The Funx are a soulful supergroup featuring talent from some of your favorite TV competition shows! Member Bios Robert Dietz has been arranging, performing, and teaching contemporary a cappella music at all levels for over ten years. His career began in high school as director of the critically acclaimed group, Ascending Height, with whom he produced the first all-original high school a cappella album. Robert has studied at both the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, Australia, and at the Ithaca College School of Music in Ithaca, New York where he directed the award winning all-male group, Ithacappella. In addition, Robert has been a member of the creative team for both seasons three and four of NBC’s The Sing-Off. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he sings locally with Jazz/Soul group, Level and tours nationally with The Funx. He is a founding member of A Cappella Academy (www.acappellacademy.org/), and you can find his work online at www.human-feedback.com. Ariel Arbisser is a versatile, in demand performer based in Ithaca, NY. In addition to The Funx, her diverse lineup of projects include Soul outfit The Jeff Love Band, powerhouse female ensemble Lady Jaye, and experimental funk duo, Frisky Business. Ariel got her start with the Cornell Chordials with whom she became a nationally recognized soloist, and co-produced two of their award-winning albums. After Cornell, Ariel graduated from the Actor's Workshop of Ithaca where she studied the Meisner Technique and went on to become both a lead in their theater company and a teacher's assistant. From her Meisner roots she developed the teaching module "Sing It Like You Mean It," which she continues to teach at schools and festivals, nationwide. She serves as program manager of marketing for CASA, and is on the board of trustees for the Melodramatics Theatre Company, Inc. Harry Nichols lives in Ithaca, NY. He performs a variety of music styles in several different projects. With Harry Nichols Band, he expresses his rock, pop, and folk roots. With The Funx, he shows his soulful aspirations. Performing solo, he experiments by integrating vocal live looping with blues guitar and hip-hop beats. A major contributing songwriter for all of his groups, Harry keeps himself busy, and has performed in venues across the United States. Since his solo project began, Harry has released two solo original albums Hangover Sundays and Love en Route. Recently, Harry completed passion project Diving For Falls, a collaboration with singer-songwriter and fellow Ithacan Julia Felice who he met on set filming Sex, Drugs, and A Cappella: An Original Web Series three years ago. In his spare time, he teaches seventh grade. Crawford Doran was introduced to a cappella in high school when he joined Ascending Height, a five-man vocal band in Ithaca, NY. Crawford then moved to Canada to attend the University of Waterloo in Ontario, but the absence of a cappella on campus disappointed him. This inspired him to create the Waterloo A Cappella Club as a means to promote contemporary a cappella within the community. Under Crawford's guidance, the club grew to include more than 100 members and a number of successful ensembles, including The Water Boys, an all-male group that Crawford founded and directed. These groups have made several appearances at the International Championships of Collegiate A Cappella, including a run to the wild card round by the Intentional Accidentals. These days, Crawford works in the film industry as a software engineer in Vancouver, British Columbia. Whenever possible, however, he finds time to travel and lay down some funky beats with The Funx. Nate Tao was born into a first generation Taiwanese-American family with deaf parents in Reston, VA. He grew up playing piano but eventually realized singing as his true passion. After honing his music skills through voice training at Ithaca College and a cappella groups like Ithacappella and Hyannis Sound, he progressed to the Top 40 guys in Season 12 of American Idol. Mariah Carey noted that he performed a "great rendition" of Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life,” and Keith Urban called his voice "effortless and beautiful." In addition to Idol, Nate was a finalist in the Unsigned Only 2013 Competition, he was crowned winner of Kollaboration Los Angeles, lent his vocals to the Rock Band Network, and performed at the Roxy Theater, Ford Amphitheater, Alex Theater, House of Blues, Viper Room, and LA Pride. His songwriting collaborations include work with Damon Sharpe [Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue, Ariana Grande], Dylan Charbeneau/Tim Fagan [Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat], and Joshua Eagan [Pink], and his co-written song "We Are The Brave" was picked up by Sony Canada as the first single for boy band Rebel Coast. His eponymous EP, a collaboration with Universal Music producer Tat Tong, was nominated for Best Pop EP at the 2014 Independent Music Awards. About The Group The Funx are a soulful supergroup dedicated to bringing more original music to the a cappella world, featuring talent from some of your favorite TV competition shows. With arrangements and vocal percussion from The Sing-Off arranger and group coach Robert Dietz, and the incredible soaring tenor of Nate Tao from American Idol, The Funx has a complete arsenal of a cappella weapons. Sexy soulstress Ariel Arbisser is a vocal coach, actress, and a CARA-winning soloist. Long-time collaborator and funky bass, Crawford Doran, and powerhouse singer-songwriter, Harry Nichols, round out this pop/soul vocal band that met in Ithaca, NY and now hails from across the US and Canada. Traveling the country singing a range of covers and originals, The Funx will get you grooving!