With so many a cappella groups on campus, all talented in their own respects, it is extremely difficult for a group to stand out at Brandeis. I am always curious to see a group perform and watch how it distinguishes itself. Approaching its 15th year in existence next semester, Starving Artists, a coed group with 14 total members (two inactive) performed its fall semester show, "Will Sing for Food," Nov. 17 in the Schwartz Auditorium. Having heard Starving Artists sample a few songs at coffeehouses in the past, I was excited to see what was in store.The group had decorated the auditorium (a place I had only known in the past as "the room where I took Psych 10a") with red and black streamers, letters of the same colors that spelled Starving Artists and a cardboard sign that read, "Will Sing for Food." The singers opened by making a classy entrance into the hall wearing all black with a splash of red (generally a belt for girls and tie for the guys). Ross Brown '10, the only senior in the group, approached the microphone and said a quick welcoming introduction to the audience. The Artists then started to sing the first song, "Home" by Marc Broussard, arranged and with a solo by Brown.

This song was quite an energetic start to the show. Though met with a few microphone malfunctions early on, Brown sang through the song with a great country-rock feel, and his strong voice was met with excellent backing vocals from the rest of the group. During the chorus, the unity of the group truly stood out as it harmonized to create a nice full sound.

The arrangements of the songs emphasized the strong vocals of the entire group while concurrently allowing each soloist to shine individually. While each song contained good arrangements, strong group vocals and impressive solos, certain songs throughout the show stood out as true gems.

Of the soloists, Andrew Litwin '11, Russell Foxworthy '12 and Rachel Wolfman '13 really stood out. Litwin's rendition of the Edwin McCain original "I'll Be" was just as heartfelt as the original and would probably even impress McCain himself. With sideburns and a studded costume, Foxworthy could have become Elvis Presley singing "Blue Suede Shoes," and Wolfman's controlled powerful voice brought tears to the eyes of the audience with a beautiful rendition of Robbie Williams' "Angels."

Starving Artists has more than just a few great soloists, and the amazing group vocals made the show exciting to listen to the whole time. This was most notable on the song "Because," a cover of the classic Beatles song. As the song is almost entirely vocal harmony, it cemented the absolute skill of the bunch. Each member's vocals completed the others' and made for a rounded sound that sent shivers up my spine.

Starving Artists also premiered three new songs over the course of the performance. "Everybody's Fool," originally by Evanescence, is a very complex song that didn't translate so well into the a cappella medium. The heavy guitar and drums couldn't be matched even by the powerful voices of Starving Artists. I feel that, though difficult, the arrangement was done in the best way possible given the source material, and soloist Jordan Brown '12 still sounded good. The next new song, "This Time Around" by Hanson, was sung by Eric Freeman '12 and was arranged very well with an overlapping strong backing emphasizing Freeman's voice. It is definitely a keeper for the future. The last new song, "Fallin'," originally sung by Alicia Keys, was the perfect choice for first-time soloist Ellyn Getz '13. Her soulful voice was able to match the difficult notes that Keys sings and showed great confidence for a first solo.

Concluding the show was the regularly performed "Before He Cheats," featuring solos from all the Starving Artists girls (Wolfman, Getz, Nicole Izbicky '11, Lindsay Tsopelas '12, Abby Armstrong '13 and Sarit Friedman '13. The solo transitions were nearly flawless and flowed well even into transitions to "Hit the Road Jack" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," which appropriately ended the show.

With three new songs premiering ("Everybody's Fool," "This Time Around" and "Fallin'"), four new soloists (Jonathan Widberg '12, Getz, Freeman and Jordan Brown), cutesy dance moves, a delicious intermission, incredible vocals and a great group dynamic, Starving Artists really put on a great show that stood out. Even with the setback of having no leading microphone, all the soloists rose to the occasion to belt out their songs-a testament to the vocal skill of every member. If the Tuesday night performance showed anything, Starving Artists should do very well in their next big performance, the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. If they "Will Sing for Food," they certainly won't go hungry any time soon.