By Thomas Kohnstamm

Anybody out there know what a “baud” is?

If you know, you’re a geek and – congratulations – you’ve found your way to the right blog. If you don’t know, I’ll clue you in (I myself had to consult an old friend named Wikipedia). A baud is… a unit used to measure modem speed. Obviously.

It also happens to be the name of Microsoft’s prize-winning a cappella group, The Baudboys. But why would an a cappella group with a growing reputation and two regional titles name themselves after something so anachronistic and obscure?

The first part of the answer is that The Baudboys are a venerable Microsoft institution, dating all the way back to 1988. That’s when Microsoft released Windows 2.1, Mike Dukakis was a presidential candidate and modems were still an essential piece of hardware. (Doesn’t seem like that long ago, but twenty-three years is like 160 years in the tech industry.)

The second part of the answer is that The Baudboys were born out of Microsoft’s culture like Athena sprung from Zeus’ head or Spock was born to Sarek and Amanda Grayson. The Baudboys’ Music Director Elliot Lewis explains, “We have a very Microsoft kind of drive. We tend to be very detail-oriented, precise and focused on getting all of the music and choreography just right.”

And according to The Baudboys’ President Jonathan Schwartz, “We’re not just a cappella, we’re Geek A Cappella. It’s part of our routine, our sense of humor and what we sing about.”

The Baudboys are an eight-man group comprised of Microsofties and former employees.  They’ve won the Pacific Northwest Harmony Sweepstakes twice (and the Audience Favorite award twice), released an album, opened for multiple-Grammy award winning music legends Take 6 and Manhattan Transfer and generally seem to be on the path towards world domination.

According to Jonathan, “The Baudboys were formed by four guys who split out of a larger Microsoft choir called the Microtones. They wanted to be a barbershop quartet.”

It was pretty informal at first, but many of the singers came from an intense college a cappella background and yearned to continue to push their boundaries as singers. The Baudboys grew to eight members and set about becoming a serious outfit.

Elliot, who sang a cappella at Yale, points out, “Singing in college requires a time dedication similar to playing a varsity sport. It’s easily 20 to 25 hours per week with rehearsals and recording.”

Like many of The Baudboys, when both Elliot and Jonathan started their careers, they found themselves missing the music and camaraderie that comes with being part of an a cappella group. 
Then they discovered The Baudboys.

Elliot elaborates, “Being part of The Baudboys is another thing that makes Microsoft life much like life on a college campus. People here are passionate about their work, passionate about their hobbies and passionate about helping others. Beyond a cappella, there are a lot of other activities like theater, bands, sports teams and a variety of social groups that all foster collegiality and make a big difference in employees’ quality of life.”

These days, The Baudboys have a scheduled practice every Thursday in a conference room (strategically located to not share any walls with someone’s office) on the Redmond campus. As a 501c3 non-profit, they do a lot of volunteer shows for organizations like the King County Library System, local schools and retirement communities.

In 2009, The Baudboys released their first album Hello World which leads off with a fantastic cover of The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Aeroplane and continues through ten more great tracks including their take on The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.

Geek A Cappella is serious business and during the ramp up to a show or when putting the finishing touches on an album, “being a Baud” requires a lot of dedication. But it is all worth it.

Jonathan says, “It’s just fun to get up there and delight people, whether it is a bunch of school kids or a concert for a thousand. All of the planning and hard work pays off when you see an excited audience.”

Elliot believes that singing with The Baudboys both dovetails with aspects of his work and fulfills other aspects of his personality that he doesn’t experience at work. He notes, “There’s known crossover between mathematics, logic and music. That said, I work in Customer Relationship Management, so a cappella rehearsal can be the right shift of gears that I need at the end of the work day to reenergize myself.”

The Baudboys are on a roll with more shows, more competitions and more albums on the horizon. When they recently held an audition to fill two open spots in the group, some fifteen experienced singers showed up to try out.

Not bad for a group named after modem speed. But, considering, that Jonathan sang for The Krokodiloes at Harvard and Elliot was part of The Whiffenpoofs at Yale, maybe the name Baudboys actually does make some sense.

Though we can give you a taste of The Baudboys in this article, there is nothing like a performance to really get you hooked. Watch as they perform George Michael's Freedom:

Want more of The Baudboys? Here are are a few definitive links to get you started down the road to Geek A Capella fandom:
The Baudboys site: http://www.baudboys.com/
The Baudboys on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baudboys/13854478185
NEW ALBUM Hello World on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hello-World-Baudboys/dp/B002G3RV2O/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1315429631&sr=1-1