JournalStar.com - Ground Zero Online

A cappella group looking to make an m-pact in L.A.
by patti vannoy
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 - 12:00:19 am CST

Britt Quentin's description of m-pact might sound slightly familiar to weather-obsessed Nebraskans.

Around here, the saying goes: If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change.

Quentin's version, used to describe his band, isn't farther than a watermelon seed spit away: If you didn't like the last song m-pact sang, hold on, because you'll probably like the next one.

"If there's an idea about what we're going to be like, I'd say leave that at home and come check it out and then form an opinion,"said the soprano and artistic director for the a cappella group classified somewhere between pop, jazz, funk, R&B and hip-hop.

M-pact brings its something-for-everybody show to Lincoln this weekend.

The group formed 8½ years ago after two guys at the University of Washington met three others from the University of Northern Colorado.

Within a couple of months, the Colorado crew headed north, confident that this new group would be what they'd been looking for, Quentin said.

Two jazz albums and a Christmas-themed release followed, along with a few lineup changes.

Now m-pact is making another move toward building itself a household name by relocating to Los Angeles.

The decision was largely inspired by the post-Sept. 11, 2001, recession and its effects on the music industry, said Quentin, who joined the group seven years ago and also is the tour manager.

"I don't think it really affected the Janet Jacksons and the Britney Spearses and the Stings,"he said. "But the people a couple of rungs down the ladder, who have to tour constantly, pretty much, to stay afloat, it hit the hardest."

Groups at m-pact's level - a full-time group that has not yet become a household name - were among the first to get cut from performing arts venue schedules when ticket sales fell.

But it's getting better.

"There's a horizon in front of us, and we're excited about it. We're coming out of the black hole," Quentin said.

Moving closer to the music business will help, too, by giving the five members a chance to do soundtrack and film work and allow them to supplement their income with other aspects of the music business. Plus, they've got lots of friends and connections in Los Angeles, including the three former members who've moved on to other pursuits.

"We just decided to take the chance and just go for it,"he said.

But not without careful consideration.

Once it was made, however, all that was left was finding the time. And unless they wanted to wait until July, the logical spot on the calendar was late April - during about 10 days sandwiched between the 2½-week tour of the Midwest that will begin in Lincoln and jaunts to South America and Europe.

That's how m-pact usually operates, by setting a long-term goal and then working backward to figure out the steps necessary to accomplish it, the soprano said.

For example, when an April release was expected when recording began on their fourth and fifth albums last fall.

With a little adjustment to accommodate the switch of both location and recording engineers, the latest jazz CD should be out this fall, and a pop album will follow around Christmas.

Reach Patti Vannoy at 473-7254 or pvannoy@;journalstar.com.

If you go

What: NEBRASKAPELLA, featuring m-pact, No Better Cause and The Bathtub Dogs

Where:Nebraska Union auditorium

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Admission: $10 for general admission or $5 for students