I mentioned a week back that I was interviewed for the local paper, the Dundalk Eagle, and it finally hit today. The online version is a subscription service so I can't hot link you to it, but I can cut and paste... so here it is below.
Pretty cool...
‘Empty orchestra’ fills bar patrons with good times
Thursday, 14 May 2009 09:25
By Steve Parks
Karaoke has gained some major popularity in the U.S. over the last decade or two. Like American Idol, it seems to capitalize on the notion that an average person, for just a few moments, can be a musical sensation (or bust).
Who saw the scene in Lost in Translation when Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are singing karaoke with the young Asian crowd in Tokyo? It’s a great scene from a great movie. My point is that karaoke was invented by the Japanese ... in the early ’70s! The word translates into English as “empty orchestra.”
A true karaoke star will seek out a bar that is a mix of an enthusiastic crowd and the best acoustics possible to carry their God-given voice. For me, this bar is Kenny B’s on Williams Avenue.
Ormand Road resident Dave Wile, 43, of Karaoke Koyote Entertainment is running the karaoke on the Tuesday night that I’m in there interviewing. “I do this five days a week now throughout the area,” he says.
I ask him for a memorable local karaoke moment.
“There is a group of pretty girls at the Sea Horse [Inn] who do ‘Lady Marmalade’ from the movie Moulin Rouge. It’s on time. They get the place jumping. People will actually dance to it!
“Karaoke is interactive. It’s elevated to an art form when the crowd gives as much back to the singer as the singer puts out.”
And now a few observations:
People get very serious about their songs, especially the few they sing often to showcase their vocal abilities. It’s a big thing for a die-hard to deviate from these songs. One such individual might practice a new song for weeks in the shower or the car before debuting it at the bar.
I have seen ugly arguments over one person unknowingly doing another person’s song.
A few drinks might make you a better performer. Then you have the fool (like me) who after a few beers thinks he has been possessed by the late, great Jim Morrison.
You always have that dread someone will want to do something along the lines of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” or “Free Bird” – not realizing he or she will be standing in front of these bar patrons (many of whom are itching for their turn to sing) for the next 17 minutes. If only the bar sold whole tomatoes.
There is the pack of drunken women who think it’s a great idea for all five of them to scream and slur into one microphone, essentially demolishing “Baby Got Back.” Fail.
You have that guy who sits all alone in the bar until he is called for his one song. He takes off his trench coat (even though it’s summer), walks silently to the front and plugs in his own microphone. He unleashes a monumental vocal triumph of “All By Myself” by Eric Carmen. He leaves the bar crowd speechless. He packs up his microphone, puts his coat back on and goes outside to ride his 10-speed home.
Then you have the real voices. The ones who can carry a song. Even the bartender stops serving for a minute or two to watch and listen to them.
“Karaoke reminds me of that childhood dream of being a famous rock star,” says Erin Hottle, 32, of Stokesley Road. “Especially because my mother was a full-time musician back when clubs hired bands for substantial pay instead of DJs. I used to love watching her perform.
“Singing is a form of stress management for me. When I get up and sing songs like ‘Bring Me to Life’ by Evanescence or ‘Foolish Games’ by Jewel, I forget about the daily pressures of my life for at least those few moments.”
Tell me more.
“It’s a lot of fun but I’m not about to quit my day job,” she says, laughing. “My 11-year-old daughter thinks I should be the next American Idol. I tell her that Simon would say – in my bad British accent – that I’m ‘good enough for a karaoke bar’ ... and that is fine with me.”
Explaining why he likes karaoke, Josh Whitt, 30, of Shipway says, “For a few minutes, I get to be Mick Jagger.”
What songs does he like to do? “‘Jack and Diane.’ It fits in my very narrow vocal range. And anything by Creedence [Clearwater Revival]. ... It reminds me of my dad rocking the Creedence LPs when I was young.
“What I really like is seeing someone who starts out very unsure of themselves. Once they get going, you can see the confidence spread across their face. Then they get a few cheers from the crowd, and by the end of the song they are up there doing what they wanted to do in the first place.”
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, yes Kurt was the writer! May be time for a follow up huh?????
J.R.
