Tequila Karaoke

In the song “Rocky Mountain High”, John Denver sings about “coming home to a place I’ve never been before”. In a way, that’s what the Texas Star was like. The very first joint where I sang Karaoke was a little dive called One Nostalgia Place, where the drinks were cheap and strong, everyone knew each other but welcomed a stranger with open arms, and where the Karaoke was just a bunch of friends singing to each other. Texas Star was just that sort of place. If One Nostalgia Place was my Karaoke graduation, then the Texas Star Club was my homecoming.

The Texas Star Club (on Facebook, no website) stands out, though, for its Karaoke-friendly setup. Although it looks like a tiny place, it’s actually quite spacious inside. There’s a well-stocked bar, of course, plus several pool tables, and the usual tiny bathrooms — is there some sort of city ordiance restricting sit-down toilets to no more than one, in any joint with a liquor license? And there’s no food, not even a pretense of burgers and cheese fries. That may be why there’s a required membership check before you can get in, and it’s 21-and-up, strictly enforced. I’m not up on the intricacies of the Texas liquor laws, but I’m pretty sure different rules apply if you serve food, and can at least pretend to be a bar and grill. Texas Star doesn’t pretend; it’s a bar, period.

Not just any bar, though: the centerpiece of the club is the Karaoke stage. You don’t see it when you first walk in, past the membership desk. You walk in, sit down at the bar, and look back towards the front — and there’s the stage. It’s perfect for Karaoke, with a big dance area in front, and a chair and a table for you and your drink should either be in danger of spilling. And stairs right in the middle for those dramatic forays into the audience.

I visited on a Friday, which is one of the four nights a week presented by Phantom Cobra Karaoke (Facebook link): Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Interestingly, Wednesday is a night when Phantom Cobra is in two places — Texas Star and The Goat, another great place to perform Karaoke (or with your “real” band). Tuesdays and Thursdays are handled by “Mom & Pop Productions”, aka SingYourAssOff.com. Monday night is the only night that the Texas Star *doesn’t* have Karaoke — they make up for it with $2 longnecks and well drinks. But six days a week makes this little hole in the wall one of the very few places in Dallas that could actually call itself a “Karaoke Bar”.

After the jump: Challenges, a great time, a nice surprise. Also, I return to Paradise Burger Co.
Read more about Homecoming at Texas Star Club (plus bonus report from Paradise) »

Quick update: Texas Star turns out to be just as late as everyplace else, nominally starting at 9pm, and definitely not for kids. But it’s still awesome.

Karaoke is definitely a late-night activity, at least the way it’s done around here. It’s seen by bar owners as a way to induce patrons to imbibe larger quantities of “liquid courage”, so the typical hours are 9pm to 2am. The early Karaoke at Paradise Burger Company in Rockwall has been a big hit with families who want to put their kids to bed at a reasonable hour, and reasonable adults who want to put themselves to bed before the bars close. But with rumblings that Paradise’s Karaoke might end after the Rockwall Harbor concert series ends (a big mistake if they follow through with the threat), I wanted to find a new early midweek Karaoke.

So I went to the place that pointed me to my very first Karaoke bar, One Nostalgia Place, almost two years ago. But the site, dfwkaraoke.com, is suffering from the sort of link rot that is almost inevitable without constant pruning. Here’s a list of venues in central and east Dallas, and on through the eastern suburbs, that *don’t* have Karaoke on Thursdays (much less 8pm or before like their listings say):

• Decanter Wine Bar, Oak Cliff. Went out of business shortly after shafting their Karaoke host.
• Dos Banderas, Garland. Doesn’t do Karaoke any more.
• Knox Street Pub, Uptown Dallas. No Karaoke, just a DJ on the weekends.
• Scooters, Trinity Mills Rd. in far north Dallas. I work nearby, and saw the place close several months ago.

I did find one place, Tacos Y Salsas in Sachse (just past Firewheel)... but their early Karaoke is on Wednesday, not Thursday. Not helpful; that’s choir practice night.

Down in the T’s, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to find anything. Terrell Bowling Center looked interesting, but my phone call went to an answering machine. I didn’t leave a message there; I left one on their Facebook page instead. I hope they’re better at visiting Facebook than I am!

By this point, I was really wishing I lived in Fort Worth. The site lists literally dozens of early evening Karaoke venues. I don’t have time to validate them — if I did, I could start my own index (and then watch it fall apart when I ran out of time). But if you’re lucky enough to live on the west side of the Metroplex, call around and you’ve got a good shot. Also, if you’re in Sherman/Denison, you can Karaoke at a Taco Cabana, and in Canton there’s a winery and tasting room where the Karaoke starts at 6:30. But I’m in Mesquite, and while the drive to Canton or the Red River is fun, it’s not happening on a Thursday night.

So when I saw a joint called “Texas Star”, at Ferguson Road and Gus Thomasson in East Dallas, I figured it would be more of the same. I tried to check the website and almost gave up, because the website was for the wrong Texas Star. (I submitted a correction to Google.) But I figured I’d call anyway... already late getting home, may as well.

To my great surprise, the phone picked up on the first or second ring. On the other end was a very friendly man, with the sort of voice that tells you he’s busy, but he’s happy to make time for you. I asked — tentatively — if he had Karaoke. Sure enough, he has Karaoke tonight... and every other night except Monday! And without any prompting, he named off the drink specials in effect tonight and most other nights. I’d have loved to talk longer, but I could tell he had a lot to do to get ready for the evening. They don’t have a website, just their DFWKaraoke.com listing, but Texas Star in East Dallas is absolutely on my list of Karaoke joints to visit ASAP.

But that wasn’t all. The guy at Texas Star specifically mentioned that tonight’s Karaoke was presented by “Mom & Pop Karaoke”. A quick Google search turned up their website: SingYourAssOff.com, with the disclaimer “Don’t let the name [Mom & Pop] fool you — we are Kick-Ass Karaoke!” And get this... all their Texas Star gigs are early, by Karaoke standards. Three nights a week at Texas Star: 8:30 Tuesday/Thursday, and an awesome 7:00pm show on Sunday night. Their Friday/Saturday gig in Rockwall (at a joint called The Scoreboard) isn’t too late, either: 8pm Friday, 9pm Saturday. I’ll send them an email to hopefully verify the times.

I guess the moral of the story is that looking for Karaoke is like singing a song like Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”. Sometimes, just when you think you’ve got things figured out, you get a kick in the pants that reminds you why you do it in the first place.

I don’t watch TV. When I was a teenager and left my parents’ home, I took a dozen towels, but a TV was the furthest thing from my mind. When a relative gave me a TV for Christmas, I used it to watch Texas Rangers games — with the TV sound turned off and the radio on. I follow the business of TV much more than the shows and celebrities. So I know why so-called “Reality TV” is so popular... it’s cheap and easy.

So when I heard that ABC was starting up something called “Karaoke Battle USA”, I felt both excitement... and fear. I love Karaoke, and seeing it get more exposure would be great. But the world of Reality TV is so far removed from real life. It’s full of made-up conflict between contestants chosen for their ability to carry the storyline, not for their ability to perform the “real” task before them. Their smiles are as fake as their silicone-enhanced breasts.

By contrast, I love Karaoke because it’s real... really real. Anyone can do it, even me, and there’s no place for chair-throwing, made-for-TV histrionics. Could ABC resist the temptation to turn their new Karaoke reality show into “Survivor: Karaoke”?

The answer... was a resounding “Yes”.

I won’t go into a play-by-play of the Karaoke contestants — you can get that at this TV blogger’s review of the show. I wasn’t really that concerned about winners and losers anyway. I wanted to see if the Karaoke would be the star, and it was.

ABC did an excellent job of combining human-interest background stories with actual performances. The pieces weren’t schmaltzy and tear-jerking, and they didn’t have that terrible mood music that tells you how you’re supposed to feel. Rather, the music behind the between-performance bits was itself Karaoke music, which kept the mood consistent through the two-hour show.

The judges are a big part of the action, of course — that’s been true since The Gong Show and before. ABC did a good job of mixing styles, by choosing an industry insider (Joe Levy), a singer whose songs make good Karaoke (Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips), and a past winner of a nationwide Karaoke contest (Brian “Cowboy” Scott). The MC, who actually got relatively little face time, was Joey Fatone, whose picture once adorned every teenage girl’s wall when he was in N*SYNC. Wilson played the diva, with the two other judges relegated to more of a supporting role. But the combination worked, and the producers did great at balancing the judges’ shots with the rest of the show’s content.

The Karaoke, though, was the focus of the show. It was clear that each singer had really spent time on the Karaoke stage, and you could easily build as much of a personal connection with the singer as you could in any Karaoke bar. Even more amazing was that they were able to keep that feeling while shortening the songs by at least two thirds! I’m sure each singer originally sang the full version of each song, but the edited presentation was seamless and unnoticeable unless you were singing along. I’m sure a lot of us were, but anyone who’s waited for their turn after “Sweet Child of Mine” knows the pain of waiting. ABC absolutely made the right choice, and did it well.

Probably one of the best things ABC did is to partner with Karaoke World Championships USA, one of the very few outfits that has successfully managed to organize a nationwide, multi-venue Karaoke contest. Remember when that one outfit was going to have a big contest in Dallas that never materialized? Near as I can tell, they were paying their previous winners from the next city’s venue fees, which was a recipe for disaster. KWCUSA seems to have the business sense to do it right, and the Karaoke sense to do it fun. By hooking up with KWCUSA, ABC avoided looking silly. I recently watched the movie “Duets”, which was supposedly about Karaoke contests but was clearly written by someone who had never attended one. “Karaoke Battle USA” could have made a similar mistake, but didn’t fall into the trap.

The scoring is interesting. There are five separate categories, some of which conflict with each other — a singer who sings right on pitch won’t get many points for originality. This works well, though, because there are many styles of Karaoke, and the goal is to find the most entertaining singer — a subjective judgement.

I liked the final round process, too: the top two male performers had a sing-off, as did the top two female performers. I’ve often wondered what I would do if I made it to a second round, so it was great to see these performers make their choices. Interestingly, both winners chose not to change their style — they brought the same act to a different song with easy confidence. Both losers, by contrast, made a change. The guy toned down the performance aspect, while the lady cranked her “Diva” mode up to 11. Both of them should have just been themselves, and that’s a lesson I’ll take to the Karaoke stage with me.

I’ll also take a song. I hope that I’ll hear a song each week that inspires me to add it to my to-do list. Last week’s addition is “Alone”, by Heart, from the mid-80s. It was the one that Cory sang in the final round when he decided to just focus on the vocals. He ended up making it “pretty”, but I’ve always seen that song as one of desperate desire: “And now it chills me to the bone, how do I get you alone?” It’ll take some quality time with iTunes, but I want to see what I can do with the song.

July was a vacation month, and despite seeing some possible opportunities, I didn’t make it to a Karaoke bar while I and the family were out of town. Though we did see a sign for “Strip Karaoke” at an establishment of ill repute in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I don’t think that would be anything like the Karaoke experience I usually write about, so I’ll let someone else research that particular “style”.

I did make it to Paradise Burger Company in Rockwall last Thursday, though, and found the place still packed to the gills. The waiting list was over 30 singers long, but Totally Twisted Karaoke’s DJ Robert O kept things moving smoothly. Officially, this gig is only supposed to last the summer, and would likely end after the last Concert by the Lake on August 18. But the owners of the Paradise would be foolish to quit having Karaoke at this point. The patio is always packed with customers who simply would not be there if they weren’t listening and waiting for their turn. Anyone who turns his back on a whole swath of customers deserves their fate.

That’s more or less what happened across town in Oak Cliff, at Decanter Restaurant and Wine Bar. I did my best to find the positive aspects of my Karaoke experience there on its inaugural night, in hopes that things would get better. They didn’t. The owners expected something for nothing, and didn’t get it — you want Karaoke, you gotta pay for it. Apparently, TTK weren’t the only folks who said “See ya!” to Decanter... it closed its doors abruptly after just eight months in business, and yanked its Twitter and Facebook feeds for good measure. Here’s what I said in reply to the Oak Cliff Advocate blurb about the closing:

I can’t say I’m all that surprised. I visited Decanter when they started up Karaoke, and while the food was great, the heat in the bar area up front was stifling — and that was back in June. I gave a brief review on my Karaoke blog, and tried really hard to cast the night in a positive light, because sometimes thing break.

But the way you treat your partners is completely within a restaurant’s control. Without going into detail, I can say that the owners treated the Karaoke hosts shamefully, refusing to stick to their agreements. You can’t stay in business like that, no matter how delicious your goat milk cheese appetizer may be.

This could be a great location, and I hope someone moves in soon. And I hope they bring Karaoke — Barbara’s Pavillion is fun, but North Oak Cliff can surely support more than one Karaoke venue!

But it’s not all gloom and doom on the Karaoke scene. On Friday (8/12), ABC television will premiere “Karaoke Battle USA”, a reality show that follows contestants through four regional competitions (including Houston), and culminates with the championship rounds at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. This event should boost visibility of Karaoke, which in DFW is still largely relegated to late-nights at seedy bars. And there’s a local connection, too — TTK DJ Robert O and Angie, a frequent singer at Paradise Burger Company, both went to Houston to compete. You can see Angie in the video at this page on the Karaoke Battle USA site, at about the :50 second mark.

Meanwhile, I didn’t have a chance to issue an Inbox Update last month, but here are some highlights from the Totally Twisted Karaoke newsletter. I highly recommend you hit their website and sign up, because they don’t just give an event listing — each issue includes useful and/or funny information about the Karaoke subculture.

* Schedule: 7 shows crammed into 5 nights a week, with more in the works (according to Twitter). See their full schedule on their site.

* On Wednesday, August 24, TTK will be performing for the “Yelp Elite”, a selection of the most prolific social mavens in DFW. I wasn’t invited — I’ve never Yelped except when I hit my thumb with a hammer — but I’m sure it’ll be all over Twitter that night and the next day.

* The Dallas Tavern Guild, an association of bar and club owners serving the GLBT community, is holding the finals of its “Voice of Pride” talent competition on Sunday, August 14. Included in the finalists are “Spare Parts” — Robert O (TTK DJ) and Angie (his duet partner at Paradise Burger). Tables are $100 for 4 people, so it’s too rich for my blood, but it should be pretty awesome.

* Leah was a guest on KVIL’s “Not So Perfect Parent” radio show on Sunday, August 7, and is hoping to get an audio file to make available. Meanwhile, there’s a quick writeup at the radio show’s website

* Finally, TTK presents “5 Essential Tips” to surviving Karaoke night as a singer, courtesy of TheKaraokeChannel.com’s Karaoke Lounge.

It’s always fun to be at the first night of a new Karaoke event — there’s always a surprise in store. A few times, it’s been clear that the gig wouldn’t be around long. Decanter in Bishop Arts, for example — they never promoted the Karaoke event, didn’t work fairly with the DJ crew, and cancelled it just as people were getting excited. This glowing Yelp review mentions the great Karaoke — too bad management wouldn’t pay for it! Other times, you can tell that the first night of Karaoke is the start of something big. That’s the feeling I got at Agave in Rockwall Harbor.

The best Karaoke venues already have a sense of how to integrate music into their envrionment, and Agave has a strong musical focus. The Wednesday of Karaoke, they had a guitar player singing outside on the patio while the Karaoke went on inside! This worked surprisingly well — patrons who wanted to be entertained could enjoy the guitarist, while those of us who wanted to be entertainers had the inside.

And Agave also knows how to promote their events. Typically, the folks at Totally Twisted Karaoke have to do their own promotion, putting up their banner along with their equipment. Agave, by contrast, had Karaoke featured on their posted weekly schedule, and with a sign in the nearby plaza.

That let Robert O, the TTK DJ for the event, focus on providing the entertainment... which, as usual, was done perfectly. He kept the singers moving along smoothly, something not all DJs have the patience to do. I even heard that the Agave staff were pleasantly surprised by how happy the singers were. Nobody felt like they were being blocked from singing by long sets of non-Karaoke music, or by outright DJ ineptness. I’ve seen both of those conditions at other hosts’ shows (though sometimes caused by events beyond the DJs control), and it’s very frustrating for singers! That didn’t happen at Agave — despite 15 singers or more on the list, everyone felt like they got their turn.

Not to say that there wasn’t a break for line dancing. The space at Agave for dancing wasn’t huge, but the crowd somehow squeezed into every available space for the Cuban Shuffle and Cha-Cha Slide. By the time it was over, people were moving in all directions, all having a blast.

Agave is primarily a high-end Southwestern/Mexican restaurant, and the food did not disappoint. Bibi got Stuffed Jalapenos that were divine, with a great balance of flavors stuffed into big, fresh big peppers. I came late, so I just got nachos — which weren’t free. I’ve never paid for nachos and salsa before, but they were fresh, not greasy, and the salsa was flavorful without being overpowering. And although the entrees were a bit out of my price range that night — but reasonable for top-notch food — the drinks were *much* cheaper than at most other Karaoke spots. The waitress knew her alcohol, too, and the drinks came out perfectly mixed.

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention Agave’s other distinguishing feature: it has the best location in Rockwall Harbor, overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard. If the Karaoke gets too overwhelming — it’s certainly loud — you can go for a walk with your honey as the sun sets over the lake. It’s a great way to have romantic cuddling and loud partying, all at the same place. How often can you do that?

Song Check: I was feeling cranky, so I started out with “Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon to get the anger out of my system. It worked so good that I was able to croon “After the Lovin’” by Englebert Humperdink later, for my wonderful Bibi. Me and her sang Barry Manilow’s “Ready to Take a Chance Again” together — boy, that one is tricky! Listen to it carefully and you’ll hear how the chorus has a dramatic, variable pause before it starts. And my daughter Sam sang “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert... a perfect song for my sweet little girl, who you’d better not mess with if you know what’s good for you!

If I’d had time, I would have written up a preview of this new Karaoke gig, but with kids getting out of school and a horse about to foal, there hasn’t been time. But there was no way I could miss this — the new Thursday night gig with Totally Twisted Karaoke at Decanter Restaurant & Wine Lounge. I’ve been pushing for Karaoke to come to Oak Cliff, and the Bishop Arts District in particular, since I first started singing. The only Karaoke in North Oak Cliff is at a place called Barbara’s Pavillion — a great place that I reviewed last year, and found to be a lot of fun to be sure. But it’s a tiny joint, with a bare-bones Karaoke setup... and it’s just a fact of life that a gay bar (even a laid-back one like Barbara’s) isn’t for everyone.

I was definitely ready for Karaoke at Decanter... but Decanter itself didn’t seem to know what to expect. It’s a new place — it just opened last year — and doesn’t seem to have tried out any sort of musical event until now. They’d double-booked a party the section where TTK was supposed to set up their awesome light show, with lasers and disco balls, leaving them to set up in the small front area. This had the advantage of making the Karaoke visible from the street, but it was a challenge — the south-facing windows let in a lot of heat. It’s hard to sample Decanter’s selection of 30 wines by-the-glass when you’re sweating!

We were up against another obstacle: the Dallas Mavericks were playing in the third game of the NBA Finals. Everyone in Dallas was glued to a television — likely causing Karaoke delays at sports bars across the Metroplex.

But the heat and the sparse crowd — me and Bibi and some friends from Oak Cliff — didn’t stop Leah of Totally Twisted Karaoke from setting up the show. Our bunch sang and sang, and even had enough wine to ask Leah to sing one of her bawdy parody songs — a raucous version of “I Will Survive” centered around a disappointed woman and a sexual partner who doesn’t need his ego stroked, and who runs on Duracells. (I’ll let your imagination take it from there, but trust me — it won’t take it far enough!) Absolutely hilarious. It takes creativity to take something a bit off-color and make it funny, and Leah has it in spades.

The Mavs game ended with a rousing come-from-behind victory, and as if on cue, the streets of the Bishop Arts District filled up to their usual late-evening bustle. Our friends had to go, and me and Bibi needed to leave as well, but I couldn’t help but stay for another couple of songs, just to get the new patrons in the mood. I sang the Bee Gees’ “Tragedy”, and after one of the newcomers sang a Spanish/English song, I treated the crowd to “Asereje” (The Ketchup Song). It totally set the mood, and as I left, folks were perusing the books and signing up to sing. Because if a balding white guy can sing Las Ketchup en espanol, *anyone* can do Karaoke.

Leah reports that Decanter will be bringing Totally Twisted Karaoke back next week — though they won’t be starting until 10pm, standard bar-karaoke hours. I may not be able to make it very often, with work looming on Friday morning, so I’ll likely continue to sing at the other TTK Thursday gig — 7:30 at Paradise Burger Co in Rockwall. But whenever I get the chance, I’ll tell my Oak Cliff friends to head over to Decanter, for good food (omg that goat milk cheese dish was awesome), wine and a full bar, and the best Karaoke team in town.

I’m trying not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good... I want to do a large-scale writeup of every Karaoke night, but all I end up with for my efforts is a half-written draft on my desktop, and nothing on the blog. So here’s the first installment of a hopefully-frequent blog entry: Quick Hits, a short review of my most recent Karaoke exploits.

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White Rock Sports Bar
Second Friday of the month

As I noted in the last Inbox Update, Carmen Gulledge (famous for Sundays at The Goat) sent me a note to tell me about her upcoming monthly gig at White Rock Sports Bar — I was a little fuzzy on the name, but it was right where Carmen said it would be. Being fuzzy on the name led to an interesting situation, though... I didn’t catch the “Bar” part, so it was just a little dicey bringing the kids. It was me, Bibi, my son, and also Delilah and her daughter Vanessa — but inside the building, there wasn’t any problem.

The singing was great, and Carmen was a wonderful Karaoke hostess as usual. I didn’t get a chance to sample the drinks, though I was encouraged by the fact that they *don’t* have drink specials. That should hopefully mean that all the drinks are priced fairly. It’s not a dinner destination, though — the menu is exclusively bar food. Cheese fries were free of any garnish or spices, and a grilled chicken salad would have been better off without the salad part.

The show started at 8:30, but the crowd didn’t start building until late. In fact, it seemed really empty until we were heading out — everyone was on the patio, smoking. Bibi went out ahead of us, and experienced one of the reasons most bars kick out the kids after 9... grownups behaving badly. She saw one lady who was quite enamored of her well-endowed bosoms, which inspired her tablemate (who may or may not have been an acquaintance *before* applying alcohol) to check them out for himself, with his hands down her blouse. Ahem. Perhaps it’s better to let the grownups be immature on their own, and just keep taking the kids to shows like Paradise Burger Company.

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Six Flags Over Texas
Every day the park is open

The next day was my son’s annual Middle School Band Trip to Six Flags over Texas. Like last year, he rode the rides, and I sang Karaoke. But this year, my fiancee Bibi was with me, which made for a much more enjoyable time. We even rode some rides — nothing wilder than the Mine Train, though, because I hate drops and she’s just not into rollercoasters any more. But we kept coming back to the Karaoke pavilion, along the walkway from the Oil Derrick to the Texas Giant, in front of the Yosemite Sam/Bugs Bunny kiddie ride.

Gone was the promise of Dance Dance Revolution — the sign was gone, and the Six Flags Karaoke sign was now front and center. DDR at Six Flags was an idea that probably sounded good at the time, but would have been a sweaty mess even if they’d been able to keep the pads working. Hardcore players would be perfectly happy playing DDR at the arcade — it was in surprisingly good condition, and I even drew an unexpected crowd for my dance. One caveat: the life meter is set to drop extremely fast.

The focus on Karaoke also included changes to the stage area. They removed the decorative blocks that previously occupied half the gazebo, and replaced them with a faux light bar in the back. The DJ’s station was moved to the main gazebo entrance, next to the sign in sheet. A more organized line had been set up for viewing the book and signing up, and the book itself had been replaced with a new one ordered by song name instead of artist. The process worked even more smoothly than last year.

There was still no place to sit, though. Which was too bad, because this year there were several high school choir groups at the park — and did they put on a show! Several times, the other choir members would line-dance behind the singers, and the singers themselves were fearless. One teenage boy sang the theme songs from “Pocahontas” and “The Little Mermaid” — in a lilting falsetto that was both amazing and hilarious. That sort of experimentation went on all day.

I went on right after “The Little Mermaid” singer... and it was a good thing I did. Me and Bibi saw “Ring My Bell”, the cute ‘70s song (the only hit by Anita Ward), and signed up to do it together. But by the time our spot came around, Bibi realized that she didn’t really know the words, so she persuaded me to go on by myself. I started and sang the first few notes low, but it just didn’t work at all — I had to go high.

Maybe it was the influence of the singer before me, but I managed to sing the whole song in falsetto. I’ve never dared to try that on the Karaoke stage before! Bibi said it sounded great... and in fact, she thought it sounded much better than my low-end growl, the other vocal technique I’ve picked up from Karaoke. We talked about making some stylistic changes, to prevent me from singing a song like “Careless Whisper” (George Michael) at a full forte all the way through. And I’m working on some new songs that I’d considered to be out of my range... until that kid sang the “Little Mermaid” song.

I got a quick note from Carmen Gulledge, the fiery Karaoke DJ at The Goat, which I’ve raved about several times. She has a once-a-month Karaoke gig at White Rock Grill, 718 N. Buckner Boulevard in Dallas. It’s the second Friday of the month, so the next time around is this week. And it’s early: 8:30 to 11:30, which will definitely help with getting up for Saturday’s middle school band trip to Six Flags with my son. I think there’s a good chance I’ll be able to check it out — I’ll be camping on Thursday night, so I’ll miss my usual weekly Karaoke fix at Paradise Burger. Not that I’m hooked on Karaoke or anything!

I can’t find any listing for White Rock Grill on Google, but that address is at the corner of Buckner and Northcliff, in the center that’s home to Green Spot Market. I love Green Spot — they’re a convenience store with healthy, organic alternatives to the usual salty, over-processed snack foods. Their breakfast tacos are awesome — and cheap. Plus, I can be certain that the eggs are from free-range hens and that the bacon came from happy pigs.

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Here’s this week’s email from Totally Twisted Karaoke. The weekly schedule update is highlighted by a special feature on Karaoke etiquette. I’ve seen almost every one of these suggestions violated at some point — sometimes it’s funny (in a “wow, that drunk dude/chick is really stupid” way), but usually it’s just annoying. There may be no “rules” in Karaoke, but following these guidelines will make the Karaoke experience more fun for you *and* for the rest of the crowd.

To be honest, though, there’s one suggestion in the list I’ve never seen violated. It’s the last one.

But the most awesome thing in TTK’s newsletter this week is Karaoke Cat.

I don’t know where they found this image — if I do, I’ll link to it and give credit where credit is due. But this picture is AWESOME. I almost want to get drunk enough to tattoo this cat on my arm. This cat rawks.

Dear Karaoke Fans,

This week’s newsletter focuses on karaoke etiquette with some very basic guidelines to remember while enjoying your local karaoke show.

Our goal at Totally Twisted Karaoke is for everyone to have a great time and enjoy their karaoke experience with us. We pride ourselves in having the best song selections and state-of-the-art equipment. If we don’t have the song you want to sing, we will try our best to get it for you. We try to set ourselves apart from the competition by keeping our rotation fair and not playing favorites. We hope you will join us at one of our weekly shows and experience the difference for yourself.

Sincerely,

Leah Blakely
Totally Twisted Karaoke
214–697-9657

Karaoke Etiquette

When you attend a karaoke show, there a few things you should keep in mind.

• Buy food and drink at your karaoke show!! The owner of the venue needs to make sales at the bar in order to justify the expense of paying for karaoke. If you go to karaoke and drink water all night, you are not helping to support your show. It’s just common courtesy to buy something if you are singing all night.
• It may look cool in a music video, but if you cover the mic with your hand when you sing, the KJ cannot turn it up loud enough to compensate without causing feedback. Hold the mic normally and in front of your mouth for the best sound possible.
• Don’t sing backup for someone unless they ask you to do so. Its not cool to run up and join in on someone’s song if they didn’t invite you. You wouldn’t want someone to Bogart in on your song!
• PLEASE WRITE LEGIBLY ON YOUR SONGSLIP. When the KJ looks at your songslip and they cannot read your writing, it makes it hard for them to pronounce your name correctly, as well as enter the correct song for you to sing! Don’t get mad at the KJ for getting your name wrong if they can’t read the slip!
• Cheer for every singer. Nothing feels more awkward than finishing up your song to the sound of crickets chirping.. You don’t like it, so don’t do that to someone else. Show your love for every singer!
  You will appreciate the return favor after YOU sing!
• Treat the equipment with respect! Let’s face it, Roger Daltrey looks cool and all, but you could damage the equipment or even hurt someone. So please don’t swing the mic by the cord. And when you are done with your song, please don’t drop the mic on the floor!
• Pay attention to the announcements your KJ is making! He’s got important stuff to tell you! You may be interested to know what the drink specials are, upcoming events, or changes to the karaoke schedule there..
• When your name is called, please come up to sing! Singers who are not paying attention to the rotation slow everything down for everyone. Most karaoke shows have a rotation right on the screen so you can be aware of when your turn is coming up.
• Please remain calm if someone else signs up to sing a song you like. You may belt out a fabulous version of Ball & Chain by Janis Joplin, but it’s first come, first served.
• The singing rotation fills up typically an hour before close, so you shouldn’t show up at the end of a show and expect to sing. Its not fair to all the folks who have been there all night waiting for their turn in the rotation to see someone swoop in at the last minute and get to sing.
• HAVE FUN!! This isn’t American Idol. No one is judging you, everyone is there to have a good time. Just give it a try and we are sure you will be back for more! [Note: This is the one rule that seems to be honored by everyone who gets up on stage. I guess the only ones breaking it are those who are too scared to come up to the mike! –rb]

TTK WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Sing with Totally Twisted Karaoke at one of these locations every week!

THURSDAYS
PARADISE BURGERS 730‑1130
2901 Summer Lee Drive #107
Rockwall, TX

BOOZERS 8–12
211 M and M Ranch Road
Granbury, TX

FRIDAYS
HAT TRICKS 930–130
101 E. Corporate Drive
Lewisville, TX

SATURDAYS
PEKERS BAR 945–145
2615 Oak Lawn Ave
Dallas, TX

SUNDAYS
SOL IRLANDES 9–1
1525 Main Street
Dallas, TX

Here’s a note I sent today to my Original Dixie Chicks email announcement list:

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The Court Yard Hounds tour, with just Emily and Martie, has come and gone — and for reasons that are open to rampant speculation, it spawned a mini Dixie Chicks tour as well. It’s still status quo so far, with both the Dixie Chicks and Court Yard Hounds remaining active on Twitter and email, and probably other social media outlets I just haven’t had time to keep up with. Generally, the two sides of the coin echo each other, with “DCX” messages touting “CYH” events and vice versa.

But the latest message came with an intriguing subject: “More from the Dixie Chicks Archives!” Here’s the info from the CYH email:

Live Chat Tomorrow with More from the Dixie Chicks Archives!

If you missed the last Live from HEK broadcast, you missed old Dixie Chicks Japanese performances, Emily’s now infamous moonwalk, an old school DCX McDonald’s commercial, and Martie and Emily donning wrestling masks and holding a match right there in the studio! Tune in tomorrow, May 3rd at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT to catch the next LIVE chat and see what else they dig up from the archives to share with you. They’ll also be answering your questions which you can leave here or on Facebook!

There’s a link (I’ll include it below) to the April 19 chat, which I haven’t had a chance to view in its entirety because it’s 30 minutes long. But it starts with with the Dixie Chicks’ 1996 “Country Sunshine” TV broadcast from Japan, less than a year after Natalie’s arrival in the group in October 1995. It’s a transition period — they’re still performing their signature Western/Bluegrass mix and wearing the cowgirl frills that Natalie would later reject in favor of the Shania Twain look.

I’ll be watching the videos — the April one and tomorrow’s — in hopes that their trip through the archives will at least include some acknowledgements of the band’s roots in the early 90s, the three albums they cut before Natalie joined, and founding members Robin Lynn Macy and Laura Lynch. But even if it doesn’t go that far back, the Erwin sisters’ willingness to look back at their Cowgirl past is a welcome departure from the Sony Corporate santitized image they projected when they hit big.

Links:

Court Yard Hounds website

Blog entry about upcoming chat

April 19 Live Chat on Court Yard Hounds

Twitter links:
@courtyardhounds
@dixiechicks

My own Twitter link — mostly Karaoke, with occasional Dixie Chicks notes
@Tequila_K

Email may be SOOOO 2007, when all the cool kids are on Facebook, but email is still an effective way to stay in contact. Many Karaoke DJ’s include a spot on their song slips for an email address... but then never get around to sending updates. Bad move! If you’re in business (any business), you should never pass up an opportunity to toot your own horn.

So to celebrate the DJ’s who see this wisdom, I’ll post any updates I receive by email to the blog.

Of course, there’s a down side... if you don’t pay attention, your email can come out looking amateurish. So pay attention to those silly things like spelling, capitalization, and above all, make sure those links point to the actual web sites! I’ll fix things somewhat in my reposts (especially links), but in general any errors in the postings below are the property of the DJ’s who made them. Also, I completely disclaim any inappropriate clothing suggestions. :(

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From Steve Z, sent 04/25/2011:
I’m afraid this DJ’s email includes several of the issues mentioned above. OTOH, I’m an email snob, so... party on!

new show and show schedule
hello all

It’s been a while since I sent an email out and seems to be the time to do it.
first off the advocate magazine called the owner of the british rose and apologized for not making it on Saturday and have rescheduled for this Friday where they will take pictures of the rose and it’s friday night crowd.

So come on out and we’ll try it again.
also
I have picked up and new Tuesday night show and will start tomorrow night at lonestar legends in Garland see the karaoke schedule below:

also it’s that time of year and we are thinking of having a house party on memorial day at my house in Sachse where the usual night of drinking, singing and playing all sorts of games, new this year is our 24 ft above ground circular pool so you can bring your swim trunks if you want to (and of course for the girls tops aren’t maditory –LOL).
if you are interested in showing up get back to me and we’ll talk.

KARAOKE SCHEDULE
——————————–

TUESDAY NIGHT
9:00 — 1:00
LONESTAR LEGENDS
1146 BELT LINE RD GARLAND
(SAME PARKING LOT AS NICKELRAMA)
lonestarbarandgrilltx.com

WEDNESDAY NIGHT
7:30 — 12:00
MONKEY’S PUB & GRUB
7340 Hwy 78 #500 SACHSE
monkeyspubngrub.com

THURSDAY NIGHT
9:00 — 1:00
LONESTAR LEGENDS
1146 BELT LINE RD GARLAND
(SAME PARKING LOT AS NICKELRAMA)
lonestarbarandgrilltx.com

FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHTS
9:00 — 1:00
THE BRITISH ROSE PUB
8989 FOREST LN DALLAS
britishrosepub.net

Don’t forget that either me or my bars can be found on facebook

Keep on Singing
Steve Z

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From Totally Twisted Karaoke, sent 04/27/2011:
These guys are, without a doubt, one of the classiest acts in DFW, with an informative and well-formatted newsletter. Only problem: I can’t reproduce their links. I highly recommend signing up for updates at their web site.

Totally Twisted Karaoke Newsletter
Dear Karaoke Fan,

We like to keep you updated on our new karaoke shows in your area and other important information regarding our service. You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed up for our mailing list at one of our karaoke shows. To unsubscribe, please follow the instructions at the bottom of the email.

Sincerely,

Leah Blakely
Totally Twisted Karaoke

Karaoke Loop Contest Announcement!
Karaoke Loop just released a new version and we’re really excited about the new “Favorite Songs” list feature. Now, anyone can create a list of their favorite karaoke songs, and save key changes preferences and notes for each song. To celebrate, Karaoke Loop is giving away a $150 Apple gift card to one lucky person who creates a Favorite Songs list.

To enter the contest, all you need to do is create a list of Favorite Songs within the App or on the mobile site, and you’re entered to win. One random Karaoke Loop user will be chosen to receive the gift card on June 1, 2011. If you already have a “Faves List” in Karaoke Loop, you’re already entered to win. Must be a U.S. resident, click here for full contest details.

Creating your “Faves List” is as easy as searching our song database by Artist or Title, and then tapping the “Add to Favorites” button. You can even set key change preferences or add notes for each song. Note: You have to be using the latest version of Karaoke Loop to enjoy this new feature.

Help out Karaoke Loop & TTK by Checking IN!
Prove your loyalty to your favorite karaoke shows by Checking-In via Karaoke Loop. Not only might you earn the title of “The Regular”, you also help out that show and your KJ (for directions on how to Check-In, watch this YouTube video).

TTK WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Sing with Totally Twisted Karaoke at one of these locations every week!

THURSDAYS
PARADISE BURGER CO 730‑1130
2901 Summer Lee Drive #107
Rockwall, TX

BOOZERS 8–12
211 M and M Ranch Road
Granbury, TX

FRIDAYS
HAT TRICKS 930–130
101 E. Corporate Drive
Lewisville, TX

SATURDAYS
PEKERS BAR 945–145
2615 Oak Lawn Ave
Dallas, TX

SUNDAYS
SOL IRLANDES MEXICAN GRILL 9–1
1525 Main Street
Dallas, TX

About Us
Totally Twisted Karaoke is available for private parties, special events, bars, clubs, restaurants, whatever you can think of! We will bring the party directly to you. All you need to do is get up there and sing! Whether you are a novice or a karaoke junkie, we offer the most up-to-date selection of karaoke music available. We specialize only in karaoke, so we purchase the newest karaoke releases each month as soon as they become available. We make sure that YOU always have the most current karaoke music to sing!

Our computer-based professional karaoke system features the most current selection of karaoke songs to choose from in the DFW Metroplex, played over a 1200 watt PA system. We know how to rock! We have something for everyone to sing! We purchase the newest releases to add to our songlist every month. We update our songbooks at least twice a month, all of the music we have to offer is listed in our books.

No other karaoke company in DFW can compete with our selection of new releases. If we don’t have your song this week, we will do our utmost to have it for you by our next show. That’s our commitment to being the BEST!