Tequila Karaoke

I’ve been away from the Karaoke blog, but not from the scene. And it’s been better than ever, now that we’ve got a whole bunch going with us. I’ve always noticed how much fun it is when a whole table full of friends is cheering on their singer — and now that I’m in that sort of group, I’m more hooked on Karaoke than ever!

The most exciting Karaoke news this year came by Twitter from Totally Twisted Karaoke. They’d been playing consistently in Dallas, but I never could seem make it to their late, bar-hour shows. And their shows in Waco and Glen Rose were definitely too far a drive — I don’t know how they do it! So when they tweeted that they were getting a trial run at a burger joint in Rockwall — starting at 7pm — I was stoked. Rockwall is just over a couple of puddles (Lake Ray Hubbard) from my home base of Mesquite, and the early start would ensure that Friday morning wouldn’t be painful.

Their Facebook post included another interesting tidbit: they’ve got three weeks to prove that they can draw a crowd. I took that as a command, and gathered up the troops for a full-scale invasion of Paradise Burger Company.

The restaurant is in a beautiful location in Rockwall’s new “Harbor District”, on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. The complex is designed to be a place to walk around and enjoy the lake, the breeze, and the tall fountain in front of the Cinemark theater. The theater faces the lake, and the fountain is the center of a plaza where families play and couples stroll.

Unfortunately, parking doesn’t seem to have been part of the design. There’s no garage, like you would find in an urban walkable area like Dallas’ West Village or even Mockingbird Station. Rockwall has notoriously rejected any hints of Transit-Oriented Development — so there’s no way to get there except by car. A thin ribbon of parking extends from behind the theatre, along the hillside, and over to a Hilton hotel. On this Thursday night, the parking was full all the way around — I had to drop off the kids and park at the far end of the hotel lot. But the night was perfect for a brisk walk.

Paradise Burger Company is a burger joint and a bar — in fact, the bar is right in front, complete with tropical-looking swings (with a sign restricting them to folks 18 and older). The ceiling is decorated with an Amelia Earhart style plane threatening to crash into the thatched roof over the bar. For burgers, you go to the back of the restaurant and place your order, which is brought to your table. The menu is typical upscale burger-joint fare — burgers of all kinds, fries and rings, and the like. Prices aren’t the cheapest — a burger and drink, no fries, set me back over ten bucks. But it was a good burger, and their Tequila Sunrise was good too.

By the time I got there, a couple of our bunch — clients/friends of Delilah’s — were already there with their toddler, whose birth Delilah attended. I brought Delilah’s daughter Vanessa and a carload of her friends, so right at the start we added six and a half folks to the burger-eating crew at the Paradise. Delilah came later, after attending the birth of a baby girl in Plano, and she was followed by my fiancee Bibi and her son. Together, we took up a large table — but we were just the start.

Paradise Burger sits across a corner of the plaza from the theater, and on the mild night there were plenty of folks walking past the outdoor patio, where the Karaoke was set up. Normally, an outside setting would be difficult for good sound, but the folks at Totally Twisted know how to set up sound. They set their speakers up at the *far* end of the patio, so the audience and the singers both had great sound. And of course, the sound spilled out into the plaza, attracting the passers-by. Several folks sat and listened — or danced and sang along. At least a few came in — some just to sing, but I’d be surprised if a few didn’t come in and sample the Paradise menu.

But I was there for the Karaoke... and the Totally Twisted crew, as usual, did not disappoint. They kept the crowd involved, encouraging the singers and keeping the mood light. It was a great time, and it promises to be even better this week — the folks at the Paradise will be adding hookups to turn the patio TVs into Karaoke monitors, so that the crowd can rock along. And I’m planning to be there again, too — even if I just have to drop in for a song or two after my son’s school program. Leah of TTK is going to try to put together a Karaoke version of the awesome Literal Video Version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, which I’ve sung so many times that I can’t remember the original lyrics any more!

After the jump: Song list, with bonus tracks!

Song List from Paradise Burger Company with Totally Twisted Karaoke:

1. Tragedy (Bee Gees)
This song is still Leah’s favorite for me to do — and since she does this for a living, who am I to disagree?

2. That Was Yesterday (Foreigner)
Once again, this song kicked my butt! It sounds so good in the car or the shower, like “Two out of Three” by Meatloaf, but the high parts always come up short. Robert O, the primary DJ for this gig, was very sympathetic nonetheless.

3. Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder)
I performed this song in honor of the baby girl that Delilah helped deliver earlier in the day. Delilah recorded my performance and put it on her Facebook for the new mom — who thought it was sweet! (If I can get it onto YouTube, I’ll post it here.) The glasses were provided by Robert O — I guess Stevie Wonder glasses are part of the standard Karaoke DJ bag of tricks.

4. Tonight (Alan Band)
This is the song that I learned when Chartbuster sent me my first Karaoke CD-G to review, late last summer. I hadn’t had a chance to sing it for my fiancee until now... and she loved it. We’ve added it to the list of songs we’ll have on our list for our Karaoke-themed wedding reception... hosted, of course, by Leah of Totally Twisted Karaoke. Who else?

Bonus tracks: Vanessa, who placed in the Balch Springs Karaoke Contest and is a natural performer, sang a total of seven times, including four times with her friends. She was thoroughly convincing on Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” — of course, there’s a wink and a nod because of the song’s original lyrics, but it actually works just fine without gratuitous profanity, thankyouverymuch. She sang a duet of “Bed Intruders” with my fiancee’s son — yes, the YouTube AutoTune sensation is available in Karaoke form, and Totally Twisted has it. And she closed out the night with some Seether. Her mom, Delilah, sang Helen Reddy’s “You and Me Against the World” wonderfully — her first solo Karaoke performance. Congratulations!

Tags: Paradise Burger Co, Rockwall, Totally Twisted Karaoke