Hi Again!

Hi, I'm back to writing, because I finally remembered my password for this blog.

I'm sure some of you can attest to the annoyance of forgetting a password and having to prove a blog is really yours. I can't be the only one whose done that.

So, I'm back. Still doing karaoke and having a good time. I've been hosting private parties and wedding receptions, instead of working in the bar's full time. 

 

My favorite place to hang out and just sing is still El Toro's in North Tacoma.  They have good food, great servers, a wonderful bartender and a really nice bar manager.  You'd like them I bet.

 

Al is the Host, he's great at mixing the music with the vocals.  El Toro's knows the value of letting us sing full out, so Al can play the music the way it was meant to be played, with a professional sound system, Nice and loud!  :D

 

Al Russell is the Best Karaoke Host with the Most songs available in the Tacoma Area! 

 

I just had to say that.  That's where I sing when I'm not having a Meetup or hosting a party or  wedding reception.  It's a lot of fun, very relaxing and I enjoy the other entertainers in the crowd.  Some of them are very good singers.. really good!

 

I'll be posting a list of karaoke places in and around Tacoma, soon.   So, now that I'm back check back in a bit. 

 

In the meantime, Keep Singing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tacoma Karaoke Grows

I remember being told years ago, "Don't get used to this gig, karaoke is just a fad and it's on the way out".
LOL!
I must say I'm not sorry they were wrong. I have seen the past time grow larger each year and I chuckle to myself whenever another bar opens up with karaoke.
Bars and restaurants along Pacific Ave. have filled up with signs promoting karaoke shows, mostly on friday's and saturday's, there are a couple that run karaoke 3 to 4 days a week. You know who you are and I heartily commend you.
There are singers who just can't get enough of singing and we need these venues to keep us satisfied and sometimes sane.
New businesses have grown up out of the karaoke "fad", we now have the karaoke newspaper, several karaoke shops selling cdg's and karaoke machines, KJ's and DJ's that play karaoke CD's and lots of karaoke websites for Tacoma and the surrounding area.
Yes, my friends it's here to stay and still growing.
Look for me Friday nights at the Valley pub, and on Saturday's at The Flying Boots Bar and Grill, yes still in Tacoma.
Until next post, keep singing and stay happy.

Tacoma Karaoke at The Oak Tree

This is the Oak Tree on Pacific Avenue. Amazing little place, but, not so little once your inside.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Mystic suggested this bar. I'm so glad she did. I went, I looked around, and starting quizzing some of the patrons about the music they enjoyed.
Sure enough on a Wednesday night, it's purdy much a country crowd. We all got along just fine. The KJ/DJ told me his name was "Dick", I didn't quite believe him as some other patrons were calling him Richard and he answered to that. (He told me the "Other host" was Richard).

I don't quite know if Mystic had told him I was a KJ, but, when he started "picking on me"I figured she must have. I sang my first song, and got my applause as I was scooting back to the table (and my friends)
.Dick, got the next singer going, then appeared at my side to ask me if I would sing a duet with him. I was a bit surprised, but, told him it depended on the song.
Then he said he wanted to sing "Summer Lovin'" I smiled as I replied, "as long as you don't get too nasty, I can handle it. "His eyes got big, as he stood up and looked around the room "who's been talkin' about me?" he queried. My smile got bigger, I laughingly said "nobody, guys just always want to kill that song". I don't know if he believed me or not, but, about 3 songs later he called me up to sing with him. I didn't catch everything he said in his introduction, but, I did hear him say "she's a good singer" and something about confidence and wit. Aha!, these were clues as to how he was going to sing the following song. I remember thinking - Oh G r r e a t,
W o n d e r f u l, he's going to attack me.

And he did.

The audience, who knew him, were sympathetic towards me and I had friends out there too, so let the music roll and we'll see what happens..........

dum da dum da dum, da dum dum dum, o you know the song-
summer lovin' had me a blast(him),
summer lovin' happened so fast-(me)
Met a girl crazy for me-(him with a gleam in his eye) ,
Met a boy dumb as can be (me) (hey, I know he's gonna do it so I'll get in the first shot and, hey, the audience laughed......)
Summer days driftin' away to uh ha the summer nights, (us together)
Uh wella wella wella, Uh, tell me more tell me more did you get very far, (guys)
tell me more tell me more like does he have a car, (girls)
uh huh, uh huh, okay,... so you know the song.
I called him gay, the audience laughed,you know the part where the girls say "cause he sounds like a drag" yeah i said "fag" -umm hm, just one more little dig, I wasn't about to get as raunchy as he was getting - and he got his own pants wet
when I said "he was weak, just turned a trick" -he choked on his drink and spilled it on himself.
(just a dribble, but, IT Counts!) You know what? -I survived.
I even got a few laughs of my own. I did have a good time, after I calmed my friends down, (they weren't as amused as I was and some were just plain angry, they said it was disrespectful.) I value my friends' opinions and thank them for caring. I feel kind of like it was a rite of passage, I went thru it, succeeded and I'm over it.
I would go back, after I thoroughly run thru every lyric in that song and analyze it for all evil connotations - and besides Dick kinda cheated, I say if your changing the words around -it should still rhyme. Dick didn't agree with me -he just went all out, way, way out there! I'm smiling -what a nasty mind! But, yup, I still had fun.
What do you think? Would you go back?