Sunday 7 June 2015

The Beard, The Whistle, The Voice

Rob Lundquist of Home Free is known to be a cuddly teddy bear, to have the beard of a real man and the voice of an angel. At least that's how he is introduced by his fellow Home Free Guys during their shows. And even though I haven't met him, that's how I see him too, and those that have met him all agree to this description.

Technically Rob is the 2nd tenor of the group, providing harmonies along with baritone Chris Rupp when lead tenor Austin Brown sings, but honestly, Rob is so much more than that. From what I have heard and seen Rob can do most anything. He can sing like an angel, rap like a true rapper, whistle like a bird and he can even do some beat boxing. He is funny and entertaining, and, yes, he does have a beard like a real man. 

Rob graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a B.A. in Music, and a minor in Political Science. During his years at the University he was a member of the vocal jazz ensemble Lake Effect, where his professor had him learning "some wicked hard" tracks. Before University Rob had only been singing for a little over a year, and his vocal instructor at Duluth, Rachel Inselman, more or less taught him how to sing. Rachel has said about Rob that "he was a natural with quite a varied repertoire. He was equally talented in singing opera, musical theatre, and jazz, and that is quite rare." Rob says that they both helped him prepare for what was to come with the crazy hours rehearsing for the Sing Off years later.

According to Rob the whole growing a beard thing also started while attending Duluth, as a way to stay warm during the cold winters. Well, at least I think it looks good on him, and we know Shawn Stockman, Boys2Men, does too after he said to Rob on the Sing Off that "you should never lose that beard". 

After University Rob joined the well-known a cappella group Four Shadow during the last year of their existence, and when Home Free heard they were calling it quits they reached out to Rob offering him the part as 2nd tenor with them. That was in 2008, and we are all very happy he took their offer and stayed with them. 

I've been trying to find words to describe how it makes me feel when Rob sings, whistles or goof around, and the one emotion that stands out is happy, he makes me feel happy. I mean, they all do in their different ways, and together, but Rob always looks so happy with that big smile on his face, and it shines through in everything he does with Home Free. When he whistles it makes me smile, when he sings like an angel it makes me smile, and when he's being silly it makes me smile. And smiling makes me happy. 

Deciding which videos to share with you has not been an easy task, as there are so many to choose from, but here you go. This first one is live from a show, because I want you all to see that his whistling really is crazy good; here's the good old Rockin' Robin;


This next video always makes me smile and dance. The song is a cover on Honey, I'm Good by Andy Grammer, and the video is based upon the film Groundhog Day. The combination of Rob's voice, the song and the fun video is hard to beat!


Next up is the Butts Medley, or the Butts Remix, live. This song will show you Rob's rapping skills. And it will give you a good laugh; remember, these guys don't take themselves too seriously, and neither should you. At least not with songs like this.



I'll finish this up with one of the newer videos of Home Free; the Wagon Wheel/ Song of The South Medley. Again, this makes me smile, and you can check it out live on Heidi Rancour's YouTube channel, that is where I get the live videos from. Thanks again, Heidi, for sharing them!


Don't you just love Rob and his crazy all-around talent? I know I do!

Oh, and did he make you smile too?

Love//
Carina

13 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful write-up for Rob. I just love him, as I do all the guys, but Rob holds a special place in my heart. He is so open, friendly, funny, and just an all around nice guy, when it seams there are not too many nice guys left in the world. Thank you Rob for being who you are, and thank you Home Free for giving him the chance to shine!!!

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    1. Thank you, Susan! I'm glad you liked it!

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  2. Nailed it.............................as usual! Thank you Carina. :)

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    1. Thanks Kerri! I'm glad you liked it! :)

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  3. you captured him. The man can do it all and do it with love and a smile!

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  4. Great writeup! Definitely described him well

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  5. Carina, you truly have a gift for writing! So well said. I've loved all the pieces you've done on the guys, but this one was exceptional.

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    1. Thank you, VJ! I know, this one makes me want to go back and re-write the other ones to match this. I guess I'll have to write new ones from the beginning sometime in the future. haha But first, stay tuned for last one!

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  6. Rob is amazing, he's like everyone's best friend you can lean on, share with, or make you laugh....His fellow singers (& other groups) love him...He has a big heart & picked a beautiful wife, who also has a big heart & great smile...Love their pictures together...This man can (& has) sung just about everything!
    Love the vid 'I'm Yours', his voice is amazing, it truly 'fills' Home Free's sound!...God bless you Rob!
    Keep on singing, it's what you were meant to do!!
    Carina, this is a wonderful write-up, you put down exactly how we Home Fries, feel about this awesome,
    uber-talented (& handsome) man...Keep on writing, we'll keep on reading!! THX! :) :)

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    1. Btw, I think they always introduce Rob as the lead tenor & Austin as their high tenor (who also sings lead sometimes, as does Tim, as does Chris)...Now, I'd love to hear Adam sing lead: his voice (& sister Tristin's voice) is beautiful, too...

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    2. Thank you for your kind words! I've heard, or seen, them call Austin both high tenor and lead tenor, and yes they do take turns leading, although, I think Austin does it slightly more often than the others do. As for Adam, we did get to hear him sing Gangnam Style during their guilty pleasures act last year, but I too would love to hear him properly sometime. But then again, they are far from done yet, so who knows. :)

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