The Blenders are a vocal quartet based in Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 (not to be confused with the 1960s vocal quartet of the same name that was led by Steve Smith

Steve Smith (singer)

Steve Smith is an American singer best known from television's The Lawrence Welk Show.- Biography :Born and raised in San Francisco, California; he graduated from San Lorenzo High School and attended Westmont College where he met fellow Westmont students Bob Duncan, Greg Dixon and Johnny Johnson...

, appeared on the Lawrence Welk Show for two years, and disbanded in 1967).

Originally from Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

, the four members of The Blenders - Tim Kasper, Ryan Lance, Darren Rust and Allan Rust (replacing original member Paul Dunkirk) - built up their fan base on the strength of a primarily a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 singing style. Although their music in recent years has included instrument-backed recordings, there has always been a focus on The Blender's own style of vocal-based harmonies. The group has toured the U.S. with such acts as Jay Leno

Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...

, Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel

Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...

, Savage Garden

Savage Garden

Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...

, Johnny Lang, Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...

, Lou Rawls

Lou Rawls

Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...

 and Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

. They have appeared on a variety of national and regional television shows including The Arsenio Hall Show

The Arsenio Hall Show

The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...

, The Today Show and Crook and Chase on TNN. Their music has been used for films such as The Perfect Holiday

The Perfect Holiday

The Perfect Holiday is a 2007 family comedy film starring Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut, and Terrence Howard and is produced by Academy Award-nominated actress Queen Latifah, who also narrates the movie. The film was released on December 12, 2007...

 and Nothing Like the Holidays. Albums usually include some of their own original songs, plus covers of music that ranges from standards to decidedly non-traditional fare. They have recorded for four different labels: Cowtown Records, Primarily A Cappella, Oarfin and Universal Records.

The Blenders spent their early years, beginning in the '80s, touring hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. The Blenders found international success with a number one hit in a handful of European countries with a remake of Dean Friedman

Dean Friedman

Dean Friedman is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica.-Music:...

's quirky song, "McDonald's Girl." Although their influences stretch far and wide, The Blenders find a common bond in vocal music – from R&B and Jazz, to Pop and Rock, their focus is on tight unmistakable, smooth vocal harmonies. In 1994 and 1995, The Blenders received the Contemporary Artist of the Year award by the National Association for Campus Activities

National Association for Campus Activities

National Association for Campus Activities is an organization designed to provide information and resources for campus activities programmers throughout the United States and Canada...

.

Recently, The Blenders have performed on Minneapolis/St. Paul television commercials. In December 2006, The Blenders sung their song "When it Snows" in an advertisement for KARE-TV

KARE

KARE, digital channel 11, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin. It also operates KARE WX NOW, formerly known as NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel...

 promoting Toys for Tots

Toys for Tots

Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which donates toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major William L...

. They also appeared in an ad, singing KMSP-TV

KMSP-TV

KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...

's morning news theme song ("Wake Up with FOX 9") while riding a Hiawatha Line

Hiawatha Line

The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...

light rail train. Their work with KMSP has won them two Emmy awards.

Discography

The Blenders on iTunes

• Totally Whipped (1992)
• From The Mouth (1994)
• The Blenders (1995)
• Nog (1997)
• Now and Then (1997)
• Loveland (1999)
• When it Snows (2002)
• Holiday Best (2004) - compilation from Nog and When it Snows + 1 new song ("I'll be Home for Christmas")
• Most Wonderful Time (2005)
• Songs From the Soul (2006)
• The Blenders: Christmas Collection (2007) - 2 CDs with all of The Blenders' holiday songs
• Christmas with the Blenders: Live in Concert (2007) - DVD
• Holiday Classics (2008) - compilation from Nog, When it Snows and Most Wonderful Time
• Songs From the Soul Vol. II (2008)
• "McDonald's Girl" - Single (2011)