For a good demonstration of Geoff's range, check out the VoicePlay cover of "Oogie Boogie's Song." You will really get to hear him go from one end to the other - RAPIDLY.
NOT a chain gang song! It's a mining song, as the lyrics and scenario very clearly indicate. He's saying he can't die yet ("Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go"), because he "owes his soul" to the company store that's run by the mining company, because he's over-extended his debt to the store for food, tools, supplies, etc. He's not a chain gang prisoner, but a prisoner of debt to the company store.
Good catch! To make the entire situation more horrible, the workers weren't even paid in real money, but rather in "company scrip", a fake currency only redeemable at the company store. This practice has since been outlawed, and the most recent example of someone getting in trouble with this is none other than Walmart, when they tried paying a portion of their employees' paycheck in Walmart gift cards.
@@spamhere1123 Yepp, and company workers also lived on the land owned by the company, in houses owned by the company (often the simplest of shacks, barely providing rain protection, much less vs heat or cold), had to buy their amenities such as coal or wood from the company. As these company sites often were far away from other towns the workers really had no choice but to buy at the company stores, which were outrageously overpriced, even if they were paid in standard currency instead of company scrip. The ultimate expression of all-out capitalistic exploitation without any regulations or protections. But that was loooong before the Great Depression.
If you don't know Geoff, check out some more of his wonderful videos where he shows off his range of five octaves. His version of Blackbird is a good example of this. He is the bass in the acapella group Voiceplay where he either sings or becomes the bass guitar sound. They are brilliant in all genres but especially theatarical pieces such as their latest, Dragonborn Comes, from the video game Skyrim. You can't go wrong with anything he or they do. And yes, he clones himself to become what I call Geoff and the Geofftones. :) This song isn't about chain gangs but coal miners back in the day who had to buy everything from the mining company store so never had anything to call their own. Voiceplay and Geoff have many many fans and patrons who will certainly watch your reactions to them.
I was just going to correct them about the chain gang thing. My grandfather worked the coal mines in Virginia and sang that song all the time. The company store was the precursor to payday advance places. Yeah, I will give you stuff and you pay for it the rest of your lives. It took my grandfather a couple of years to be able to move out from Virginia to California with the rest of the family because he could never get ahead. The company stores always charged more than anyone else but it was a company town and there were no other stores unless you had a way to get to the neighboring towns. When he got to California he then moved into a lumbering town but this time he was smart and never bought anything on credit!
Hey guys thanks for reviewing this song, Geoff is making some of the old folk songs popular again. However, the story behind 16 tons has little to nothing to do with the old prison songs. 16 tons is about coal miners in the Appalachian region in the US. Since the depression was raging in the US work was very difficult to find. Families would move to coal mining camps with the promise of steady work. However, these camps were extremely far away from other communities. Families would not be able to get needed supplies except through the "Company Store". The prices and your wages were calculated so that you didn't make enough each month to afford what your family needed to survive. However the "Boss Man" was happy to help your family out by giving you credit in the company store. Each month you were "Deeper In Debt". Your employment contract stated that you had to clear any debt before you could leave the Coal Mines employment. Basically they were trapped working for the coal mine all the while getting deeper and deeper in debt.
All the women squirm when the bass comes out. They all tend to feel overdressed(looking at you, Cheryl) when Geoff starts to sing. On another note, checkout his a capella group, Voice Play, for some fine entertainment.
So glad you've discovered Geoff. He has a superb voice over wide range including ridiculous subharmonics. This video concept was put together by him & his wife Kathy. Geoff is the bass for the group Voiceplay & they do pretty much everything themselves including arrangements & videos. Geoff's done about 14 solo covers & they're all brilliant. Voiceplay is definitely worth a look their new one Dragonborn Comes is epic. Belated Happy New Year from London
The funny thing about this song, is that Geoff tries to stay in his bass without using subharmonics. He is one of the best at that. Listen to Voiceplay doing the Halo theme for his lowest note or High & Dry for his upper and lower combined. He has a 5 octave working range. He also has a channel where he explains how to sing lower (as well as awesome covers).
Enjoyed your reaction, thank you. Listen to the a cappella group, VoicePlay, that Geoff sings bass with. They just dropped "The Dragonborn Comes" and Geoff's opening notes are just impossible. It wasn't just chain gangs/criminals. When you went to work for many mines, you lived in a company town, you're paid in company script that can only be spent in the company stores, and never enough to quite live on. So... people ended up in debt to their jobs. During the depression, where people were without choices and many were homeless, it sounded good. Until they became enslaved to the job and unable to leave until they paid the debt - and there was no way to get it paid.
He shows off his range in his cover of "Blackbird" by the Beatles, so maybe you can check that out. He is also the bass singer in the a cappella group Voiceplay.
You will enjoy pretty much every one of Geoff's songs. As well as Voiceplay's songs. They do so much musicals, musical theater, Disney medelys, the list is endless.
Geoff is a Phenom! Welcome to the Geoff and hopefully Voiceplay rabbit hole, they are nothing short of AMAZING!! If you loved this I can't wait to see your reaction to some of his/their other content! I recommend Shenandoah and Misty Mountains(Geoff solo), and him in VP, Hoist the Colours, Oogie Boogie, Wicked Medley to name a few!
Geoff's acapella group Voiceplay is a candy shop for vocal coaches, with no instruments hiding their wonderful voices. Rumbling bass, kick ass beatboxing, soaring tenors, luscious baritones, powerful rock tenor belts, gorgeous harmonies, all wrapped into the most theatrical acapella group out there! They don't just SING their parts, they ARE their parts. And if that requires a full on musical theatre performance, these guys take that challenge on head first! They just released a new song on Saturday called The Dragonborn Come, definitely worth checking out!
Loved this reaction!!! Yes, Geoff is easy on the eye as well as the ear. There’s a lot more to hear on his channel-and also his group, Voiceplay. They just dropped a new one, Dragonborn from the game Skyrim. If you think he is low here, you ain’t heard nothing yet. Thanks for checking this out.
I just discovered this phenomenal singer this week when I stumbled upon a Voiceplay video by random clicking on youtube, and I tell you I'm already a Patreon for this guy. Suggestions for Geoff videos by himself I'd have to put his latest 'Shenandoah' on the top of list. Definitely also would recommend Voiceplay's Little Mermaid Medley just to show you something that combines his terrific range with his acting ability and their 'Wicked' Medley as well. Although Geoff doesn't have as much of the spotlight on him in the latter, he did the arrangement and it is outstanding! I second Christine's comment that the fans and patrons will definitely like to watch your reactions to more of his work.
@@pfschuman You are very welcome. I know typos happen. I just did not want to see such a great comment getting roasted and the reasoning inside of it being ignored simply over that one little thing. The Grammar Nazis on YT are THE WORST. Hope you are having a better day. :)
@@jamescurfman3284 If you click on the three little dots above your comment, you’re given the opportunity to edit. It is tricky because you don’t have a lot of room to work in if you’re working on the phone, but it beats getting roasted alive for a typo. The typos don’t bother me as much as the grammatical errors.
Fun fact: Geoff was a decent bass, then, a few years ago, a vocalist published the result of his research on medieval monastic deep singing, during which he rediscovered the lost technics and methods used by the medieval monks to sing really low. In interview Geoff said, when he found the vocalist works, he started training for several months to learn and master those technic. Geoff is really talented, for sure, but make no mistake, his voice deepness and mastery is the result of continuous effort and hard work
years of work. He still states that when doing the deep notes he still can't just do them at will, he has to properly warm up and he usually does the very low notes in his songs late in the taping when he is properly warmed up and ready. He also practices other deep note techniques besides his normal sub harmonics such as the technique used by Tim of Homefree, and while having practiced for years he still has a long way to go.
Really enjoyed this reaction! You should check out more of Geoff's music (High and Dry is one of my favorites). And VoicePlay, the a cappella group he's part of.
Loved y’all’s reaction to geoff. He’s a beast. He and his acapella group have a decent following and we always follow where they are. :) love reactions like your guys’ to them. (And tbf, lots of us find him hot)
I had so much fun watching this! Geoff sings with a group called Voiceplay. The just released several songs you should check out. Wicked, the Greatest Showman, and Dragon Born. But my favorite is Halo!
Hi from Daytona Beach, Florida ⛱️🏖️. I'm a new subscriber and enjoyed the reaction that you gave 👌. The ladies I think we're to "Shocked" from Geoff's voice 😂😆!! Anyway, looking forward to seeing more reactions from your channel ☺️
This was fun to watch. It's getting harder and harder to find people who haven't heard of Geoff, or the group he belongs to, Voice Play. So, finding someone who is just starting on this journey is a treat. I'm glad that others in the comments were able to point out the misinformation about the chain gang thing. Though it's still great that you knew it came from the depression era. Knowing even that much of the history puts you ahead of the curve. And, unless you've had reason to find information about such things, or seen some of the old movies my parents subjected me to as a kid, you wouldn't know a lot of the specifics. It's also the same time frame, and same industry, that coined the term "redneck". They were the folks the mine owners contracted to bust up unions before they could start. You could tell them by the red scarves they wore around their necks. Thus the term "redneck". Surprise your friends with that little gem. Lol. As for Geoff, or Voice Play, I would make two suggestions. First, if you can manage a way to do so, I would suggest using headphones. You'll get more of the various voices, the complexities they put into their arrangements, if you're able to hear them without distraction. The second suggestion I would make is to simply go onto their page here on UA-cam and spin the dial, so to speak. Just click a random video, because there aren't, so far as I can tell, any bad ones from either of them. So, surprise both yourselves and your audience with which of their videos you do next! Have fun! Play! That's what Voice Play is all about! That, and some awesome talent. Thank you all for doing this video. As I said, it was a lot of fun to watch. We'll see you on the next one!
this song was actual one where Geoff challenged himself to not go below his chest voice, he also has several notes below the lowest used in this video that he has access to via subharmonics. and Geoff really has great control of the subharmonic register.
Geoff (pronounced 'Jeff') Castellucci is indeed a force of nature, and both his channel and that of the _a capella_ group he's in, VoicePlay, are the best of rabbit holes -- enjoy! The information about the song's origin, however, is incorrect. Rather than prison chain gangs in the Great Depression, it was written in 1947 by singer/songwriter Merle Travis about the coal mines in western Kentucky, though the most popular version was released in 1955 by 'Tennessee' Ernie Ford. The songs lyrics talk about mining coal, loading 16 tons of it (a large amount) into the cars used to transport it from the mine, and being too much in debt to die. So the only 'chains' were financial. The song's author remembered something his father once said about the practice of paying miners in "scrip," credit vouchers that could only be used at the nearby company-owned general store. He told a neighbor, "I can't afford to die. I owe my soul to the general store," inspiring the lyric. Coal miners were, for example, offered their pay either as $10 in cash or $12 in scrip, and were fooled by the easy credit and enticed by the scam of an apparently favorable exchange rate. Scrip could only be used in the company's in-house general store, to buy items whose retail prices were greatly inflated above those in the distant towns. Miners would buy what they thought was $12 in goods with their scrip, when they could have gone to the regular stores that were farther away and paid only $8 cash. So the company store system both underpaid them and overcharged them at the same time. Plus the cost of the goods to the company would have been, say, only $5 wholesale. So for the cost of $5 to the company, it could get $10 worth of labor, from a miner who thought he was purchasing $12 worth of goods, and who was left to wonder at the end of the day how it was that he could never dig out of his debt to the company store. A very abusive system.
Welcome to the rabbit hole that is Geoff Castellucci(& Voiceplay Geoff is their bass), they’re not brothers, they’re clones, what I call the Geoffettes lol, Kathy is Geoff’s wife and his and VoicePlay’s manager. I’m NOT a Christmas song person but Geoff’s God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is fantastic, also his covers of House Of The Rising Sun, The Monster Mash and Bare Necessities I highly recommend. Geoff also does narrations and his The Raven and The Cremation Of Sam McGee are my personal favourites. Geoff did the arrangement for VoicePlay’s Wicked, and I believe their latest The Dragonborn Comes, Layne(who is the beatboxer/percussionist in Voiceplay)also does a lot of the arrangements and The Showman Medley is also fantastic by Voiceplay as well as their Nightmare Before Christmas covers
You guys are a kick. Lol. Glad I stumbled across this channel. I agree with Wes' suggestion to listen/react to Voiceplay's cover of the Oogie Boogie Song. Voiceplay is the A Capella group of which Geoff is the bass. Every one of Voiceplay's singers, past and present, are incredible talents.
Geoff's cover of '16 Tons' and his video is an amazing complete package of a wonderful experience. Visually, well, self explanatory here - he is a very good looking man, nice muscles showcased with the the wife-beater tank top minimalistic background eluding to the industrious hard labor in the song. Then there is his little slight modification to the tune itself, giving it a little swing in the middle, and his nice smooth velvety sub bass low purrr. Definitely gives you the tingles when listening with headphones on. 😵😲👍🎇❤💜
You can hear Geoff hit an E1 in his cover of "Blackbird" on his solo channel and in the cover of "Oogie Boogie's Song" on the Voiceplay channel. He probably has some songs where he goes lower than that, but I don't know offhand.
Welcome to the rabbit hole of Geoff Castellucci! As others have probably already mentioned, he has an impressive catalog of music as a solo artist, as well as being the bass singer for the a capella group Voiceplay. On his UA-cam channel you can also find some dramatic readings (Edgar Allen Poe, The Jabberwock, and The Cremation of Sam McGee, among others). He, and his wife, just posted a video discussing hearing loss. It turns out that Kathy has to wear hearing aids in both ears, and they discuss what that has meant in their lives, and how others can cope with it as well.
Good reaction, just wanted to let you know that the song was about Coal Miners that were being taken advantage of the companies they worked for. Coal Miners were being put into debt to the companies they worked for with no way to quit.
Elizabeth Zharoff, the opera singer responsible for the channel called The Charismatic Voice, interviewed Geoff for over an hour. It was an intereting interview about his origins as a singer, his practices, his strengths, and his weaknesses. It's an interesting interview and worth tracking down if you want to know more about Geoff. Also, Axity looks super pretty in that dress!
Love the Columbus T-shirt. That's the abbreviation of this fine city. Love you ladies! If only I were thirty years younger. lol Geoff, in my opinion, is the best bass singer ever.
Welcome to Geoff Castellucci's world. We're all just passengers in it XD He is hands down my favorite bass singer around. I'm enough of a bass singer that I can _mostly_ keep up with him, I just don't have the subharmonic range that he does. He's an amazing vocalist, and he knows when to go big, and when to hold back. For example, his cover of Danny Boy was beautiful, and he knew to hold back and not showboat on it, because that would have been wrong for that song. Anyway, keep on enjoying him, both on his own channel and on VoicePlay. And, just so you know, Geoff isn't the sole powerful voice in VoicePlay. In my opinion, every member of the group is wonderfully skilled, and across the various songs that they do together, each one of them gets their chances to shine.
Geoff and his group Voiceplay are fantastic. Believe it or not, Geoff can sing almost an octave lower than you heard here. G1 is his lowest chest note for the most part, but he has hit a B0 in their cover of the Halo theme song and C#1 in their Wicked medley and new Skyrim song which are all absolutely incredible in their own right.
@@nikelodeon6852 You are welcome! It´s been such a long time, Geoff hasn´t recorded a low chest note below F#1! That F1 is just crazy as hell!!! So beefy and not strained at all! I knew he could do that for a long time, he just didn´t want to show up, for lack of vocal quality, most likely.
Great video--I really enjoyed the interaction between the three of you. Two trivia notes: Geoff Castellucci says he is naturally a baritone who has learned to reach into the bass range. He can reliably hit an E1 and has a range of over 4 octaves. Second: Sixteen tons has nothing to do with prison or chain gangs. It is about the deeply exploitative practices of many industries before the 1950s. There are lines in the song that the writer lifted directly from letters written to the songwriter by his father and brothers, who were coal miners but they are just as true of other industries. One abusive practice was paying workers in scrip rather than in cash (checks were rare and, of course, electronic banking was 75+ years into the future). The mine owner would also open a general store (like what we would call a department store today) that would accept scrip in payment but the goods were priced on the high side for the quality and/or quantity the miners received. Scrip could be exchanged into cash but usually at a 10% to 25% penalty; for instance, a $5.00 scrip note would only be worth $4.50 in cash. Another abusive practice was extending credit at the company store for workers who were buying with scrip. Typically, there would be one percentage rate charged for repayment in scrip and a higher (much higher) percentage rate charged for repayment in cash--so even if a miner came into money from another source (say, a gift or inheritance), they would not hold onto that money for long. No matter what they did, most miners ended up deeper and deeper in debt to the company store. Then add in the danger inherent in the work and the complete lack of safety standards. Plus, many mines did not pay per hour, they paid per pound and, of course, the mine owned both the scales and the record keeping system. There are photographs of miners, many of them taken during the Great Depression as part of the government's Farm Security Administration's photographic documentation project of marginal and submarginal farmers that show miners in their early 30s who look like they are in their 60s. They were documented because they had tiny farms that just could not support them during the Depression, so they had turned to coal mining to support their families. They literally traded their lifespan and health to feed their families... and to keep the mine owners wealthy, of course.
Welcome to the rabbit hole of Geoff, as others stated he does solo stuff besides being in an Acapella group, Voiceplay. Voiceplay was in a contest called Sing Off with other Acapella groups such as their friends, Home Free. All of you wondering how Geoff does it? His vocal range is from 4 to 5 Octaves with low Bass notes into subharmonics. He has a YT channel, Geoff Castellucci. For the guy, (I don't know your name yet) Geoff recorded on how to sing low notes without damaging vocal cords even at subharmonics. He does covers. Plus, Voiceplay has its YT channel too. My favorite from Geoff is Misty Mountain Cold (song from The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey) and with Voiceplay is Oogie Boogie Man (Nightmare before Christmas)
Check out Geoff's version of the American folksong, Shenandoah to see both his low voice and high voice in action. ua-cam.com/video/cbFjVz_e8wo/v-deo.html
For geoff hitting an A#5 watch peaches cover by Voiceplay I think he has a Bb0 sub on way down cover (not the whole video) To see him hit an A0 growl watch Enemy cover by Voiceplay To see him hit a C#0 fry watch one of his bass tutorials To watch a 3/4 octave slide depending on who you ask watch the little mermaid medley cover by Voiceplay
Geoff is the bass for Voiceplay. They have a LOT of great productions out. You should check out "Hoist the Colours", "Skyrim - The Dragonborn Comes" and "We Don't Talk About Bruno". Geoff also has a lot of solo work out as well. ALL are exceptionally well done!
Another awesome bass singer is Tim Foust with a 5+ octave range...he can go super low (has blown out subwoofers) and go up to high tenor. He is the Bass singer for Home Free a capella group which leans more towards country, but covers all genres. Check out Misty Mountains with Peter Hollens and himself to get a taste of his bass....then listen to Austin Brown and him sign My Maria (Austin is the High Tenor in Home Free), also Tim has released his own Doo Wop album where he sings all the parts. Geoff is amazing and has a lot of his own videos and with his group VoicePlay.
Shenandoah should be next if your going to react to more of Geoff's videos. I hope you you will check out VoicePlay too. Geoff is the most talented singer in my opinion. He sings very high and can go really low and his voice is beautiful and soothing throughout.
I love that Sean is ribbing the ladies about their visceral reactions to Geoff (both voice and looks) but I think at 7:42 point in the video I think Sean has a moment himself!
Thank you all for an awesome reaction. Geoff ( Jeff ) Castellucci has his own page where he does a lot of solo videos. Try The Headless Horseman. He is super low. He is part of Voice Play group. They are a very theatrical acapella group. They are a total package. They do all their own production & arrangements. Check out their page.
Love your reaction! Many people are saying it’s about coal mining, not chain gang. There were convict leasing programs in the south that were the precursor to chain gangs. Chain gangs built roads and other public works. Convict leasing was a system of renting out convicts to private companies and coal mines used a lot of them. For more info check out the book (or PBS movie) Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A Blackmon.
Hi from Bulgaria! I enjoyed very much your reaction to this song. If you like low voices, please try Home Free. This is acapella group. Their low bass singer is Tim Foust and he has 5 octaves range. I recommend "Ring of fire", where there are two magnificent bass singers - Tim Foust and Avi Kaplan from Pentatonix. I guarantee that two ladies will have their jaws dropped at the end of the song - just like they were at the end of "Sixteen tons" :)
You NEED to check out more Geoff, his band Voiceplay, and Pattycake Productions (the channel run by the band's beat boxer who is also in charge of the costumes, the editing, and the backgrounds) If you think THIS is good, oooooooooooooooooooh boy do I have a triple channel rabbit hole for you
As i as growing up and my voice started to change, i sang as a bass for my church choir. My mother heard my voice and made me learn this song and another old one "blue moon" because she said she liked the bass. When i became choir director, i had to learn all 4 voices, strange thing was when i sang soprano i noticed my speaking voice became very low. The opposite happened when i sang bass, i spoke in a higher level than my sisters. Lol
Soo many good songs by Geoff Castellucci. For fun you should checkout his versions of the Monster Mash and the Headless Horseman. For Voiceplay you can't go wrong by I reccomend Hoist the Colours and the Little Mermaid Medley
Loved the reaction 😀 he's a member of an Acapella group Voice Play, there's another very good Bass Tim Foust he has an amazing range, he's part of another Acapella band Homefree... If possible please check them out as well.. 😊👍🏼
For a good demonstration of Geoff's range, check out the VoicePlay cover of "Oogie Boogie's Song." You will really get to hear him go from one end to the other - RAPIDLY.
It that 4 octave drop in the Little Mermaid - which would be great even without it.
My favorite! I’ve watched it hundreds of times. I live for reactions to that one
@@janetdw yessssss
Yes!!!!!!
Oh PLEASE do an analysis to this song. It's gonna be awesome!
NOT a chain gang song! It's a mining song, as the lyrics and scenario very clearly indicate. He's saying he can't die yet ("Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go"), because he "owes his soul" to the company store that's run by the mining company, because he's over-extended his debt to the store for food, tools, supplies, etc. He's not a chain gang prisoner, but a prisoner of debt to the company store.
I'm glad to see someone chose to correct his history. Thank You!!
They would buy their groceries on credit from the store owned by the mine. They would never get ahead of the debt.
Good catch! To make the entire situation more horrible, the workers weren't even paid in real money, but rather in "company scrip", a fake currency only redeemable at the company store. This practice has since been outlawed, and the most recent example of someone getting in trouble with this is none other than Walmart, when they tried paying a portion of their employees' paycheck in Walmart gift cards.
Thanks for pointing this out. Said it better than I could
@@spamhere1123 Yepp, and company workers also lived on the land owned by the company, in houses owned by the company (often the simplest of shacks, barely providing rain protection, much less vs heat or cold), had to buy their amenities such as coal or wood from the company. As these company sites often were far away from other towns the workers really had no choice but to buy at the company stores, which were outrageously overpriced, even if they were paid in standard currency instead of company scrip.
The ultimate expression of all-out capitalistic exploitation without any regulations or protections. But that was loooong before the Great Depression.
It's always fun watching someone discover Geoff. He's also a member of the acapella group Voiceplay. They're amazing as well.
If you don't know Geoff, check out some more of his wonderful videos where he shows off his range of five octaves. His version of Blackbird is a good example of this. He is the bass in the acapella group Voiceplay where he either sings or becomes the bass guitar sound. They are brilliant in all genres but especially theatarical pieces such as their latest, Dragonborn Comes, from the video game Skyrim. You can't go wrong with anything he or they do. And yes, he clones himself to become what I call Geoff and the Geofftones. :) This song isn't about chain gangs but coal miners back in the day who had to buy everything from the mining company store so never had anything to call their own. Voiceplay and Geoff have many many fans and patrons who will certainly watch your reactions to them.
Blackbird Please!!!!
I was just going to correct them about the chain gang thing. My grandfather worked the coal mines in Virginia and sang that song all the time. The company store was the precursor to payday advance places. Yeah, I will give you stuff and you pay for it the rest of your lives. It took my grandfather a couple of years to be able to move out from Virginia to California with the rest of the family because he could never get ahead. The company stores always charged more than anyone else but it was a company town and there were no other stores unless you had a way to get to the neighboring towns. When he got to California he then moved into a lumbering town but this time he was smart and never bought anything on credit!
Second Dragonborn Comes it's epic!
he has four octaves and some change, not five.
@@muslimmetalman If you say so but most agree that with the subharmonics and some high notes it's five. And who am I to argue?
I love watching people first reacting to Geoff! He is an amazing artist! Please do more reaction videos of him!
Hey guys thanks for reviewing this song, Geoff is making some of the old folk songs popular again. However, the story behind 16 tons has little to nothing to do with the old prison songs. 16 tons is about coal miners in the Appalachian region in the US. Since the depression was raging in the US work was very difficult to find. Families would move to coal mining camps with the promise of steady work. However, these camps were extremely far away from other communities. Families would not be able to get needed supplies except through the "Company Store". The prices and your wages were calculated so that you didn't make enough each month to afford what your family needed to survive. However the "Boss Man" was happy to help your family out by giving you credit in the company store. Each month you were "Deeper In Debt". Your employment contract stated that you had to clear any debt before you could leave the Coal Mines employment. Basically they were trapped working for the coal mine all the while getting deeper and deeper in debt.
Thank you for correcting the historic and cultural references this song is about vs what was presented in this video!!!
This
I was going to say - he’s talking about company towns not prison!
@@bookcat123 yep, but in truth there isn’t much difference as you couldn’t leave in debt
@@eschultz19661 True. An apt misunderstanding.
All the women squirm when the bass comes out. They all tend to feel overdressed(looking at you, Cheryl) when Geoff starts to sing. On another note, checkout his a capella group, Voice Play, for some fine entertainment.
Hot dang finally! Been hoping you'd find this!
So glad you've discovered Geoff. He has a superb voice over wide range including ridiculous subharmonics. This video concept was put together by him & his wife Kathy. Geoff is the bass for the group Voiceplay & they do pretty much everything themselves including arrangements & videos. Geoff's done about 14 solo covers & they're all brilliant. Voiceplay is definitely worth a look their new one Dragonborn Comes is epic. Belated Happy New Year from London
The funny thing about this song, is that Geoff tries to stay in his bass without using subharmonics. He is one of the best at that. Listen to Voiceplay doing the Halo theme for his lowest note or High & Dry for his upper and lower combined. He has a 5 octave working range. He also has a channel where he explains how to sing lower (as well as awesome covers).
That B0 in halo 😅
Enjoyed your reaction, thank you. Listen to the a cappella group, VoicePlay, that Geoff sings bass with. They just dropped "The Dragonborn Comes" and Geoff's opening notes are just impossible.
It wasn't just chain gangs/criminals. When you went to work for many mines, you lived in a company town, you're paid in company script that can only be spent in the company stores, and never enough to quite live on. So... people ended up in debt to their jobs. During the depression, where people were without choices and many were homeless, it sounded good. Until they became enslaved to the job and unable to leave until they paid the debt - and there was no way to get it paid.
He shows off his range in his cover of "Blackbird" by the Beatles, so maybe you can check that out. He is also the bass singer in the a cappella group Voiceplay.
You will enjoy pretty much every one of Geoff's songs.
As well as Voiceplay's songs. They do so much musicals, musical theater, Disney medelys, the list is endless.
Geoff is amazing! You really can’t go wrong with anything he (and his band) does! Hopefully you’ll react to more of his stuff :)
Geoff is a Phenom! Welcome to the Geoff and hopefully Voiceplay rabbit hole, they are nothing short of AMAZING!! If you loved this I can't wait to see your reaction to some of his/their other content! I recommend Shenandoah and Misty Mountains(Geoff solo), and him in VP, Hoist the Colours, Oogie Boogie, Wicked Medley to name a few!
Geoff has a 5 octave range he is amazing check out more of his stuff and also Voiceplay they are amazing ❤️🏴
Geoff's acapella group Voiceplay is a candy shop for vocal coaches, with no instruments hiding their wonderful voices. Rumbling bass, kick ass beatboxing, soaring tenors, luscious baritones, powerful rock tenor belts, gorgeous harmonies, all wrapped into the most theatrical acapella group out there! They don't just SING their parts, they ARE their parts. And if that requires a full on musical theatre performance, these guys take that challenge on head first!
They just released a new song on Saturday called The Dragonborn Come, definitely worth checking out!
The song has been covered by 134 groups and singers.
Welcome to the 5 Octaves of Geoff Castellucci. He is really brilliant. He also sings bass with Voiceplay, an incredible acapella group.
Loved this reaction!!! Yes, Geoff is easy on the eye as well as the ear. There’s a lot more to hear on his channel-and also his group, Voiceplay. They just dropped a new one, Dragonborn from the game Skyrim. If you think he is low here, you ain’t heard nothing yet. Thanks for checking this out.
Dude Sean! I just randomly found your channel watching a compilation of Geoff Castellucci. I was like “that guy looks like Sean” and sure enough!
Y’all are too much fun. Can’t wait to watch more of your reactions
Lol that little jump when Geoff started singing ;P very relatable 👍
I just discovered this phenomenal singer this week when I stumbled upon a Voiceplay video by random clicking on youtube, and I tell you I'm already a Patreon for this guy. Suggestions for Geoff videos by himself I'd have to put his latest 'Shenandoah' on the top of list. Definitely also would recommend Voiceplay's Little Mermaid Medley just to show you something that combines his terrific range with his acting ability and their 'Wicked' Medley as well. Although Geoff doesn't have as much of the spotlight on him in the latter, he did the arrangement and it is outstanding! I second Christine's comment that the fans and patrons will definitely like to watch your reactions to more of his work.
*Wicked medley. :)
@@jamescurfman3284
Thanks! (So much for my trying to make sure I had no typos before posting!)
@@pfschuman You are very welcome. I know typos happen. I just did not want to see such a great comment getting roasted and the reasoning inside of it being ignored simply over that one little thing. The Grammar Nazis on YT are THE WORST. Hope you are having a better day. :)
@@jamescurfman3284 If you click on the three little dots above your comment, you’re given the opportunity to edit. It is tricky because you don’t have a lot of room to work in if you’re working on the phone, but it beats getting roasted alive for a typo. The typos don’t bother me as much as the grammatical errors.
@@janetdw Oh, yes, I knew about being able to edit. I was just trying to help somebody before the trolls show up and start in on them. :)
You guys are so much fun!!!
The three of you have a winning combination. Your reactions are spot on and humorous. You are entertaining and insightful. Great job.
Fun fact: Geoff was a decent bass, then, a few years ago, a vocalist published the result of his research on medieval monastic deep singing, during which he rediscovered the lost technics and methods used by the medieval monks to sing really low. In interview Geoff said, when he found the vocalist works, he started training for several months to learn and master those technic. Geoff is really talented, for sure, but make no mistake, his voice deepness and mastery is the result of continuous effort and hard work
years of work. He still states that when doing the deep notes he still can't just do them at will, he has to properly warm up and he usually does the very low notes in his songs late in the taping when he is properly warmed up and ready. He also practices other deep note techniques besides his normal sub harmonics such as the technique used by Tim of Homefree, and while having practiced for years he still has a long way to go.
This was such a good reaction video! I'm really lookin forward to what you do next!
Really enjoyed this reaction! You should check out more of Geoff's music (High and Dry is one of my favorites). And VoicePlay, the a cappella group he's part of.
Gotta check out his cover of shenandoah, absolutely beautiful and more high stuff in there
You made a good choice for your Induction to Geoff Castellucci fandom. 👏
Loved y’all’s reaction to geoff. He’s a beast. He and his acapella group have a decent following and we always follow where they are. :) love reactions like your guys’ to them.
(And tbf, lots of us find him hot)
I had so much fun watching this!
Geoff sings with a group called Voiceplay. The just released several songs you should check out. Wicked, the Greatest Showman, and Dragon Born. But my favorite is Halo!
is it just me who focus my attention to the window and watch the one who's taking the video?🤣😂 anyway that a great reaction video
Geoff has an almost 5 octave range. And by range I mean comfortably singing and able to sustains notes with very good control and fullness.
"I can't even think that low" made me actually LOL! So very funny!
Hi from Daytona Beach, Florida ⛱️🏖️. I'm a new subscriber and enjoyed the reaction that you gave 👌. The ladies I think we're to "Shocked" from Geoff's voice 😂😆!! Anyway, looking forward to seeing more reactions from your channel ☺️
This was fun to watch. It's getting harder and harder to find people who haven't heard of Geoff, or the group he belongs to, Voice Play. So, finding someone who is just starting on this journey is a treat.
I'm glad that others in the comments were able to point out the misinformation about the chain gang thing. Though it's still great that you knew it came from the depression era. Knowing even that much of the history puts you ahead of the curve. And, unless you've had reason to find information about such things, or seen some of the old movies my parents subjected me to as a kid, you wouldn't know a lot of the specifics. It's also the same time frame, and same industry, that coined the term "redneck". They were the folks the mine owners contracted to bust up unions before they could start. You could tell them by the red scarves they wore around their necks. Thus the term "redneck". Surprise your friends with that little gem. Lol.
As for Geoff, or Voice Play, I would make two suggestions. First, if you can manage a way to do so, I would suggest using headphones. You'll get more of the various voices, the complexities they put into their arrangements, if you're able to hear them without distraction. The second suggestion I would make is to simply go onto their page here on UA-cam and spin the dial, so to speak. Just click a random video, because there aren't, so far as I can tell, any bad ones from either of them. So, surprise both yourselves and your audience with which of their videos you do next!
Have fun! Play! That's what Voice Play is all about! That, and some awesome talent.
Thank you all for doing this video. As I said, it was a lot of fun to watch. We'll see you on the next one!
this song was actual one where Geoff challenged himself to not go below his chest voice, he also has several notes below the lowest used in this video that he has access to via subharmonics. and Geoff really has great control of the subharmonic register.
Such a fun reaction!
Geoff Castelucci is amazing. Great singer, great person.
Geoff (pronounced 'Jeff') Castellucci is indeed a force of nature, and both his channel and that of the _a capella_ group he's in, VoicePlay, are the best of rabbit holes -- enjoy!
The information about the song's origin, however, is incorrect. Rather than prison chain gangs in the Great Depression, it was written in 1947 by singer/songwriter Merle Travis about the coal mines in western Kentucky, though the most popular version was released in 1955 by 'Tennessee' Ernie Ford. The songs lyrics talk about mining coal, loading 16 tons of it (a large amount) into the cars used to transport it from the mine, and being too much in debt to die.
So the only 'chains' were financial. The song's author remembered something his father once said about the practice of paying miners in "scrip," credit vouchers that could only be used at the nearby company-owned general store. He told a neighbor, "I can't afford to die. I owe my soul to the general store," inspiring the lyric.
Coal miners were, for example, offered their pay either as $10 in cash or $12 in scrip, and were fooled by the easy credit and enticed by the scam of an apparently favorable exchange rate. Scrip could only be used in the company's in-house general store, to buy items whose retail prices were greatly inflated above those in the distant towns. Miners would buy what they thought was $12 in goods with their scrip, when they could have gone to the regular stores that were farther away and paid only $8 cash. So the company store system both underpaid them and overcharged them at the same time.
Plus the cost of the goods to the company would have been, say, only $5 wholesale. So for the cost of $5 to the company, it could get $10 worth of labor, from a miner who thought he was purchasing $12 worth of goods, and who was left to wonder at the end of the day how it was that he could never dig out of his debt to the company store. A very abusive system.
Welcome to the rabbit hole that is Geoff Castellucci(& Voiceplay Geoff is their bass), they’re not brothers, they’re clones, what I call the Geoffettes lol, Kathy is Geoff’s wife and his and VoicePlay’s manager.
I’m NOT a Christmas song person but Geoff’s God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is fantastic, also his covers of House Of The Rising Sun, The Monster Mash and Bare Necessities I highly recommend.
Geoff also does narrations and his The Raven and The Cremation Of Sam McGee are my personal favourites.
Geoff did the arrangement for VoicePlay’s Wicked, and I believe their latest The Dragonborn Comes, Layne(who is the beatboxer/percussionist in Voiceplay)also does a lot of the arrangements and The Showman Medley is also fantastic by Voiceplay as well as their Nightmare Before Christmas covers
Love you're reaction guys,...next BLACK BIRD by GEOFF
Geoff is a bass for Voiceplay. They are wonderful also. They just released the Dragonborn comes from Skyrim. Geoff has his own channel. Nice review
I will never get tired of hearing people discover Geoff. Please check out his acapella group Voiceplay too. My Mother Told Me is unbelievably epic.
More Geoff and y’all should check out voice play his a cappella group!
Please check out Voiceplay's Oogie Boogie Song, has even more Geoff in it and others 😍🤯🤯🤗
You really need to hear his versions of Blackbird and Misty mountains.
Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it.
You guys are a kick. Lol. Glad I stumbled across this channel. I agree with Wes' suggestion to listen/react to Voiceplay's cover of the Oogie Boogie Song. Voiceplay is the A Capella group of which Geoff is the bass. Every one of Voiceplay's singers, past and present, are incredible talents.
Geoff's cover of '16 Tons' and his video is an amazing complete package of a wonderful experience. Visually, well, self explanatory here - he is a very good looking man, nice muscles showcased with the the wife-beater tank top minimalistic background eluding to the industrious hard labor in the song. Then there is his little slight modification to the tune itself, giving it a little swing in the middle, and his nice smooth velvety sub bass low purrr. Definitely gives you the tingles when listening with headphones on. 😵😲👍🎇❤💜
You can hear Geoff hit an E1 in his cover of "Blackbird" on his solo channel and in the cover of "Oogie Boogie's Song" on the Voiceplay channel. He probably has some songs where he goes lower than that, but I don't know offhand.
B0 in halo cover
That's probably so low that I couldn't even hear it.
Geoff and Tim ( Foust) are two of the best low bass singers out there. Incredible agility and range
Geoff is incredible. Watch all of his music, both solo and Voiceplay. You won't regret it!
Omg! I would love to see You react to Oogie Boogie from Voiceplay. Geoff goes even higher (and lower) there. It is earth shattering
Geoff is the best! Many solo videos but his his the bass from Voiceplay, a fantastic a cappella group. Check them out.
Welcome to the geoff castelucci and voiceplay rabbit hole....enjoy the ride
Welcome to the rabbit hole of Geoff Castellucci! As others have probably already mentioned, he has an impressive catalog of music as a solo artist, as well as being the bass singer for the a capella group Voiceplay. On his UA-cam channel you can also find some dramatic readings (Edgar Allen Poe, The Jabberwock, and The Cremation of Sam McGee, among others). He, and his wife, just posted a video discussing hearing loss. It turns out that Kathy has to wear hearing aids in both ears, and they discuss what that has meant in their lives, and how others can cope with it as well.
Yall should react to him singing misty mountain cold. I think you will be even more shocked and thrilled
Good reaction, just wanted to let you know that the song was about Coal Miners that were being taken advantage of the companies they worked for. Coal Miners were being put into debt to the companies they worked for with no way to quit.
I wondered if anyone would explain that.
Elizabeth Zharoff, the opera singer responsible for the channel called The Charismatic Voice, interviewed Geoff for over an hour. It was an intereting interview about his origins as a singer, his practices, his strengths, and his weaknesses. It's an interesting interview and worth tracking down if you want to know more about Geoff.
Also, Axity looks super pretty in that dress!
BTW, loved the reaction by the 3 of you.
Love the Columbus T-shirt. That's the abbreviation of this fine city. Love you ladies! If only I were thirty years younger. lol
Geoff, in my opinion, is the best bass singer ever.
GEOFF IS AN AMAZING GUY WITH A FANTASTIC RANGE HAVE BEEN LUATING TO IM AND VOICE PLAY DOR AWHINLE HE IS A FAVORITE💝💝💝😊
Far over the misty mountains cold of him is actually sickkkkk
The headless horseman is a great song to here how low he can go.
Welcome to Geoff Castellucci's world. We're all just passengers in it XD He is hands down my favorite bass singer around. I'm enough of a bass singer that I can _mostly_ keep up with him, I just don't have the subharmonic range that he does. He's an amazing vocalist, and he knows when to go big, and when to hold back. For example, his cover of Danny Boy was beautiful, and he knew to hold back and not showboat on it, because that would have been wrong for that song. Anyway, keep on enjoying him, both on his own channel and on VoicePlay.
And, just so you know, Geoff isn't the sole powerful voice in VoicePlay. In my opinion, every member of the group is wonderfully skilled, and across the various songs that they do together, each one of them gets their chances to shine.
Geoff and his group Voiceplay are fantastic. Believe it or not, Geoff can sing almost an octave lower than you heard here. G1 is his lowest chest note for the most part, but he has hit a B0 in their cover of the Halo theme song and C#1 in their Wicked medley and new Skyrim song which are all absolutely incredible in their own right.
F#1 is his lowest in this song, superstition and twenty one pilots mashup
@@nikelodeon6852 F1 is now his lowest chest note in Whiskey in the Jar cover, that Voiceplay has updated in November 4th, past year.
@@hugobasilio1303 Yes after 2 years and being a Geoff fan I really needed the update thanks..
@@nikelodeon6852
You are welcome! It´s been such a long time, Geoff hasn´t recorded a low chest note below F#1!
That F1 is just crazy as hell!!! So beefy and not strained at all!
I knew he could do that for a long time, he just didn´t want to show up, for lack of vocal quality, most likely.
@@hugobasilio1303 I was being sarcastic mate..I already knew this as I'm a fan
Geoff "blackbird" cover is prolly his greatest display of range.... It is a must watch
Check out all his stuff. AMAZING STUFF
Great video--I really enjoyed the interaction between the three of you.
Two trivia notes: Geoff Castellucci says he is naturally a baritone who has learned to reach into the bass range. He can reliably hit an E1 and has a range of over 4 octaves.
Second: Sixteen tons has nothing to do with prison or chain gangs. It is about the deeply exploitative practices of many industries before the 1950s. There are lines in the song that the writer lifted directly from letters written to the songwriter by his father and brothers, who were coal miners but they are just as true of other industries.
One abusive practice was paying workers in scrip rather than in cash (checks were rare and, of course, electronic banking was 75+ years into the future). The mine owner would also open a general store (like what we would call a department store today) that would accept scrip in payment but the goods were priced on the high side for the quality and/or quantity the miners received. Scrip could be exchanged into cash but usually at a 10% to 25% penalty; for instance, a $5.00 scrip note would only be worth $4.50 in cash.
Another abusive practice was extending credit at the company store for workers who were buying with scrip. Typically, there would be one percentage rate charged for repayment in scrip and a higher (much higher) percentage rate charged for repayment in cash--so even if a miner came into money from another source (say, a gift or inheritance), they would not hold onto that money for long. No matter what they did, most miners ended up deeper and deeper in debt to the company store.
Then add in the danger inherent in the work and the complete lack of safety standards. Plus, many mines did not pay per hour, they paid per pound and, of course, the mine owned both the scales and the record keeping system.
There are photographs of miners, many of them taken during the Great Depression as part of the government's Farm Security Administration's photographic documentation project of marginal and submarginal farmers that show miners in their early 30s who look like they are in their 60s. They were documented because they had tiny farms that just could not support them during the Depression, so they had turned to coal mining to support their families. They literally traded their lifespan and health to feed their families... and to keep the mine owners wealthy, of course.
Blackbird will break your brain...5 octave range on full display and it's beautiful. Please react to this.
Get the girls some water. They are obviously thirsty!
Geoff (in an interview): "I don't see myself as highly desirable."
Everybody else does, though.
"I can't even think that low!" 😂😂
hoist the colors high is a good one for how low he can go as well
Geoff's version of The Misty Mountains, has both his rumbling sub harmonic bass notes and his very light and pleasant upper range.
Welcome to the Geoff Castellucci / Voiceplay obsession!!
Welcome to the rabbit hole of Geoff, as others stated he does solo stuff besides being in an Acapella group, Voiceplay. Voiceplay was in a contest called Sing Off with other Acapella groups such as their friends, Home Free. All of you wondering how Geoff does it? His vocal range is from 4 to 5 Octaves with low Bass notes into subharmonics. He has a YT channel, Geoff Castellucci. For the guy, (I don't know your name yet) Geoff recorded on how to sing low notes without damaging vocal cords even at subharmonics. He does covers. Plus, Voiceplay has its YT channel too.
My favorite from Geoff is Misty Mountain Cold (song from The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey) and with Voiceplay is Oogie Boogie Man (Nightmare before Christmas)
Check out Geoff's version of the American folksong, Shenandoah to see both his low voice and high voice in action. ua-cam.com/video/cbFjVz_e8wo/v-deo.html
I love how it took a full 15 seconds for them just to process his voice, and then started grooving
For geoff hitting an A#5 watch peaches cover by Voiceplay
I think he has a Bb0 sub on way down cover (not the whole video)
To see him hit an A0 growl watch Enemy cover by Voiceplay
To see him hit a C#0 fry watch one of his bass tutorials
To watch a 3/4 octave slide depending on who you ask watch the little mermaid medley cover by Voiceplay
Geoff is the bass for Voiceplay. They have a LOT of great productions out. You should check out "Hoist the Colours", "Skyrim - The Dragonborn Comes" and "We Don't Talk About Bruno". Geoff also has a lot of solo work out as well. ALL are exceptionally well done!
Voiceplay: If I were a Rich man/girl.
Geoff sings lead for a while and it's AMAZING! ♡♡♡
Another awesome bass singer is Tim Foust with a 5+ octave range...he can go super low (has blown out subwoofers) and go up to high tenor. He is the Bass singer for Home Free a capella group which leans more towards country, but covers all genres. Check out Misty Mountains with Peter Hollens and himself to get a taste of his bass....then listen to Austin Brown and him sign My Maria (Austin is the High Tenor in Home Free), also Tim has released his own Doo Wop album where he sings all the parts. Geoff is amazing and has a lot of his own videos and with his group VoicePlay.
You really should check out more of Geoff's videos. He recently released a cover of "Way Down" by Elvis. He hits a low C at the end.
Shenandoah should be next if your going to react to more of Geoff's videos. I hope you you will check out VoicePlay too. Geoff is the most talented singer in my opinion. He sings very high and can go really low and his voice is beautiful and soothing throughout.
I love that Sean is ribbing the ladies about their visceral reactions to Geoff (both voice and looks) but I think at 7:42 point in the video I think Sean has a moment himself!
I think you would love Blackbird. shows so much range and musicality.
As a natural bass baritone I can sing most of this song but Geoff hits those low low notes and I'm done
Thank you all for an awesome reaction. Geoff ( Jeff ) Castellucci has his own page where he does a lot of solo videos. Try The Headless Horseman. He is super low. He is part of Voice Play group. They are a very theatrical acapella group. They are a total package. They do all their own production & arrangements. Check out their page.
Love your reaction! Many people are saying it’s about coal mining, not chain gang. There were convict leasing programs in the south that were the precursor to chain gangs. Chain gangs built roads and other public works. Convict leasing was a system of renting out convicts to private companies and coal mines used a lot of them. For more info check out the book (or PBS movie) Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A Blackmon.
Hi from Bulgaria! I enjoyed very much your reaction to this song. If you like low voices, please try Home Free. This is acapella group. Their low bass singer is Tim Foust and he has 5 octaves range. I recommend "Ring of fire", where there are two magnificent bass singers - Tim Foust and Avi Kaplan from Pentatonix. I guarantee that two ladies will have their jaws dropped at the end of the song - just like they were at the end of "Sixteen tons" :)
You NEED to check out more Geoff, his band Voiceplay, and Pattycake Productions (the channel run by the band's beat boxer who is also in charge of the costumes, the editing, and the backgrounds)
If you think THIS is good, oooooooooooooooooooh boy do I have a triple channel rabbit hole for you
Watching and enjoying the video I got freaked for a sec cause I saw the reflection of a person standing in the window behind yall lmao
As i as growing up and my voice started to change, i sang as a bass for my church choir. My mother heard my voice and made me learn this song and another old one "blue moon" because she said she liked the bass. When i became choir director, i had to learn all 4 voices, strange thing was when i sang soprano i noticed my speaking voice became very low. The opposite happened when i sang bass, i spoke in a higher level than my sisters. Lol
You guys should definitely react to ( Ku Bersuara ) By Ernie Zakri she’s very amazing ughh I think you’ll love her performance 💕💕
Soo many good songs by Geoff Castellucci. For fun you should checkout his versions of the Monster Mash and the Headless Horseman. For Voiceplay you can't go wrong by I reccomend Hoist the Colours and the Little Mermaid Medley
I love how women’s jaws drop lower than Geoff’s notes on all reaction videos lol
Loved the reaction 😀 he's a member of an Acapella group Voice Play, there's another very good Bass Tim Foust he has an amazing range, he's part of another Acapella band Homefree...
If possible please check them out as well.. 😊👍🏼