Otto Tunes shaves heads, pies faces for 11th annual ‘Cockappella’ concert

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Friends, family and a cappella lovers sat in the audience as the head of Dean Williams, a freshman member of Otto Tunes, was shaved at the 11th annual “Cockappella.” In the next 20 minutes, the group shoved pies in their fellow members’ faces (one member was pied twice), met fundraising goals and made jokes about phallic figures.

Williams’ head-shaving intermission was just one of the many newly bald heads following the event, as many members made promises to shave their heads after meeting their fundraising goals, including freshman Zach Siegel.

“It’s fun because I want to do whatever I can to try and help get people to donate money,” Siegel said. “So we can reach our goals and do what we can to help people.”

“Cockappella” is an a cappella concert raising money for the Testicular Cancer Foundation (TCF). The a cappella group said they raised over $16,000, more than they’ve ever raised in one year. Otto Tunes began fundraising for the organization on Sept. 29, and to date they’ve raised over $17,000.

Otton Tunes reached its goal of $15,000 before the event, which allowed them to celebrate their success in their introduction to the show. By the end, they had far surpassed their original benchmark through challenges and promotions.

“We’ve been preaching to everyone that we can get to that goal before we even sing a note – we’re doing great already,” said David Goz, member of Otto Tunes and co-president of the A Cappella Council at SU.

At the beginning of the show, Otto Tunes announced that they would be dropping their first album, “From the Closet,” at the end of the night. This is their first full-length album, with both classic Otto Tunes songs such as “Everyone (OT’s Back)” and newer, slower tunes like “Goodnight.”

The lights dimmed before the event began, and the crowd chanted “O-T” in preparation for Otto Tunes. Unfortunately, the lights went back up and the group did not appear yet, teasing the audience.

Finally, the hosts were introduced, including Otto Tunes alum Ronny Ditchek. His arrival was met with deafening applause as he ran onto the stage.

“If you think this is ‘Dicks: The Musical,’ you’re wrong,” Ditchek said.

One of the reasons this event is so important is because it informs young people about the importance of self-examination, several survivors of testicular cancer said during a video which was played during the intermission.

“I hope that when they’re my age, and have their birthday and you’re in your 70s that they still have both testicles,” said Rich Hall, a testicular cancer survivor.

Many TCF members and testicular cancer survivors watched the event via livestream. Others were in the audience, such as Hall, who attended the event with his a cappella-loving friend Ally Mead.

Hall attended the event on his birthday, over 30 years since he recovered from testicular cancer.

“I thought I was going to die because back then, this was in the early 80s. There was only one way to rid yourself, and that was through surgeries, and then cross your fingers,” Hall said. “I’m ready to reach in my wallet and give it my donation. Because I survived.”

Otto Tunes has many fundraising strategies to raise money for the Testicular Cancer Foundation. Two Otto Tunes members were pied during the intermission of ‘Cockappella,’ one of them being pied twice.
Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor

In addition to their performance, Otto Tunes hosted a plethora of guests, including a group from the University of Buffalo lower voices a cappella group, The Buffalo Chips, and another a cappella group from Syracuse, Orange Appeal.

Otto Tunes is also preparing to compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. They’ve been practicing for weeks and performed their set for the competition at “Cockappella.”

Throughout the show, the crowd cheered and shouted for every performance. At one point in the show, they sang along and clapped with Otto Tunes to the song “Colder Weather.”

“This is probably more exciting to me than a basketball game,” Mead said. “I’m a huge advocate of student entertainment and student musicians.”