Eclipse 6 is a 6-man vocal band from Utah. They are Paul Hansen, Kevin Jones, Jake Despain, Dan Kartchner, Shayne Taylor, and James Case. They met while performing in a public relations /ambassador-oriented group that was part of the department of Programs and Entertainment at Utah State University. They began by arranging their own vocal covers of popular songs and performing them on campus and in the Logan area. Increasing public interest and performance opportunities led to the recording of their first album, “Once,” which was released in April 2001.
Following the release, the band’s main focus shifted to gaining exposure. They auditioned for, and were accepted to compete in, the Northwest Regional Harmony Sweepstakes Competition. They took first place and were featured at the National Competition in May 2001 with the 8 other Regional winners nationally.
In Utah, concerts and contacts continued and relationships were developed as Eclipse 6 began performing with local artists such as Colors, John Schmidt, Peter Breinholt, and Kurt Bestor.
Eclipse 6 launched onto the national stage in 2002 after being featured in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. This led to other opportunities, including a featured spot in the Closing Ceremonies and a series of appearances at the Medals Plaza opening for such acts as Brooks & Dunn, Nelly Furtado, and Train.
Shortly after the Olympics, Eclipse 6 was asked to be a featured guest along with Larry King and Toby Keith at the “Stadium of Fire,” the 4th of July celebration at BYU’s Cougar Stadium.
Eclipse 6 released their second album, “Think Twice,” in October 2002. They also became the 2002 winners of the Rocky Mountain Regional Harmony Sweepstakes.
In 2003, Eclipse 6 was named “Best Vocal Group” in Utah’s Best of State awards and “Group Recording Artist of the Year” in the Faith Centered Music Association’s Pearl Awards. They released their third album, a Christmas CD called “Three Kings” in October 2003.
In 2004, Eclipse 6 received three more Pearl Awards, including “ Holiday Album of the Year,” and were the runners-up for “Best Holiday Album” in the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. They also received two Just Plain Folks Music Awards (the world’s largest music awards program, honoring independent musicians in over 85 countries).
From 2005-2007 Eclipse 6 focused on their show, traveling throughout the U.S. and Asia. In 2005 they released their fourth album, “For Show,” a live album.
After eight years of sharing their music, Eclipse 6 felt very grateful for success and the opportunities they had to share their love of music around the world. So, it was with this gratefulness in mind that they released their fifth album, “Grateful Praise,” an album that could express the notion that worship through music transcends style and that, regardless of setting, there will always be a level of praise inherent in music that cannot be achieved by any other means.
In 2009-2010 Eclipse 6 took to the road again traveling again throughout the U.S. and Asia.
In 2011 Eclipse released their most recent album, and second Christmas album, “It’s Christmas Time.”
Meet The Band
Paul Hansen
Paul effortless lead tenor voice has become an Eclipse trademark. It’s ironic that one of the other sonic items most often associated with Eclipse, namely the sub-harmonic lip buzz, is also produced by this native of West Point, UT. Paul’s rural upbringing spread his time between working on the family farm and honing his incredibly keen ear by joining his father in the mutually enjoyed pastime of improvising arrangements of popular songs and jazzing up church hymns on the piano. He also remembers jamming with his family in the car on road trips and creating multi-part vocals because the radio didn’t work.
Paul’s music education started behind the upright bass, cello, and piano in his young life. He also sang bass in high school choir until his senior year when his teacher finally informed Paul that he was actually a tenor. The switch was made, his manhood un-damaged, and his new-foundtalent took him to Weber State University where he spent the year on tour with the Weber State Singers. After 2 years of missionary service in Nashville, TN, Paul was quickly nabbed by Utah State University’s Programs & Entertainment Dept. earning a vocal scholarship, finishing his Bachelor’s degree, and beginning his association with the other members of what would eventually become Eclipse.
Paul’s incredible ear has benefited the group not only vocally, but in the studio as an engineer and in production.
Kevin Jones
The driving rhythms that can be heard on Eclipse recordings and in their live show are almost exclusively produced by Kevin Jones; and no, we don’t know how he is able to do it. Not surprisingly vocal percussion is only one dimension of this human drum set. Kevin is also an accomplished singer/performer and dancer and has an impressive musical theatre resume under his belt.
After completing his Associates Degree at Snow College, as well as a two-year mission to Bangkok, Thailand, he transferred to USU where he changed his course of study from musical theatre to broadcast journalism. He couldn’t get rid of the performing bug, however, and ended up joining the New Horizons show choir and dance troupe, where he functioned as both a performer and a choreographer-which then led to a scholarship with the Department of Programs and Entertainment. After graduating with a BA in journalism, and spending a few years dedicating his time to Eclipse, Kevin went back to school and earned his Masters degree from Utah State University in Instructional Technology.
Kevin grew up in Taylorsville, UT, which seems appropriate considering his middle name is Taylor. When he’s not spitting rhythmically into a microphone, Kevin manages a media production team, provides service to the youth in his community, and spends as much time as he can throwing a ball, reading books, and working in his yard and garden with his wife and four kids. If there is any time left after that, Kevin enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, and a good game of racquetball.
Jake Despain
Jake grew up in Sandy, Utah as the second child in a family of five kids. At the age of five, Jake began his singing career in an extended family/neighborhood singing group. His horizons broadened as he toured to Japan and China four times with a singing and dancing group, OnStage Studios. Years later, Jake returned to Asia to serve as a missionary in Seoul, South Korea. He has a special spot in his heart for the kind Asian people.
In high school, Jake’s sweat and tears were spent on the tennis court or the football field, before going inside to sing with the Alta High Madrigals. At the University of Utah, he sang with the University of Utah A Cappella Singers. In 2002, Jake helped form the a cappella quartet “Upper Deck,” which for years entertained University of Utah students in the LDS institute, fraternities/sororities, and many corporate events. He joined Eclipse while getting his MBA graduate degree with member Dan Kartchner at the University of Utah in 2006.
Growing up, Jake listened to pop hits from Michael Jackson to Billy Joel, but slowly gained respect for country music in college as the ladies got him into country dancing. He now assumes Rascal Flatts as one of his favorite groups. Other recent artists he respects are David Archuleta, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and especially those that portray a good message along with awesome vocals. A good ballad always hits the spot with Jake.
Dan Kartchner
Dan brings a smooth, soulful quality to Eclipse. He grew up in Centerville, UT starting his singing career at age 13 when his mom dropped him off at a voice lesson to substitute for his sister who was unable to make it. From that moment on, singing and performing would dominate Dan’s early life from choir to starring in musicals and performing at Lagoon Amusement Park.
After high school, Dan attended Utah State University for a year on a vocal/performing scholarship before heading to England to serve a 2 year service mission. Shortly after returning, his scholarship was re-instated, he was selected again as 1 of 6 males in the Dept. of Programs & Entertainment and graduated with a BA in Marketing. After a couple of years of sales experience Dan went back to school to complete his Masters in Business Administration from the University of Utah. While obtaining his MBA he became friends with a fellow student Jake Despain who would later become a member of Eclipse. After graduating in 2006, Dan has ventured into the corporate business world.
Shayne Taylor
Growing up, Shayne didn’t have much choice as to his participation in music and performing. The son of a studio singer and member of the renown Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Shayne’s first day in the spotlight was when he was 6 mos. old as he played the youngest of 12 children in the stage play, “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Since that time, he’s logged an impressive resume both vocally and on the stage.
Shayne is definitely the a cappella guru of the group having carefully amassed from his younger days a wealth of knowledge on groups, trends, and the history of the genre. He’s been involved with several a cappella groups, the first of which, “Not Kwite Five,” was a four man high school group that received modest acclaim and spent a summer on the Japanese amusement park circuit.
While trying to be a pre-med major in college, Shayne was never able to lay his musical side down and continued performing in various capacities at Weber State University. After setting things aside for a couple years to share his faith as a missionary in England, Shayne transferred to Utah State, receiving one of six male scholarships in the Dept. of Programs and Entertainment.
James Case
James was born in Rexburg, Idaho, and is the ninth of ten children. He has two brothers and seven sisters. At 6’4″, he is the tallest member of Eclipse. Throughout junior high and high school, James was heavily involved in band, performing with the Concert, Symphonic, Jazz, Marching, and even Honor band. He plays the trumpet, euphonium, bagpipes, harmonica, and guitar.
After high school, James served an LDS mission in Vancouver, Canada (he’s fluent in Canadian, eh?) Upon his return, his “a cappella quest” began at Ricks College in 2002. He joined the A Cappella Club, which later led him to join a group called “Tongue Tied.” Over the next 5 years he performed with Tongue Tied throughout the western states and, in 2006, the group won the Pacific Northwest Regional of the Harmony Sweepstakes (the same competition Eclipse had won 5 years before). They also were named audience favorite.
During that same time period, James moved from Rexburg to Logan, then Logan to Ogden. He is currently attending Weber State University as a music major. His hobbies include snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, tennis, ping pong, hiking, foosball, travel, photography, sudoku, and cruising around in his vintage 1993 Chevy Astro Van.
