Finally--
yet suddenly -- after a century-plus of barbershop harmony experience
and 250 years on the planet, this endangered foursome evolved into
the Jurassic Larks Quartet in July 1997. Just a few weeks later,
they won the Central States District Seniors Quartet Championship.
This achievement qualified them to represent the district in the
Barbershop Harmony Society's International Seniors Quartet Contest,
in Tampa, Florida, in January 1998. There, the Jurassic Larks won
the championship on their first try, besting 25 other quartets from
around the United States and Canada.
Since then, the Larks have been dazzling(?) audiences young and
old in 22 states with their home-grown parodies of otherwise respectable
popular songs and barbershop standards. For 2002 alone, their performances
took them to nine states; for 2003, six states. The Larks are known
for the finest in tailored costumes--retro leisure suits--and they
feature a highly animated (?) choreography that folks really appreciate.
Rave reviews have gone so far as to describe the Larks as "the
cat's meow," "catatonic," "comatose," "warped,"
"awesome," "awful"--whatever.
Victor
Neilsen (Tenor) and Barney Alleman (Bass) have made a parody of
retirement. After a long career as division manager of vocational
rehabilitation, Victor now is a library volunteer and also mentors
an elementary student. Barney had been an insurance executive--and
has retired many times. He is going to keep doing it till he gets
it right. He is an avid golfer, hunter, and new car go-fer. Vince
Yinger (Lead and Curator of these prehisterical relics), is the
youngest and newest of the four grandfathers. Now retired, he had
been--for what seemed like an eternity to him--an internal (infernal?)
auditor at one of Iowa's state agencies. G.W. Lewallen (Baritone),
is semi-retired as an artistic graphic designer. He paints signs.
He owns the smallest four-wheel paint shop in the valley. With automatic
transmission. As a premier storyteller, G.W. will never retire.
These four entertainers have all been members of the Des Moines,
Iowa Barbershop Chorus for more than 25 years, but they had never
sung together as a quartet until the Larks were hatched in 1997.
They've been singing "Together" together ever since.
The
Jurassic Larks hope you enjoy their unique rendition of barbershop
harmony and other prehisterical nonsense half as much as they enjoy
performing it for you. That is the way it usually works out. Now,
lean forward to the edge of your seat--you won't want to miss a
single word, note, or graceful movement of these winged dinosaurs
in flight! (On the Internet, check them out at www.JurassicLarks.com.)
