently practice on the go. The Scattertones then pull the separate parts together at rehearsal and choreograph moves to fit the song.

Both songs will be up to three and a half minutes in length.Rishi Menon, a fourth-year psychology student and Scattertones president, said the Scattertones are aiming for a happy, upbeat sound, with a big chorus that embodies the essence of ABBA.

“ABBA has a really full, sprightly sound, and we want to capture that essence on stage,” Menon said.

All 16 of the Scattertones members participating in ABBA Fest have experience in a cappella festivals and have worked together for at least one full year.

Only a few seniors graduated last year, so the Scattertones have maintained their sound and have not musically suffered from the loss of singers,Carney said.

This factor has made practicing for ABBA Fest easier on all of the members.

“(Our sound) is very rich and full, and right now we are comprised of a lot of people who are soloists, which forces you to blend and listen, and remain mindful of your sound and then manipulate it,” Carney said.

The Scattertones were invited to participate in ABBA Fest because of their success in regional and national competitions, said Menon.

Menon said the Scattertones have a healthy rivalry with the groups they are performing alongside from USC and Chapman University.

“The SoCal VoCals have set a tremendous bar, but we have a great friendly relationship, although no one is settling for less than the best they can give — both groups are striving to be the best,” Menon said.

“Chapman has also been on the rise recently, and both are a cappella groups to look out for,” Menon said.

The Scattertones will likely compete against the two groups again at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella later this year.

Menon said though ABBA Fest will allow the Scattertones to see the development of other groups, it is less competitive than the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.

The Scattertones hope to strengthen their group morale and musicality at ABBA Fest, Carney said.

They also hope to learn new arranging and singing techniques that they can use to develop their musicality and reinforce their stage presence as a whole in the coming year.

Dominic Delzompo, a second-year vocal performance student and one of the assistant music directors for the Scattertones, said he is excited at the prospect of performing in such a historic venue and participating in ABBA Fest.

“I think there’s a lot of music that is ‘a cappella-ble’, which is a word I use to describe music that is easy to arrange for a cappella, but not as recent,” Delzompo said. “There is a lot of potential for the music to be transformed into a cappella, but a cappella is more about having fun with it, and I think ABBA has a lot of that fun to offer.”