Janie "Bob" Scott of the a capella group the Bobs began her musical career in the kitchen.
No really, she was a dishwasher at a restaurant in Oakland, Calif., 14 years ago when she read a newspaper ad seeking a low-voiced female singer."I had never sung before and really don't know what made me answer that ad, but during my break - I was all greasy and stuff - I ran over to the house and sang," remembered Scott. "They liked me and asked me to join. I don't know why they asked for a low-voiced female, because they give me all the high parts."
The Bobs - featuring Scott, bass vocal Richard "Bob" Greene, tenor Matthew "Bob" Stull and baritone Joe "Bob" Finetti - will perform their irreverent version of a capella music at the Ellen Eccles Theater in Logan Utah, Tuesday, Jan. 23. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
It's obvious by everyone's middle names, there is not a real Bob in the group.
"We've had some people named Bob try to shoo themselves in, and frankly, they weren't any good," said Scott. "But they had been together for about a year before I stepped aboard."
The type of a cappella the group performs was already in place when Scott landed her new job.
"They were doing a bunch of unusual stuff," she explained. "They had already arranged the Talking Heads' `Psycho Killer' and (the Beatles') `Helter Skelter.' And looking back if we really wanted to make it, we probably wouldn't have pursued it like this. We just had it in our minds to do what we wanted to do."
The Bobs were formed in 1981 when Greene and original Bobs member Gunnar "Bob" Madsen put ads in the paper and attracted Scott and Stull. The group toured and eventually caught the ear of a radio station, which ultimately led to an appearance on the Smothers Brothers Show in 1988. One thing led to another and the Bobs found their way to the Tonight Show.
Madsen then left and Finetti was added that same year. Since then the Bobs have been all over the world and have recorded soundtracks for movies, TV programs and commercials.
"I'd never thought for a minute that having fun would lead to a career," laughed Scott, who said Salt Lake City was one of the places the Bobs first hit outside California.
The good humor and camaraderie is obvious during a Bobs show, said Scott. "We've got our own personalities that blend well. We don't really have any real classical music training, although Greene was a bass player and I had played oboe when I was 10. We aren't a band of instrumentalists. We are singers."
The group does all the instrumental sounds with their acrobatic voices - keeping the overdubs to a minimum. Other songs they've covered include Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and "Wind Cries Mary," Cream's "White Room" and Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" The Bobs used voices for all the guitar and percussion parts. The group also has an avalanche of original tunes to choose from. "Sign My Snarling Doggie," "Meat On the Moon" and "Spontaneous Human Combustion" are just a few of the zany dittys that are performed.
Scott, who used to hear Pete Seeger play summer camps, said she always liked to sing.
"Ever since I can remember, I thought it would be fun to sing," she said. "But I never tried before because I thought I'd not make it and that would've made me sad. I don't know how I did that audition. I listened to a lot of Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, James Taylor and Carole King, but they weren't really musical influences to me - just someone to hear."
Just recently, the Bobs became a part of the Smithsonian Institute. The group's countenance and works were placed next to the Duke Ellington Collection and Judy Garland's red slippers.