Toxic Audio
Encyclopedia
Toxic Audio is a five-person a cappella
singing group from Orlando, Florida
. They began with appearances at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in the late 1990s. Upon achieving frequent appearances at the Jazz Club in Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World Resort
's Downtown Disney
, their fame increased. The publication of several CDs were followed by tours, including an off-Broadway
run in 2004. Subsequently they have toured Europe
and Japan
. They have also performed at "The Loft," in Dayton
, Ohio
.
Toxic Audio is popular for their dynamic and humorous performances, which often include audience participation. They are also adept at improvisation. They emphasize that all of the music and sound effects created in their performances are done entirely with their voices; no outside instruments are used. Four Toxic Audio albums have been released on CD
.
The group consists of five primary singers:
Other singers have been substituted on rare occasion.
John Valines III is the group's technical director and audio engineer.
The group's New York
show earned them the 2004 Drama Desk Award
.
As of September 2005 the group performed at the Luxor Hotel
in Las Vegas, NV
.
Toxic Audio performed the song "Electric Blues" at the Hair Actor's Benefit Fund Concert in NYC
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
singing group from Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. They began with appearances at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in the late 1990s. Upon achieving frequent appearances at the Jazz Club in Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
's Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney (Florida)
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Downtown Disney is open to the public, requires no admission fee, and offers complimentary parking and transportation to all Disney-operated Walt Disney...
, their fame increased. The publication of several CDs were followed by tours, including an off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
run in 2004. Subsequently they have toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. They have also performed at "The Loft," in Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
Toxic Audio is popular for their dynamic and humorous performances, which often include audience participation. They are also adept at improvisation. They emphasize that all of the music and sound effects created in their performances are done entirely with their voices; no outside instruments are used. Four Toxic Audio albums have been released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
The group consists of five primary singers:
- Michelle Mailhot-Valines, sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. Her specialty is scat singingScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
. - Shalisa James, altoAltoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
. Her specialty is in knowing the exact lyrics to a vast number of songs. - Paul Sperrazza, tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. He does beatboxingBeatboxingBeatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
and is known as the "human beat box" who imitates percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. - Jeremy James, baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
. He is skilled at rappingRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
. - René Ruiz, bass, the founder and original director of the group.
Other singers have been substituted on rare occasion.
John Valines III is the group's technical director and audio engineer.
The group's New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
show earned them the 2004 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
.
As of September 2005 the group performed at the Luxor Hotel
Luxor Hotel
Luxor Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The 30-story hotel, which is operated by MGM Resorts International, features a casino floor that includes over 2,000 slot machines and 87 table games....
in Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Toxic Audio performed the song "Electric Blues" at the Hair Actor's Benefit Fund Concert in NYC
Critical notices
Writing in the New York Times, Lawrence Van Gelder complimented and criticised the group:
"The voices of the five versatile and appealing singers are aided and abetted by an assortment of microphones as they work way through numbers like Autumn Leaves, Dream a Little Dream, Paperback Writer, Thriller, Lean on Me and television theme songs. The selection is sure-fire, the presentation is frequently clever, and the cast is talented. But at bottom Toxic Audio in Loudmouth is the musical equivalent of a one-joke comedy."