Cut to the chase with Straight No Chaser’s a cappella at the Fox

“Back in the High Life” isn’t just a Steve Winwood song that Straight No Chaser covers. It’s the name of the a cappella act’s tour.

Straight No Chaser, which will perform Monday at Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, is trying to set a tone as it embarks on a jaunt at this point in the pandemic.

“We’re trying to inspire and come back with a positive vibe after all that we’ve been through,” vocalist Jasper Smith said while calling from Chicago. “We’re optimistic, and we all want to be back in the high life. Straight No Chaser has always been a positive group.”

The Indiana University alums seemed to come out of nowhere after catching the attention of Atlantic Records after a recording of “The 12 Days of Christmas” went viral in 2006.

The group has eight albums to its credit, such as its latest, “Social Christmasing,” which dropped in 2020. Is it too early to joke about the pandemic?

“I guess not,” Smith said .

Even though half of Straight No Chaser’s albums are yuletide releases, there’s more to the act than holiday tunes. The adventurous group has no problem starting with Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and veering off to the Oasis singalong “Wonderwall” before rearranging the synth-driven Soft Cell classic “Tainted Love.”

“Straight No Chaser has always been about variety,” Smith said. “We mix it up, and for this tour we have some new material such as our version of (Bill Withers’) ‘Lovely Day.’ We have some yacht rock, as well, you wouldn’t have heard. The song I really love doing is Coldplay’s ‘Fix You.’ I can’t express how cool it is to be in this group.”

Smith was plucked from the Straight No Chaser farm team Indiana University’s Legacy singing group.

“So the guys in the group would come back to the school, and so I have had a relationship with them since I started in school back in 2008,” Smith said. “They would always make a point to reach out to everyone in the Legacy group and hang out.

“There was this brotherhood aspect, which was always so important to me. But my connection goes back to Straight No Chaser since high school. I remember seeing the video that went viral, and I knew I wanted to sing a cappella in college.”

When Straight No Chaser, which also included Randy Stine, Michael Luginbill, Steve Morgan, Charlie Mechling, Jerome Collins, Walter Chase, Sargon Isho and Tyler Trepp, needed a singer, Smith was quickly tabbed.

“I was fortunate since I had the connection, and I’m living a dream right now since there is nothing I enjoy more than singing a cappella since it’s the purest version of musicianship. Eighty-five percent of a cappella is having an ear and being able to blend. We don’t need a brass section or nine guitars. Everyone is tuned up and in step with each other. In a cappella, there is no safety net. You go up there and perform and blend with those you are singing with.”

There’s more than music with Straight No Chaser, who deliver a show with Rat Pack-esque style with banter and humor.

“I love the comedy and the cheesiness, and if you combine that with the sincerity and musicianship, there’s nothing like Straight No Chaser,” Smith said.