“The Clef Notes is boring. Let’s change our name, come up with ideas and let’s vote!”

That’s Andrea Turnbull, who’s been with the group since its inception in 1999, recounting how Unleashed!, one of two UW a cappella groups, got its name.

“Someone said, ‘Well, how about Huskies Unleashed?’ and then somebody else said, ‘How about just Unleashed?’” she said.

This is 20 minutes before their first meeting of the quarter. Of the 12 current members, five were already in the small, drab meeting room in the HUB, talking casually with one another to pass the time.

This is Unleashed!, an a cappella group that could easily be called a group of friends first and a musical group second. Everything they do is done to entertain one another and have fun from the songs they pick to the way they act during rehearsals and shows.

“We do skits during our concerts,” said Adrian Bentley, a former UW student who, like Turnbull, has remained a part of the group. “The last one, we did Harry Potter Puppet Pals. It was very weird and awesome.” He added later, “It’s mostly in-jokes.”

Jeremie Wallis laid out the plan and theme for the next concert and established a golden rule for the group:

“When are our concerts ever about the audience finding humor in anything? That’s never been—”

He was cut off by multiple cries of, “It should be!” Then laughter, from everyone, and less than 10 minutes until rehearsal.

From an outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to tell whether Unleashed! pervades every part of its members’ lives or if the singers’ lives pervade every part of Unleashed!. Even more difficult to discern is what parts of the group affect, or are affected by, the singers. Everything about Unleashed! is tightly woven together, a mesh of personality and charm where the individuals are inseparable from the whole.

The constantly-shifting nature of the group doesn’t limit newcomers, nor does it make past members feel left out. Alumni are actually a large part of the group, as members and as supporters.

“It’s not all only UW students,” freshman member Natalie Karbelnig said. “One of the people never even went here. It seems to branch off of the school that it’s attached to. A lot of school choirs are very invested in the school that they’re at, but it’s cool that we’re branching out and have a whole different community of people who are different communities, different schools, different styles.”

In addition to Turnbull are Wallis, who acts as the musical director, and Bentley, who is actually Turnbull’s fiance. That Turnbull and Bentley met at an Unleashed! rehearsal back in 2002 is a testament to the bonds Unleashed! helps create.

Wallis, who never attended UW as a student, started singing with Unleashed! on a recommendation from a friend who was a member.

“Eventually, I went to a rehearsal to see what it was all about,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I met some great people, had a lot of fun and kept showing up. Some days, after dealing with angry people for nine hours [at my job], it’s relaxing to just sit back and relax with friends and learn music.”

Current member Revathi Murthy listed Unleashed!’s non-credit, RSO status as one of the reasons she decided to join.

“I take a lot of classes,” she said. “I usually take around 18 credits a quarter, and I don’t want to pay extra. It’s a convenient time; I can always make it regardless of my class schedule. It’s once a week, it’s manageable, and I have a lot of fun and I like the fact that it’s welcoming to everybody.”

Rehearsal began not with a song, but with administrative details — what Wallis wanted to do during rehearsal, what he expected to hear: This song will be sung a half-step lower than it’s written. Rehearse it in this way for best results. I want to hear the solo for this song today — be ready for that. Our concert’s May 30. Probably. Maybe. I’ll get back to you all on that.

When they finally began their first song, it was an inspired choice: a medley of themes from John Williams scores with lyrics either about Star Wars or ripped directly from the screenplays of the original trilogy. It was recognizable, well-ordered chaos tempered often by moments of the entire group singing one line triumphantly as a whole. They got about halfway through before falling apart, figuring out what went wrong and beginning somewhere close to where they left off.

The meeting continued much in the same way — rehearsing a song, working through difficult parts and stopping to figure things out. Though those aspects are similar to any other rehearsal, the quirks here and there, such as the staggering variety of songs they perform, make this one truly unique.

When Ivy Wong started the group in 1999, it was to remedy the fact that the UW had no a cappella group at the time. Her creation has now grown beyond its members and become an entity unto itself.

As to whether Unleashed! touches its members’ lives or vice versa, it’s probably more like a mirror: Unleashed! reflects back upon its members, and its members, in turn, reflect back upon Unleashed!. Something does remain constant, however. Turnbull attests that the group “tends to the wacky-goofy side in general,” no matter what.

Reach reporter Morgan Gard at features@dailyuw.com.