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McKENZIE TOURING COMPANY
The McKenzie Touring Company was born (some say hatched) on December 31,
1980. The zany and entertaining antics of this comedy quartet have left audiences
laughing in ten states from Alaska to Kansas and in numerous provinces in Canada.
Clean side splitting humor is their trademark and they have also fared well in
competitions placing first in Division IV of the Evergreen District in 1990 and 2001,
and capturing the 1st place Gold Medal in the Buckeye Invitational Comedy Quartet
Contest in Columbus, Ohio in 1995. In 1988 this group "wowed" audiences as the
Barbershop quartet in "The Music Man" performing for over 30,000 patrons during
the run of the show in Eugene, Oregon.
The quartet has seen several personnel changes since being "born." The most recent
changes include lead, Bob Martindale, and bass, Rae Seely. This current group
attended "Harmony College" in St Joseph, Missouri in 2003 and was honored to
perform their famous nuclear power disaster package as part of the big Saturday
night show. Attendees at this show included barber shoppers from all over the United
States, from England, and from Australia.
Let's meet the members of the now retired quartet.
Bob Martindale (Lead) - Bob has been a member of the Cascade Chorus since April
of 2000 and joined the McKenzie Touring Company in March of 2001, but has been
singing and performing since the age of 2. He performed as a member of a musical
Dinner Theatre group for a number of years and it is there that he met his wife
Teresa as they sang and performed together. Bob has been involved as a performer
in many different styles of music. He was a featured tenor soloist with the South
Coast Music Association, has performed in several classic musicals, and now
barbershop.
Bob's wife, Teresa, is a high school English and Drama teacher and also serves as
assistant principal. Their dog, Junior, is just a dog (and their only child).
Dale Fish (Baritone) - Dale is one of the two original members of the quartet and has
been involved in barbershop since 1976. Having sung in three other quartets, Dale
brings much experience to the group. He is known as "Mr. Crazy", as he has been
instrumental in creating some of the humor that is used by the McKenzie Touring
Company.
He and his wife Nancy have two teenage sons and a young daughter. Dale works for
the University of Oregon and is heavily involved in scouting.
Rae Seely (Bass) - Rae has been a member of SPEBSQSA for almost 30 years and
joined the McKenzie Touring Company in March of 2001. Starting in Fresno, Rae has
sung with five choruses and has been involved in the judging program and was a
certified "Stage Presence Judge" for 15 years. Rae, known for his deep "Radio" voice,
has coached many quartets and choruses in "Stage Presence."
Rae and his wife Katie have four grown children and a new grandchild. Rae, a recently retired
Medical Group Manager, is originally from Pennsylvania, has a BA degree from Penn
State and was an officer in the Marine Corps. His hobbies are skiing and of course,
Barbershopping!
Gary Raze (Tenor) - What can you say about Gary? His two heroes are Tommy
Smothers and Tim Conway! This may have given him inspiration for his comedic
antics on stage. Gary has always enjoyed singing and joined the Cascade Chorus
1978. Recently retired, Gary had been a middle school teacher for the past 34 years
teaching math, science and woodshop. Many of you know Gary from the humorous
Les Schwab commercials on television. He has done 20 commercials for the Les
Schwab organization thus far and always in a comedic fashion.
It seems as if Gary Can't get enough of Barbershopping as he is active in the
Cascade Chorus serving in various officer positions and has also joined the very
active 2000 International Senior Quartet Champions "Over Time." He and his wife
LeAnne have two grown children, and three new grandchildren. His hobbies include
woodworking, running and driving his quartet crazy!
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