The wife and I went out to Gatlinburg last weekend. (Got the mom-in-law to watch our son.)
Friday when we got there, we went out for a while, and came back to the Hotel about 8:45. Decided to swing by the lounge for a drink or two, and we found out that they were doing Karaoke starting at 9:00.
So, we decided to stay a few minutes and listen, have a few laughs at the expense of the various singers. Well, the first few we listened to were pretty good. (Apparently there are a few locals there that are regulars for karaoke night at this bar.) And of course, this being Gatlinburg, 80% or more of the music was country.
My wife is an excellent singer, and she wanted to give it a try, but she was too scared to go up. We ended up talking to another couple, and as it turns out, the woman of the other couple wanted to try, but was also scared. Well, I got tired of them fussing about being worried they would bomb, so I went up and gave it a shot. (Family Tradition by Hand Williams Jr.) I wasn't the worst one there, but Lets say there weren't any recording contracts offerred either.
Anyway, after my performance, and a few that were too bad for even the "worst of" show on American Idol, My wife finally gets up there and tries "Have Mercy" by the Judds. She nails it. Perfectly. The crowd applauded, including all of the local regulars that were there.
She went on to do several other songs that night and did really well, and several people we were there with friday night saw us during the day saturday, and complemented her singing, and asked if we were coming back saturday night. (we did.)
Anyway, I've vowed to never do Karaoke again with fewer than 3 other people, and only on good drinking songs. But now my wife wants to find a local country bar that does Karaoke nights. Trojan Horseshoes
Need Help coming up with arguments against mine?
Quote:and she wanted to give it a try, but she was too scared to go up. We ended up talking to another couple, and as it turns out, the woman of the other couple wanted to try, but was also scared.
Hey, I have seen porno movies that started this way... Edited by: Sillis Spineslicer at: 3/8/04 11:18 am
LOL Silis, I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines.
I have always wanted to do Karaoke but have never had the guts. My father in law runs the North Iowa Fair, and each year they do a Karaoke contest in front of tons of people. I would love to get up there and sing some crazy song to freak out the farmers. I have a voice similar to Tori Amos and love singing her stuff, there's plenty of songs of hers that would leave the crowd going "WTF?"
Or, I could just do some Weird Al, heh. Only 4 months to totally memorize "Albequerque", time to buckle down....
"...so they invited us to go diving with them, and his wife offered to help her pick out a suit"
Hmm, Karaoke is a disease for which there is no cure. Many American families suffer the repercussions daily, but all you can do is pray for relief. Just hope she doesn't make the next step and buy a machine for home.
Most karaoke DJs have a really bad selection of songs. Usually the newest songs you can find are 5-10 years old, and often are from bands that people are sick of. The Macarena, Achy-Breaky Heart, Friends in Low Places, anything by Shania Twain, anything by 80s hair bands, and Funky Cold Medina are only good choices if you want to dodge bottles while you are on stage.
Also, avoid songs from the divas. Even if you are a great singer normally, you aren't going to be doing any good Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston or Celine Dion impressions in a smokey bar, after a few drinks. You'll more likely end up sounding like Slim Whitman.
Once you have found a song, the real key is to follow someone really terrible and/or falling down drunk. Its amazing how great you can sound when you follow the Barney Gumble version of Unchained Melody.
Also, make sure you are very familiar with the song, and actually know most of the lyrics. Too many people pick songs they've only heard a few times, and end up just reading off the monitor, because they are so unfamiliar with the actual words to the song. If you think the Bush song Machinehead is about a washing machine, then you probably need to avoid that song.
Quote:
Country music singers are a really close family
but lately some of my kin folks have disowned a few otha's and me
i guess its because i kinda changed my direction
Lord, i guess i went and broke their family tradition
they get on me wanna know Hank why do you drink?
(Hank) why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
over and over everybody made my prediction
so if i get stoned I'm just carryin' on an old family tradition
I am very proud of my daddy's name
although his kinda music and mine ain't exactly the same
stop and think it over, put yourself in my position
if i get stoned and sing all night long it's a family tradition
Don't ask me Hank why do you drink?
(Hank) why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
If I'm down in a Honky-Tonk, some ol' slicks tryin to give me friction
I say leave me alone I'm singin all night long it's a family tradition
Lord I have loved some ladies and I have loved Jim Beam
and they both tried to kill me in 1973
when that doctor asked me, "Son how did you get in this condition?"
I said hey sawbones I'm just carryin on an old family tradition
So don't ask me Hank why do you drink?
(Hank) why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
Stop and think it over, Try and put yourself in my unique position
If I get stoned and sing all night long It's just a family tradition!
You are not, nor will you be, a professional singer. Get that out of your head RIGHT now. You will be marginal at best. Have a good time and don't take yourself so seriously.
Karaoke has its place, but people take it FAR too seriously. It's no different than playing pool or shooting darts at the bar. Enjoy yourself, don't act like a diva, and everyone will have a good time.
You'd be amazed at how serious people take it. To the point of fistfights over well deseved boos.
c'mon...there's nothing like doing 6 or 7 shots of jaeger and getting up to sing Franki Valli's "Sherry"...it's amazing the response you get when singing that song, especially since i'm 6'5", and around 300#...
ps...won a dvd player in a contest singing The chipmunk christmas song....kareoke pwnage! hehe... Skewerz Joo
My magelo
Nocte, I love goin to the karaoke here, people really *are* that good. I regularly hear random_couple_of_people belt out something like Ii Yu Dana or Thesis of a Cruel Angel absolutely -flawlessly-
It's pretty cool how good it is in an honest to goodness japanese karaoke bar
Hey, it's been too hot to sleep, so I've been watching Eva.
I was at an anime convention just this weekend that had some karaoke, with tons of awesome songs. Too bad by that time most people had already left. I got up the guts to sing Luna's boat song from Lunar. It's hard to be too shy when a couple of the hosts have just done a rousing rendition of the "Gatchaman" theme song. Never got the chance to do Minchi's Song, though. Oh well.
Yeah, I've heard you haven't seen Karaoke until you've seen it in Japan. It's amazing it still has such a following there considering how long it has been around.
Pretty good, I think. Only had a problem with some of the lower notes, since I always move the key up when I'm singing in the shower or while cooking (the latter being a perculiar habit of mine).
