On March 11, eight University students gathered in a small classroom of the Music Building to rehearse yet again. Their performance was only two days away, and if the group was nervous, they weren’t showing it.

Together, these men form the University a cappella group, The Other Guys. The group, however, is not an average choir – and hasn’t been since 1969.

Each generation has combined perfectly harmonized voices and animated humor to entertain their audiences. The group was gearing up last spring to celebrate their 35th reunion by inviting former members of 1969 to1976 generations to join them onstage.

“We’re a comedy octet and we bill ourselves as more than just a musical group,” said Bill Prokopow, sophomore in FAA. “We’re an all-around entertainment group.”

Annual auditions for The Other Guys are competitive. On average, 40 students audition each year for two positions. Last year was an exception with four new openings. These spots went to Brandon Pevnick, freshman in business, Aaron Troy, sophomore in business, Tim Tyler, junior in engineering, and Mike Hoyne, sophomore in engineering.

One of the most important characteristics of the group’s members, besides vocal talent, is personality – a sense of humor is required to be in the group, something that comes across in the auditions. This year’s tryouts included a questionnaire that asked prospective members to define nonexistent words and draw funny pictures.

“We want to make sure that our new guys are funny as well to keep up that tradition,” Prokopow said.

While the group is known for its humor, most members agree that the musical aspect of the show is top priority.

“The comedy is great and it’s entertaining, but to us, the pride is in the music,” said Cody Whitlock, senior in LAS.

Ben Jones, senior in LAS and the group’s musical director, has been with The Other Guys since his freshmen year. Jones said the group is different from other University choirs simply because of the effort the members put into each performance.

“Our music is on a completely different level because of the amount of time we spend on it,” Jones said.

Hoyne and Troy agreed.

“The overall entertainment experience is pretty much proportional to the amount of time we spend preparing it,” Hoyne said. “We spend so much time preparing it’s gotta be good.”

“At least from my personal experience, I’ve never put anywhere near as much work into other groups as I have in this one,” Troy said.

Acting as ambassadors of the University, The Other Guys tour the nation every year. They perform at various high schools, fund-raisers and University events. Until recently, they were officially sponsored by the Alumni Association.

In fact, Prokopow first became familiar with the group after they visited his high school in Northwood, Ill. The performance left a lasting impression.

“I pretty much came here for The Other Guys,” Prokopow said.

Members of the group estimate that they spend anywhere from 40 to 60 hours practicing during the week before an upcoming show.

“This week, my academics are on the backburner,” Jones said as he prepared last March.