{"id":15945,"date":"2016-11-17T12:58:53","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T19:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=15945"},"modified":"2016-12-05T10:10:29","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T17:10:29","slug":"video-exclusive-interview-francis-james-ralls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2016\/11\/video-exclusive-interview-francis-james-ralls\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO FEATURE &#038; WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FRANCIS JAMES RALLS featuring AUBREY LOGAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>VIDEO FEATURE &amp; WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h1>FRANCIS JAMES RALLS featuring AUBREY LOGAN-and TAKE 6&#8217;s ALVIN CHEA &amp; KHRISTIAN DENTLEY<\/h1>\n<h1>\u00a0Music Video: \u201c<strong>God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen<\/strong>\u201d<\/h1>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AhqqgCPfmJw\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Creative Collaborations To Capture A Capella Sound For A New Generation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When asked about the innovative and ground-breaking approach of producing this Christmas classic, Francis James Ralls said, \u201cI enjoy collaboration\u2014especially when the collaboration involves unusual pairings. With this project I reached out to two artists, each with a different sound, story, and audience, bringing them together to create something unexpected and entirely new. Each artist\u2019s respective audience will now have opportunity to not only appreciate what the other does, but to also appreciate what we\u2019ve accomplished together. This kind of unique creative collaboration is what I\u2019m all about. I\u2019m very grateful to have had this amazing opportunity to work with Aubrey Logan, and Take 6\u2019s Khristian Dentley and Alvin Chea\u2014three people for whom I have great admiration and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aubrey Logan has the uncanny ability to take a song you\u2019ve heard a thousand times and spin it on its heels to create an interpretation that\u2019s new and fresh\u2014and sure to make you a believer in her brand of interpreting music. She\u2019s an award-winning artist with vocals that range from deep and electric to delicate and vulnerable. She breaks traditional genre barriers by combining jazz vocals with R&amp;B, neo-soul, pop and a touch of rock\u2014and she\u2019s also a trombone soloist. Logan is a featured artist for Scott Bradlee\u2019s Postmodern Jukebox. She won the Audience\u2019s Choice Award and the Jury\u2019s First Place Award at the 2009 Shure-Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and is an <em>American Idol<\/em> alumni, winning a golden ticket in 2009. She graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2010, on a full scholarship. She is a singer, instrumentalist and composer who dazzles audiences wherever she\u2019s seen and heard around the globe.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15960\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-1b.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-1b\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-1b.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-1b-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Take 6, enough said. The name Take 6 conjures up the best in vocal jazz harmony\u2014and just hearing their name says it all. Khristian Dentley and Alvin Chea\u2019s Take 6 has won 10 Grammy awards and is one of the most respected a cappella groups. They represent jazz with contemporary R&amp;B style, often with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Earlier this year, Take 6 released <em>Believe<\/em>, an album that charted in six categories on Billboard within its first two weeks of release.<\/p>\n<p>Francis James Ralls is the visionary and architect who put all of this together. He\u2019s a composer, arranger and producer with credits that include Disney, SeaWorld Busch Gardens, EMI, ABC, Take 6, Viking Cruises, Word recording artist Blanca, and \u201cThe Voice\u201d contestant Niki Dawson. This time he features Logan with Dentley and Chea. He has produced two world music albums for songwriter Bill Wren that have each charted at #1 and received steady airplay on SiriusXM. Francis James Ralls, better known as Frank Ralls, is experienced in many styles of music and plays multiple instruments.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15965\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Frank-Ralls.jpg\" alt=\"frank-ralls\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Frank-Ralls.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Frank-Ralls-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The arranging and recording process involved Ralls recording his written arrangement with a lot of little extra puzzle pieces\u2014playing with the pieces to see if they fit. He said, \u201cI ended up dissecting individual parts, cutting them up and moving them around to audition different textures and variation ideas. This in a way mirrors certain aspects of sound design and loop production. I also asked Alvin to create a sample library for me with various vocal articulations, dynamics and bass drops. This allows me even more flexibility for changes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All of this resembled some traditional compositional techniques he learned in college. He says, \u201cIt\u2019s a combination of traditional writing and recording with newer writing and editing approaches afforded us\u2014thanks to modern technology. From the perspective of writing and producing, this new aspect is one of the things that has always excited me\u2014the juxtaposition of traditional and modern, the tried and true with the cutting edge. In this arrangement there is jazz, funk, sprinkled with pop sensibility\u2014broken by a brief departure in subtle ways to something that resembles period organ church music from the late medieval era.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15951\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-6.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-6\" width=\"330\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-6.jpg 330w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-6-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-6-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px\" \/>Frank Ralls wrote this a cappella arrangement, sang on the track, produced Aubrey, Khristian and Alvin, and wrote and co-produced the music video with FifGen Films (Pentatonix). The single was mixed by Ed Boyer (<em>Pitch Perfect 1<\/em> &amp; <em>2<\/em>, <em>The Sing-Off<\/em>, Pentatonix). A graduate of Lawrence University, Ralls now resides with his wife Tara and their five children in Southern California.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Aubrey Logan, Khristian Dentley and Alvin Chea about their collaboration with Frank Ralls on this incredibly fresh version of the Christmas classic, \u201cGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u201d\u2014and Frank\u2019s brilliant approach to create a new sound.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us how working with Frank Ralls evolved?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> I met Frank through Tim Davis, a vocal contractor. I was new to LA about four years ago, and certain people took me under their wing\u2014and Tim was one of those guys. He gave me some studio work, which was great. He is friends with Frank\u2014both work with vocal arrangements and composing. I love vocal arrangements and singing really hard to read stuff. I don\u2019t do it all the time because my artist stuff is solo work\u2014and it\u2019s not always written. But I do love a good barn burner when it\u2019s time. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) Tim referred me to Frank to do some work. I think it was some Broadway stuff. At the end of the session he said, \u201cHey, can you sing on my composition?\u201d I looked at the sheet, and it was 7\/8 time switching to 12\/8\u2014switching to all these time signatures. I said, \u201cYes, let\u2019s do it!\u201d It was for a song called \u201cThe Other Side\u201d\u2014and then after that, Frank called me recently to work on a song that some of the guys from Take 6 were on, and I said, \u201cYes, where do I sign!\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian:<\/em> Working with Frank actually started with a friend of mine, Matt Perkins, who is a music director at a large church in Central Florida. At the time, Frank was also living in that area\u2014in Tampa, and I was in Orlando. I was telling Matt about this vision I had for taking my music and blowing it out to max capacity\u2014big band, orchestra, with a rhythm section\u2014biggest, baddest musical wall of sound you could ever imagine. He immediately said, \u201cYou need to meet Frank!\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) When I heard Frank\u2019s music, I was blown away with his creativity. He is one of the most creative minds, musically, that I\u2019ve met\u2014who isn\u2019t weird. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) To listen to the way he orchestrates world music stuff and sounds that I\u2019ve never heard before\u2014incorporating that into popular music, and doing covers of songs\u2014you would think it was an original piece. He reimagines it and sends it back. He could take the ABC\u2019s and make you feel like he wrote it. I say this to him all the time\u2014he is legitimately one of the most creative people I know, and I only hope the world sees a portion of what I\u2019ve musically experienced with him. Relationship is everything, and it\u2019s really important to connect with people who have a generosity of spirit and who are just genuinely good people\u2014like Frank.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin:<\/em> I had not met Khristian\u2019s friend Frank, but the call came in saying \u201cI\u2019m trying to do this project\u2014would you mind doing one note of every note you\u2019ve ever sung!\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I\u2019m like \u2026 \u201cAh, who are you again?\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) And it kind of started there. We worked on it and worked on it, and he was telling me what he had in mind. And I said, \u201cIf you think you can do this with just that\u2014we\u2019ll see.\u201d But sure enough, he pulled it all together, and later we ended up meeting each other a couple of times. And since then we\u2019ve become real good friends. It\u2019s an idea born from his heart and out of the resources of friendship.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15953\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-2.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-2\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-2.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/>How did you bring new ideas to the interpretations of this Christmas classic?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> Frank is the arranger, and we were together in the session\u2014and he had a lot of open spaces for me to riff and run, and creatively interpret.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>Frank said \u201cI have this idea.\u201d And I\u2019m a guy who feels that if you have a good friendship and rapport with someone, I live by the mantra that everything I have is for everyone else. If I have time to jump in the car and go down the road, and offer my gift to you\u2014I will totally do it. When I got there, he asked me to just make sounds. (<em>makes sounds<\/em>). I didn\u2019t really understand what he was doing because I couldn\u2019t put it all together. He had the blueprint, and I couldn\u2019t see it. A couple of weeks after I was done, he played the track, and I was blown away\u2014dumbfounded. I was hearing some of the phrases I had done and how he put that together\u2014he\u2019s like the Steven Spielberg of world music. He takes different sounds and ideas and compiles it together into one storyboard. It makes you sit back and say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry I ever doubted you, bro.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) Amazing, simply amazing!<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>I knew what he was trying to do, but the vision was in his head. He would say, \u201cI need this phrase\u2014I need that \u2026 and give it to me in three different keys.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It was like I was in my own little laboratory, and I would just make sure my pitches were right, and that I recorded it to the best of my ability and in a timely way. I would hear a little bit of it and he\u2019s say, \u201cHere\u2019s what I have so far.\u201d And I\u2019d say, \u201cI like it, I like it, I like it!\u201d And then when Aubrey added the final piece, I was like, \u201cWhoa, man, this is absolutely amazing.\u201d I truly give him the credit for having the vision and staying on it. All of us worked separately, so when we actually heard what Frank did with it\u2014we were truly amazed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How was this song compiled\u2014were you ever in the same room together?<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Alvin: <\/em>It was truly modern technology unfolding in front of us. And even more amazing because it\u2019s a cappella\u2014where you\u2019d think we\u2019d all need to be together in a room. But we were never in the studio together. Even in the video\u2014we were doing different things in separate places. He would literally describe what he was looking for musically\u2014and in musical terms I would try to give him what he was looking for. And we had that relationship going even before we met each other. He came up later to set-up my room to do some things, but we were never in the same room for this amazing project.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15952\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-4-Alvin-Chea.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-4-alvin-chea\" width=\"311\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-4-Alvin-Chea.jpg 311w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-4-Alvin-Chea-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/><em>Khristian: <\/em>There were sounds and phrases at first, but then he had me sing the lead part. (<em>sings the phrases<\/em>) I sang that first verse and he just went to work. Each time I heard a mix, it literally kept getting better and better. We were in Naperville, IL when the Cubs just won\u2014and he sent a mix and I was shaking my head saying, \u201cHe did it again.\u201d Working with him was great, and I have my Take 6 brothers\u2014Alvin, whose voice is unmistakable\u2014he is the best bass singer on the planet. Having his touch on the record really filled a space that only his voice can occupy. Mark Kibble did some of the arranging on it as well. And then, to hear Aubrey\u2019s voice\u2014I was not aware\u2014I was not hip to who she was, but he kept talking about her. And when I heard her\u2014this girl go pound for pound, like a heavy champion of the world on this song\u2014it blew me away.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about working with Frank.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> Frank\u2019s a genius to work with\u2014he\u2019s inspiring. He\u2019s a killer composer. What I like about working with Frank is what he put on paper, really comes to light in your mind. It\u2019s very tough stuff but when you read it, you can see exactly where he\u2019s going\u2014and it feels like you are following a thought. It\u2019s really meaningful.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>All this speaks to Frank\u2019s vision for pulling all of these components together without us ever being in the same room together. You gotta have your pulse on the end goal\u2014and know what components are needed\u2014to take everything you have and make it everything it needs to be. He\u2019s a master at it\u2014the ultimate architect. When you\u2019re building a building, there are so many different components\u2014but somebody has to have the vision\u2014so that when everybody walks into this building, they are amazed and they have to have it right now. Frank is that guy.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>He\u2019s a solid salt of the earth kind of guy, and I\u2019m pulling for him. He\u2019s ambitious. He loves his family and the Lord, and he\u2019s just an amazing musician and human being. As a producer, he\u2019s approaching this like the new frontier\u2014as Donald Fagen would say. The key word is \u201csurvival in the new frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Was Frank\u2019s producing innovative?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Alvin:<\/em> Frank is the person seeing the new horizon\u2014the new frontier\u2014and he\u2019s going after it. It just so happens he\u2019s a great guy so you don\u2019t mind helping him do what he\u2019s trying to do. I believe he\u2019s truly a gifted producer. I\u2019ve seen him in many different genres\u2014working with strings, with contemporary Christian music, or the a cappella Ben Bram kind of thing. Anything he puts his hands to, he\u2019s knocking out of the park. He\u2019s a producer with a bullet behind his name\u2014he\u2019s heading up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Were you surprised at any stage?<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Alvin:<\/em> He kept telling me \u201cI\u2019m going to do this recording, and then I\u2019m going to do this video, and then \u2026.\u201d And I said, \u201cFrank, this is where the record company comes in and does their thing.\u201d And he said, \u201cUh, I\u2019m the record company for this project.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I\u2019m glad he\u2019s not waiting around for anybody to catch the vision.<br \/>\n<strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15950\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-5.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-5\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-5.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-5-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have a special mic you like to use?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Khristian: <\/em>What\u2019s really awesome is that Take 6 is endorsed by Shure, and they have a PG42USB that Vinnie [Alvin] turned me on to. He would swear by this mic when he\u2019s recording different television shows or voiceovers for commercials. He said, \u201cI\u2019ve got my Neumann, and this Shure PG42USB. Our Shure rep, Ryan Smith in Nashville, sent me one. When I used it for the first time, I immediately called him and bought another one. I said, \u201cI gotta have two of these just in case something ever happens.\u201d I\u2019m disappointed that they don\u2019t make it anymore. Good thing I bought two of them. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) While I am on the road right now, I had to record 14 songs for a record, and the Shure PG42 is the mic I used for it.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>My DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] is a Pro Tools 10 setup. I have a great MXL Revelation mic that I absolutely love. I had been using the Sony C-800G. But I love that Revelation mic. I have a custom-made black box that I run everything through. So I have a really clean, tight, efficient chain. But it all goes into Pro Tools. It went in dry, and I sent it out to Frank, and he did his magic. Actually, who introduced me to the mic was [film score composer] Ross Vannelli. He had one, and every time I sang into it, my voice would carry the room. I felt like it was in my chest. The architecture of the whole thing is perfect for my voice. I\u2019ve turned other people on to that MXL Revelation mic. I\u2019m a huge fan of the mic. That\u2019s all I use!<\/p>\n<p><em>Aubrey:<\/em> I should know this but I\u2019m so not a gear person. I know Frank used a Manley for this. And for my album we used tube mics because it\u2019s a pop album with a jazz context\u2014and we\u2019re trying to create a vintage sound.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In all your years of music, did you get a chance to work with a musical hero?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> I\u2019ve been on stage since I was about six years old, so for 22 years I\u2019ve been a professional musician\/performer in some context. I\u2019ve had many special moments. I once did get to sing for Burt Bacharach. When I was in college, he came to get an honorary doctorate at Berklee College of Music. I sang a song that he wrote\u2014for him\u2014so that was not pressure. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) At the end of the night, I did meet him, and he seemed to really enjoy the show. And what was really special, I sang a song of his that not a lot of singers wanted to sing. I was thinking, \u201cOh, we\u2019re doing a tribute to Burt Bacharach, and he\u2019s going to be there\u2014and I\u2019m going to sing something familiar like \u2018Walk on By.\u2019 But I ended up singing \u2018Promises Promises\u2019 because I was the jazziest girl in the program\u2014and they figured I\u2019d be the one to do the song with the time changes. And he was real appreciative that I did that very song.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>That pinch yourself moment happens all the time. Stevie Wonder is one of my biggest influences not just vocally but from a writing and social perspective. I\u2019ve always loved him because it was always more than just about the music. He\u2019s one of the greatest vocalists of all time. And I love knowing that I am able to call him my brother, and work with him on several occasions\u2014especially in 2008, at the DNC in Denver CO, when Barack Obama accepted the nomination for presidency\u2014we sang with Stevie in front of 80,000 people. The moment you always dream about as a kid\u2014that noise that we make of the \u201ccrowd screaming\u201d (<em>makes noise<\/em>)\u2014that actually happened, and it was simply amazing. I had to pinch myself and thank God that he took this \u201clittle dude from South Carolina\u201d\u2014that\u2019s how I always see myself.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>Any time we\u2019ve worked with Stevie Wonder or Quincy Jones, it\u2019s been a dream come true. I\u2019d love to work with the neo-Soul singer Jill Scott. Or Donald Fagen. I would love for Take 6 to do a Brazilian project. I love those changes and that mood. With our vocal harmonies, I really think we could do it justice.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15949\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-7.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-7\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-7.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-7-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fagen\u2019s <em>The Nightfly<\/em> is a favorite for so many people.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Alvin:<\/em> Man, his <em>The Nightfly <\/em>is in my Top 3 albums of all time! I\u2019m a huge fan. A few years ago, I saw the Dukes of September with Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs\u2014and when Fagen did a sort of obscure Steely Dan song, I thought my head was going to explode. I kept thinking, \u2018He\u2019s doing it\u2014right there\u2014he\u2019s singing the actual song!\u2019 (<em>Laughs<\/em>) And my wife was just looking at me. Can\u2019t explain it\u2014it\u2019s the magic of music!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about being a Berklee college graduate.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> I\u2019m actually a trombone performance major. So, I do that at my shows. I sing, and then pick up my horn for most of the songs\u2014I\u2019ll play sections. I use it in my writing a lot. If you go to my YouTube channel, you should find a good bit of trombone in the middle of most of my songs. I used to do session work, but with my busy touring schedule\u2014I just don\u2019t do it so much anymore.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice someone has given you.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> Nobody is as good at being you, as you. So do the kind of music that you love most, and don\u2019t waste your time trying to fit a certain mold.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>Alvin taught me something I\u2019ll never forget. People often might not remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. It\u2019s so important not to be a diva because you never know who you\u2019re talking to\u2014maybe the future president of a record company\u2014or the publisher of a magazine. You never know. I want to be that guy that people remember as someone who reached out and shook their hand.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>I have a great quote on my Facebook page from Johnny Depp, \u201cThe same people who doubted you will one day brag to others about when they first met you.\u201d It\u2019s true. Everybody wants to be associated with the hero.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15957\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-3-Khristian-Dentley.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-3-khristian-dentley\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-3-Khristian-Dentley.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-3-Khristian-Dentley-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-3-Khristian-Dentley-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice you\u2019d like to give.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Aubrey:<\/em> Don\u2019t waste your time being afraid of failure. Just work hard at what you want to achieve regardless of what the result may or may not be. Basically, don\u2019t be afraid of failure or you\u2019ll never get anything done.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>It\u2019s really important to me, and I\u2019ll tell this to anyone\u2014especially upcoming artists and anyone who wants to be relevant in the music industry\u2014to always see yourself small in your own eyes\u2014never think of yourself highly or more than you are. I always see myself as this little dude from South Carolina who got this incredible opportunity to be on the biggest platforms with these amazing guys. From people in the industry who are now my friends\u2014Gerald Albright, Dave Koz, Marcus Miller, Jeff Lorber. It\u2019s amazing to be able to get on the phone and call Liza Minnelli. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It\u2019s incredible, and I don\u2019t take a moment for granted. It\u2019s so important to never allow it to go to your head, but always use your platform to be an influence and to serve others generations. That\u2019s my mantra\u2014it\u2019s the way I live my life.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>Truly believe in what you do, and stay true to who you are\u2014your true character\u2014because that\u2019s what people will remember.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Aubrey:<\/em> I am a cast member in the group Postmodern Jukebox. They have guest artists tour with them\u2014it\u2019s a revolving cast. I\u2019m on tour with them, but I\u2019m actuality creating an album, so I\u2019m home to put some finishing touches on that project. And then, I\u2019m back on the road. I will be finishing out the United States tour with them at the end of November. I\u2019ll be doing a couple of dates in London in December, and then back to London in February to continue some of those dates. Then back with Postmodern Jukebox for a European tour. And in May, I will be a guest artist on the Dave Koz smooth jazz cruise in the Adriatic Sea. I met Dave through Ariana Savalas (Telly Savalas\u2019 daughter). I met her in Postmodern Jukebox where she was also an artist. She\u2019s a cabaret-style singer that\u2019s really great\u2014a lot different from my music. She connected me with Dave.<\/p>\n<p><em>Khristian: <\/em>We\u2019re touring with our new album, <em>Believe<\/em>, but I would love for us to do a record with a full orchestra. It would be an amazing experience lining our harmonies of what we do with that classic sound. It would be epic.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alvin: <\/em>I\u2019m working on a Disney show <em>The Lion Guard<\/em>. I\u2019m the regular underscore person. I finished up <em>Glee<\/em> for about a year or so. I also did underscore for them. I\u2019m doing voiceover with my friends Edie and Mike Boddicker for a Prayer project they have\u2014new prayers every day. And I just auditioned for a new voice of (<em>stops himself<\/em>) \u2026 on a network\u2014I\u2019m not going to jinx it. So there\u2019s something happening every day. I did a <em>Family Guy<\/em> episode yesterday, and a major motion picture the day before. I\u2019m very blessed. Every day I\u2019m working on something, and I\u2019m really excited about the future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15947\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-9.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-9\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-9.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-9-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>For motion pictures, do you do voiceovers?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Alvin: <\/em>I do orchestral voice stuff. There might be four, eight, 20 or 80 of us \u2014singing a certain scene in a particular movie or a TV show. Unless you\u2019re listening for it, you might not even realize there are voices in the pastiche sound. But it adds to the drama, it adds to the suspense\u2014to the magic of the moment. I\u2019ve done everything from <em>Star Trek<\/em> to <em>Star Wars<\/em>, and about 100 different movies and soundtracks\u2014and dozens and dozens of records aside from the work with Take 6.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about the new album.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Khristian: <\/em>We released <em>Believe<\/em> and received some Grammy nominations, and I\u2019m hoping something good happens.<\/p>\n<p><em>Aubrey:<\/em> My album comes out on January 20 to my fans who have pre-ordered it. For new fans, there\u2019s still time to pre-order at PledgeMusic.com\/aubreylogan. Nine of the songs are mine, three are co-writes, and three are covers\u2014\u201cU Can\u2019t Touch This\u201d by MC Hammer that we swing and do in a jazz style, \u201cHabanera\u201d from the opera <em>Carmen<\/em> in jazz style, and \u201cCalifornia Dreamin\u2019\u201d by the Mamas &amp; the Papas. There will be a wider release later, but in the meantime, soon, I\u2019m releasing the single \u201cPistol\u201d in the United Kingdom\u2014on BBC Radio. [Aubrey\u2019s much-anticipated album promises some favorite covers and a lot of original material direct from her heart. Pre-order your copy and get an inside look at the album-making process at bit.ly\/AubreyNewAlbum.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can your new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.AubreyLogan.com\">www.AubreyLogan.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Twitter.com\/aubrey_logan<\/p>\n<p>Facebook.com\/aubreyloganmusic<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.Take6.com\">www.Take6.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.FrancisJamesRalls.com\">www.FrancisJamesRalls.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.FrankRalls.com\">www.FrankRalls.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-15946\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-11.jpg\" alt=\"francis-james-ralls-11\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-11.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Francis-James-Ralls-11-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Social Links<\/b><\/p>\n<h3>Aubrey Logan<\/h3>\n<p>FB: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/aubreyloganmusic\">www.facebook.com\/aubreyloganmusic<\/a><\/p>\n<p>IG: <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/aubrey_logan\">instagram.com\/aubrey_logan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TW: \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/aubrey_logan\">twitter.com\/aubrey_logan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>YouTube: <a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/aubreyloganmusic\">youtube.com\/aubreyloganmusic<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Frank\u00a0Ralls<\/h3>\n<p>FB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francisjamesmusic\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francisjamesmusic\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>IG: <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/francisjamesmusic\">instagram.com\/francisjamesmusic<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TW: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rallsmusic\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/rallsmusic<\/a><\/p>\n<p>YouTube: <a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/FrancisJamesMusic\">YouTube.com\/FrancisJamesMusic<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Khristian Dentley<\/h3>\n<p>FB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/khristian.dentley\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/khristian.dentley<\/a><\/p>\n<p>IG: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dentleyboy\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dentleyboy\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TW: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dentleyboy\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dentleyboy<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>DOWNLOAD THE SINGLE:<\/h3>\n<p>SPOTIFY: <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/3BFcXaF7l1SWn6Em21u9x8\">https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/3BFcXaF7l1SWn6Em21u9x8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>ITUNES: <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/album\/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen\/id1175781349\">https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/album\/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen\/id1175781349<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SOUNDCLOUD: <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/frankrallsmusic\/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen-francis-james-feat-aubrey-logan-alvin-chea-khristian-dentley\">https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/frankrallsmusic\/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen-francis-james-feat-aubrey-logan-alvin-chea-khristian-dentley<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VIDEO FEATURE &amp; WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FRANCIS JAMES RALLS featuring AUBREY LOGAN-and TAKE 6&#8217;s ALVIN CHEA &amp; KHRISTIAN DENTLEY \u00a0Music Video: \u201cGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u201d Creative Collaborations To Capture A Capella Sound For A New Generation When asked about the innovative and ground-breaking approach of producing this Christmas classic, Francis James Ralls said, \u201cI enjoy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[5238,8490,1354,8491,8492,8493,8494,8495,8496,8499,1762,8500,8497,8498,8501,6625,7792,8502,8503,2619,8504,8505,8506,8507,5662,8508,8509,6457,3990,8510,8511,8512,8513,8515,8514,8516,8517,425,8518,8467,8519,6306,8520,8521,8522,8523,1094,7566,8524,1528,8525,8526,8527,3010,8528,8529,7978,3712,8530,8531,8532,8533,5376,8534,8535,8536,8537,8538,8539,8540,4215,8541,8542,8543,8544,8545,3717,8546,8547,8548,8549,8550,8551,999,1679,5372,8552,8553,8554,8555,8556,8557,8558,5663,8559,8560,8561,8562,8563,8564,7982],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15945"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15945"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15992,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15945\/revisions\/15992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}