The Blenders

The quartet known as the Blenders took shape when Tim Kaspar, Ryan Lance, Darren Rust, and Allen Rust—who stepped in for founding member Paul Dunkirk—settled in Minneapolis after growing up in Fargo, North Dakota. From the early 1990s onward they cultivated a singular a cappella approach that stood out from most vocal groups. Their genre’s inherent limits did not prevent them from gaining wider notice through numerous television spots and opening slots alongside nationally known comedians and musicians. Cowtown Records issued their first recording, Totally Whipped, in 1992, yet Primarily A Cappella soon became the primary home for their catalog, releasing three albums that featured the holiday collection Nog. A sharper edge than most a cappella acts possessed helped them land a contract with Universal Records in 1999. They kept issuing projects well into the 2010s, among them four holiday albums and the 2006 covers collection Songs from the Soul.