Ahhhh capella

See that guy leaning against the lamp post in the center of the album cover to the left? That's Jerry Lawson, formerly lead singer of the a capella group The Persuasions.

Now, not only have I leaned against a few lamp posts in my time, I've also actually sung onstage with Jerry Lawson. Yes that Jerry Lawson. More about that in a minute.

I've always been a huge fan of a capella singing. Doesn't matter where I find it - in front of the theater with the group's hat on the ground for change, on the Third Street Promenade, street corner boys singing in a movie (yes, even Take You Back from Rocky), or occasionally on an actual street corner on a Saturday night.

What's amazing to me is how not only do they hear the music that's not there, they make you hear it.

If you could measure how much I love a capella, that's the same amount I hate competition talent shows like American Idol and Dancing With The (Z-list) Stars. But this week I happened to catch a show called The Sing Off on NBC, hosted by Nick Lachey (talk about Z-list). I was reaching for the remote when I heard Nick explain that this particular competition was between a capella groups.

He had me at a capella.

And as if that wasn't enough, one of the groups was Jerry Lawson - the Jerry Lawson - and The Talk Of The Town, his post-Persuasions a capella group that sounds exactly like the Persuasions. Go figure.

I was glued to the set. The first night ten groups sang a capella. And while they weren't all equally talented, they were all entertaining. Jerry and his group came out and sang Save The Last Dance For Me, promptly showing the young 'uns how it's done.

Towards the end of the show there was a group of college students called The Backbeats. They stole the show with their version of Beyonce's If I Were A Boy.

I have nothing but admiration for anyone who's willing to put it all out there, and risk failing on that kind of scale. Of course, they're also risking success.

Now, about being onstage with Jerry Lawson. When my wife and I were dating, we used to see the Persuasions every time they came to town. One night, they played a club that used to be in Venice called Hop Singh's. We'd seen them there a lot, but this one night at the end of the show, they invited the audience to come onstage and sing the final song with them.

If you know anything about me, you know what a shy, quiet wallflower I am.

I think I set a new land speed record for jumping onstage.

I was standing right next to Jerry Lawson, singing my little off-key, out-of-tune heart out. Fortunately an audience member who could actually sing was the one holding the mike, so no one but Jerry had to endure my vocals. And he was very gracious about it.

So even if it is a competition show, and even if Nick Lachey is hosting, I'm still glad there's a venue where a capella is being brought to the masses each week.

The best part is now I get to sing with Jerry Lawson twice a week.

Even better, this time he can't hear me.