KARAOKE

Karaoke singer at Uncle Mo's pub in Renton

 

I’ve done karaoke off and on for a few years. 

It’s a nice way to meet people, as everyone there has something in common: singing. Because it is always a learning process, most people don’t care if the singing’s perfect or not. It’s also a fairly social experience. I’ve met a lot of people in karaoke. You immediately have something in common to talk about: music.

I mostly sing working class rock songs (Audioslave, Soundgarden), some old school metal now and then (i.e. Iron Maiden), and some pop (like Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up”). 

 A group of singers at the Berliner singing "Man Of Constant Sorrow"

The beauty of karaoke is that I’ve seen singers develop from being awful to being really good -- in just the space of a year or two. And there are a lot of people who are very good singers. Karaoke turns music from a performer / spectator experience into an experience where everybody is a performer, and everybody is a spectator.

Singer at the Berliner Pub, Renton.

 

Some karaoke bars are really fun places. The bar’s vibe can vary with the type of music the singers prefer. Some karaoke bars have singers who like mostly country music, some are more rock oriented, and most of them have singers who do everything: pop, urban, rap, alt-rock, R&B, country, and even some standards.

Some unique things have happened when I was singing.

One night I was singing a hard rock song and my voice literally blew out the amplifier running the sound system. They had to buy a new one.

Another night in a different bar, I was singing a song about peace and love by the Irish band U2. All of a sudden two girls started a big fight in the middle of the floor – smacking each other around, and knocking over a table. I just kept singing while they fought, and while other people broke the fight up. The show must go on.

I once sang a song by an unknown Australian rock band (the Screaming Jets) and the entire bar responded -- people pounding on tables, clapping, etc.. But it was a song no one in the U.S. had heard before. After the reaction the song got, I sent a copy of the CD to a radio station and the song got some airplay.

 Dancing and having fun St. Patrick's Day, 2015, at the Berliner in Renton

Overall, karaoke has been a positive experience for me. People sing, people talk to each other about various songs – and people also dance to the songs, as some of these pictures show. Karaoke may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if I go to a pub, I want to hear music playing. And with karaoke, you not only hear all kinds of music, you can participate, too.