Bolingbrook's 'Boomer' Barbershopper Ready For A Big Stage

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Of all the things Shane Frantz could have taken up during the coronavirus pandemic, joining a barbershop quartet likely wasn’t at the top of his to-do list.

After all, the Bolingbrook native and sophomore computer science major at Lewis University, who routinely gets called a “Boomer” by his friends, is just 19 years old. But when a barbershop quartet made up of members from Massachusetts, Florida and Georgia suddenly needed a lead singer, Frantz’s name was passed along by a friend of a friend, who then dropped his name to someone in the quartet. And just like that, Frantz became a bonafide barbershopper.

It's a story you hear all the time. Or maybe not. But regardless of how it happened, Frantz and his fellow members of “Optimum” learned this month they have qualified for the NextGen Varsity International Competition, which will crown the best barbershop quartet in the world in July in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The big barbershop stage is a long way from the local theater productions Frantz joined as a 12-year-old when he was first introduced to the melodious a cappella musical genre was he was part of a youth production of “The Music Man.”

Seven years later, Frantz is all in.

Frantz spent his high school years at Bolingbrook High School singing, which re-introduced him to barbershop quartets through YouTube videos. He is also a member of a chorus in Northbrook, which allows him to sing on a regular basis.

But there is something about the way four voices can blend ringing chords to produce the unique style that captivated Frantz, he told Patch. The fact there is a welcoming community of “barbershoppers” probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, the inclusiveness of the groups drew Frantz even more.

“If there’s four people, you can sing anything with them,” Frantz said.

The “chance” introduction of Frantz to other Optimum group members led to a remote online hangout, which led to the group starting to rehearse through videoconferencing. But the pandemic-friendly video meetings weren’t exactly ideal for a foursome that relies on pitch and timing to make the barbershopping magic happen, Franz said.

Yet, despite screens freezing and the delays that are a regular part of video conferencing, the quartet got enough rehearsals in to figure they might have a chance to qualify for the 2022 competition in Charlotte. The quartet rehearsed for months from each member’s respective home before eventually meeting up in Nashville to record the required audition video.

Getting to that point, like all things in the pandemic, wasn’t exactly easy.

“With singing, you need to be really, really accurate – like down to the millisecond,” Frantz said. “It was really hard, but we made do. But honest to God, after the first rehearsal, we clicked pretty well…and so that wasn’t really an issue.”

After recording the audition tape with the assistance of a voice coach in November, the quartet waited until March to find out if they would be one of the 20 groups invited to Charlotte. The competition, which includes a youth division for 18-27-year-olds, will include quartets from around the country and the world.

This month, Optimum found out that it grabbed one of the final two spots and will now make its pitch to be named one of the world’s top barbershops. From the beginning, Frantz felt that he and his newfound friends had a legitimate shot of qualifying despite the fact that, the quartet — unlike others who have been performing together for years — was just getting to know one another.

Frantz said the wait until March’s announcement was “a little stressful” but that the entire time, he held out hope “Optimum” would get their chance at the big stage. Given the fact the pandemic had postponed or canceled in-person musical competitions, the build-up for the March announcement created more anticipation than expected, Frantz said.

But now that he and his fellow barbershops are in, Frantz is ready for anything. And now, after rediscovering barbershop quartets during the pandemic and returning to a live performance setting have Frantz more excited than ever. He says he has no expectations going into the world championship competition, knowing he has plenty of time to make his mark.

“I wasn’t able to sing with anyone for a long time when you’re hearing the voices. and so it was hard mentally to have the motivation to keep doing it,” he told Patch. “But I pushed through.”

Optimum likely won’t have the chance to rehearse in person until the days leading up to the July competition. So, for now, the remote rehearsals will continue before the 20 quartets will gather in Charlotte for the week-long event that will determine the world’s best. The group recently learned that one of its members can't compete in July, which required the addition of another vocalist from Evanston who will fill in the gap.

The key isn't having four great singers, Frantz said. Instead, he says a group can include four average singers that have established some chemistry and can sound like they are ready to tackle the world. That's the category in which he places "Optimum".

To prepare, Frantz has watched videos of the state barbershop quartet competition and has read through a 200-page judging manual that provides him with insight into how the competition will be adjudicated.

For the 19-year-old, the preparation just goes with the territory, although his friends who always called him “Boomer” continue to give Frantz friendly grief over the work he is putting in for a musical genre many people his age have never heard of.

He admits that when he performed in “The Music Man,” he never expected his fascination with barbershop quartets to reach this level. But here he is and now, Frantz said, there’s no turning back — dad-joke-loving Boomer or not.

“I found this, and it was pretty much everything I liked about singing all in one hobby,” Frantz said. “It was a match made in heaven.”