by Scott Allison

Created on: December 06, 2008

I remember when karaoke first started its popularity craze in the late 1980's. I was a nightclub dj with a friend that was investing into the business. He did quite well for himself as one of the first karaoke companies in the Charleston SC area. The next thing I knew he had three rigs and four employess working for him. Fast forward to the year 2000 when the drummer of the band I worked with called to tell me that Larry, our lead guitarist, decided to find some greener grass to munch on and left us. That was Thursday night and we were booked to play our regular house job that weekend. Without a way to replace the guitarist Don had called the bar owner telling him we wouldn't be able to perform. The owner of the bar in turn called me and asked me if I would help him out with his newly installed karaoke system he had bought for weeknight fun for his customers but would work just as well for the weekend. I agreed and that began a year and a half of the John and Scott karaoke show. We had a ball with the two of us trading the show back and forth until one of the customers finally drank enough liquid courage to join us on the stage. John sold his bar and I ventured out on my own doing shows for several different bars until it turned more into a second job that didn't quite buy as many groceries as the day job did. I backed off to just private parties and still do them. But the fun of karaoke still lingers in me and I'll get out with my old buddy John every now and then.

From the hosting side of the microphone, I have a pretty good understanding why karaoke is so popular. The answer is quite simple. Everybody wants to have their fifteen minutes of fame. And what easier way to do it than with backround music that sounds very similar to the original song played on the radio, the lyrics right in front of them on a tv screen and, on some cdg's, some pretty good backup singers. Everything is all right there for them. The number of songs converted to cdg format these days is mind blowing. So there is a pretty good chance almost anyone can look through someone's songbooks and find a song they would like to sing. I'll hear negative comments from people about how they can't stand karaoke because they don't like listening to someone, as they say, butcher a good song. My response is to look through the songbook and do better.

The group I get together with occasionally is a very tight knit bunch. We all get there early enough to pull tables together to be one big dysfunctional Partridge Family. Before the host even starts the show there will be three or four big groups. Everyone has their cdg zipper case full of burned discs from home just in case the host with 15,000 songs doesn't have their favorite tune. With a large crowd and lengthy rotation, it doens't take long and you realize it's just about closing time. After several handshakes, a bunch of hugs and a thank you to the host we're all on our way home with smiles on our faces and starlights in our eyes.

You see, everyone got their fix of fifteen minutes of fame but more importantly they've shared the evening with some of the best friends they'll ever have. Because if there's one thing a karaoke enthusiast doesn't do, it's judge those around him at the karaoke bar. Everyone there had a voice and came there to use it. Unless the bar is having a contest. That's a different story altogether.

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