So yeah… it’s been a while. I haven’t been hitting the karaoke scene in some time for a thousand reasons I won’t bother going into here. But the outfit I work for had a couple of nice updates recently, and thought I’d share.

First off, James decided to go all digital. Dell laptop, karaoke software, the whole nine yards. I got a glimpse of it the other day, and I’ll have to drop that software title later (rotten memory). It has just about everything you’d expect, but the best feature is the ’search’ function. At least two (if not, a hundred)  times a night, I get someone walking up to me asking “Do you have the song _____ ?”

Which means I spend a portion of time digging through the book, trying to remember how to spell names, and inevitably checking both the artist section and the song section. But with this new search feature, I can just pop in a few letters and BAM!.. instant tracks.

In addition to the ‘all digital’ setup, he also dropped the cash for a TON of new music. The new song list reaches more than 17,000. A far cry from the 3,000 we had before. Recent editions include The Eagles (had NONE before), a truck load of Elvis, and a lot of rock… good rock. There are several Metallica, a few Manson tracks, some Nine Inch Nails, a little Megadeth, and believe it or not….. Slayer. Seasons in the Abyss to be precise.

In other news, another local pub picked us up for some shows. In fact, tonight is one of ‘em, at Blarney’s in Mitchell. Whats weird is, they booked us for another one in April, and they haven’t even heard us yet. Either word is spreading, or they sent out the scouts.

So that’ll be a nice change of pace, fresh music, new scenery… maybe we can snag another show here or there in the future.

Lets face it - Some nights at karaoke can be drag, and it usually isn’t the overall clientele. No, it’s the singers…. the ones that are singing all those mopey “I-lost-my-dog-so-she-left-me” songs. Nights like that can be a total bummer. So here’s a list of songs I’ve put together that really kick things up a notch.

1. Love Shack - “Tiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnn Roof!….. Rusted.” I don’t know what that’s suppose to mean, and neither does Cindy Wilson. Despite the cryptic lyrics in the song break, this B52’s classic tune is easy to sing, encourages multiple people to step up to the mic, and heck… it’s just really fun. Guys generally won’t admit that they like it, but if you look closely, you’ll see them singing along.
2. Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy - Young, old, wanna-be-rockstar; It don’t matter who you are, everyone likes this song. It’s fun to sing, and with two fella’s at the mic, the mid-break in the song will really come to life. Go’s to show that country isn’t always full of heart break.
3. Baby Got Back - Now this one’s a little tough. Well… Ok, so it’s really tough. But if you can pull this off, you’ll have everyone in the joint jumping. The theme alone is socially acceptable these days (unless you’re in the wrong joint), even to all the women… especially the women. I wonder if Sir Mix A Lot knew this was gunna be a karaoke favorite?
4. Purple Rain - “Say What?!?!” Yeah, thats right. Slow churning Prince music. Sure, it’s not ‘up beat’, and yeah, a guy might feel kinda gay singing it, but if the right person throws down on this song, they’ll have every womans heart running double time. I’ve even seen a 350+ pound bald guy (white as a snow cone, I might add), put every ounce of himself into this tune, and walked away looking like a legendary Rockstar. Weird… very weird. But it works!
5. Hard To Handle - One of the great songs from the ‘hair band’ era makes a come back in karaoke fashion. With just a little practice, this song is easy to sing, and a real crowd pleaser. What’s even better about this classic rock tune is, Chris Robinson doesn’t add a whole lot of annotation to his voice. This makes the song vocally doable for anyone.

I leave it on that note, and maybe put together another list later. Enjoy the tunes, and hopefully you’ll be able to try some of those at the next gig!

You know that show, where this cab driver drives his customers around, asking various questions… and they win cash?

Well, someone took the idea and created Cabaraoke. Based in Kansas City, the service offers miniature props, a plethora of songs, and more. Better yet, they record each person singing, then post the videos on YouTube. I wonder if the passengers know this?

I was watching a video at that link, and the audio seemed a bit odd…. like they weren’t using actual karaoke tracks. Instead, it sounded as tho the people were singing to the regular CD. Odd…. maybe it’s just an acoustics thing.

The owner wants to get this business off the ground in many cities. So who knows, maybe it’ll get big and turn into a TV show.

News Source: Daily Chronicle

Michael Moses Griffin, a Northern Ill. University student, rocked the Karaoke World Championship by taking home second place. His final tune of choice - “Give It To Me Baby, by Rick James”. Somehow I’m picturing Dave Chappelle slappin’ the crap out of Japan.

First place had gone to a Malaysian man… gee, didn’t see that one coming.

/sarcasm

Odd thing is, the website didn’t say what our musical ambassador won in terms of cash. However this site tells us that they went home with a few nice things, like a Pro 88 player, some CD+G’s, and mic’s.

Seems like a small haul considering he crossed the Pacific Ocean.

WEEeeeeeeee!!!

Finally, getting things back together on the home front, and got the internet connection back up and rollin’. Pretty darn hard runnin’ a website when you don’t have access.

To kick things off, everyone is going to see MANY updates over the next few months here. I’ve got several new kick ass articles geared towards the karaoke business owner, and some HUGE plans for the singers. Thats right, big daddy is gunna dish out the bucks to make some special projects happen…. but I’m not droppin’ any clues just yet. Let’s just say - “The team has been hired” Bwahahahahahah

Anyways, to kick things off in full speed, I just got this e’mail today regarding a new karaoke/recording company thats open for bookings. RockGarden Music is opening it’s doors to make custom karaoke tracks for the hardcore performance artist willing to spend the money.

“Gee, Shawn… Don’t you just drop the song into some sort of ‘program’ and turn a doo-hicky knob to remove the vocals?”

Well….. I’m not going to sugar coat it.. HELL NO! I’ve personally taken a swing at home recording and if there is one thing I’ve learned - “Sound engineering is extremely f&%#@ difficult”. You’ve got about a hundred different ways to make a track sound like garbage, not including the equipment issues. Then, if the artist isn’t worth a hoot, it’s going to sound like poop coming out anyways. Crap in, Crap out!

However, hiring a professional recording studio can get very expensive, so don’t go bothering poor Dean with “Can I get this song in karaoke format for $20?”

So why bother? Well, believe it or not, there are some people that take their tracks very seriously, as they sometimes enter singing contests. (Theres money in them there vocals) And if you’ve heard some of the tracks “I” have, you’d agree…. getting a professional is the way to go.

But Dean offers a bit more - Full feature analog/digital recording studio ready to get your project off the ground. You can hear some of his sample work here… and it’s fricking amazing! (Listen to track 2.. Darkly Slanted… Amazing!) One thing I’ve learned as a hobbiest musician, it’s not what’s presented up front… its the little nouances in the back. Quick-cut tracks are dry and lifeless, while the tracks that stand the test of time, are rich with life…. if you listen closely. Heck, when listening to todays pro-recorded songs, I can pick out three effects, over dubs, and compression just on the vocal track alone. These things are what creates a ‘feel’ in the song, and Dean has put together some impressive work.

I’ll have to keep in touch with Dean, as I have a ton of questions!

Check him out!

Think you’re good?

Think you’re good enough to compete for $10k in prizes? Thats what IL. residents have geared up for. The Wilmington residents are suckin’ down lasanges and sporting the tight clothes as the competition heats up in a battle royal for ten big ones.

With that kind of cash up for grabs, you’d think that people in other states would even sign the vacation request forms to garner that kind of doe! Me?…. yeah, right.

I think I’m better off standing away from the spotlight, and just stick in a cd or two.