It's funny how revisiting this area has brought me into acquaintance again with so many people that I haven't seen in YEARS. The memories just wash over me like a warm tide, comforting, and familiar. I remember that the last time I ate here, it was my Senior Prom! It has changed a lot. It's definitely more modern than it was then. The pavement hasn't improved any. The cops are still just as bored lurking in the curve to the SFO Airport waiting on the sly for haphazard wahooers and/or speeders who've had too much to drink.
This place has had karaoke for many years, and I never even knew about it. I'd never think that any of these hotel bars and/or restaurants along this short bay waterfront strip would host karaoke. My cousins used to go to the Caribbean Gardens to dance here! It's good to see some of the restaurants and hotels haven't changed names around here. It is comforting when some things DON'T change. I'm seeing now that I'm older that that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes progress moves too fast. Other times it's too slow in coming, but I digress as usual...
Gus and Patti of Center Stage Live! are your hosts for karaoke here every Saturday and just down the road on Broadway at Behan's every Sunday night. If you happen to be at Max's to collect your free birthday dessert, definitely try to plan it around a Sunday! You'll see them there with their crooners serenading a very eager to serve you wait staff. I happened to run into my high school friend Sylvia here hosting a going away party for her friend when I stopped in here the Sunday before last. It's a small world!
We sang, we made merry, we watched the drunkards dance, and we laughed 'til our hearts' content. They have a very large wide open dance floor area where they set up next to an actual piano. I wonder if it actually works, and if they'd allow me to play it someday. I bet I could cajole them into letting me. I am very persuasive and charming when I want to be. If I attend enough, I'm sure they will. Let me play AND sing. I'm no one trick pony.
Take it back old school. That is exactly what Gus and Patti do! Their list may not be the newest, but this duo is SOULFUL. If you want to sing oldies, or soul, come out and sing with these two crazy cats because if you want to duet with them, they're just the harmony to your melody. You can also find them at Brentwood Bowl every Monday night if you're ADHD enough to bowl 10 frames, drink dollar brew, eat dollar hotdogs, and sing, you might wanna check them out there! I know I will. I can't wait!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Karaoke Cab
No Judges In The 'Karaoke Cab,' Just Good Times
Some cab drivers might stay silent with customers in their cars. Others can talk your ear off. Joel Laguidao just wants to sing with you.
Laguidao has become known as the "karaoke cab driver." While driving for Red Top Cab Co. on weekend nights around Arlington, Va., he sings favorites like Journey's "Faithfully" and Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses."
It started about three years ago. Laguidao grew tired of the FM radio offerings and bought a karaoke machine. He has two small monitors for reading lyrics, a large silver microphone and a thick song catalog.
The karaoke setup also helps him get passengers on weekend nights. Sometimes, he'll roll down the window and start singing to potential customers.
"They're shocked," Laguidao says. "They say, 'Really? Run the meter, let's go sing.'"
Others might book him for a later trip. "They get my number, and then, after like 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock in the morning, they shout in my car singing," Laguidao says. They "need more liquid in the belly first," he laughs.
Near the Courthouse Metro station in Washington, D.C., Laguidao rolls down his window and calls out to a guy leaving a bar. Before Laguidao can even explain his unique cab, the man's face lights up.
"Are you guys the karaoke cab?" Tim Jacobs shouts. He and a friend, Brian McKeever, climb in.
After some back and forth about song choice — should it be "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" or "Don't Stop Believing"? — the pair settles on "Summer of '69."
The two clap while singing passionately — and off-key. Laguidao joins in. "Those were the best days of my life!" booms the car's speaker system.
After the song ends, Jacobs and McKeever arrive at their destination and wish Laguadao the best.
"That's a good customer," Laguidao smiles widely.
Friday, August 26, 2011
7 Mile House
I have a lot of love for this place in seemingly the middle of nowhere. I remember passing this place a MILLION times sneaking out at night taking the backroads snaking past the cops avoiding them since I was underage and past curfew with nothing but a permit to drive not even a license. I never went in because it looked kinda rough. It used to be a biker bar as far back as I can recall. Now the new owner has made this the most happenin' spot south of the projects on the borders of Daly City, Brisbane, and San Francisco.
This place is host to a myriad of different events. You name it. They've done it! From food eating competitions and comedy to open mic nights and of course karaoke. I think the only thing they HAVEN'T done is Jello Wrestling, and I think I'm going to propose it some time to the event coordinator. He's a cool attentive cat with dreads named Dennis. The owner is the beautiful young Filipina gal whom I initially thought was just one of the many beautiful bartenders here I'm used to the female owners of spots bein' older and a little more road weary. I was definitely surprised upon our introduction. Their kitchen serves awesome food from lumpia and chicken adobo to HUGE tiger prawns and the usual American fare.
It's a very mixed crowd. It's the most diverse crowd of karaokers I've ever seen anywhere. You can come down to the Historic 7 Mile House any Wednesday night of the week and see Glenny Kravitz doin' his thang. His lively bunch of regulars always keep the place poppin' 'til closing time. Sweep the floors with his broom air guitar on your way on and off the stage. If you feel like doin the creep around San Bruno mountain home to the Peninsula past Geneva and Bayshore Boulevard, stop in for a bit sports on every tv screen, the great food, their awesome staff, and of course Glenny's show from 8 o'clock 'til they kick us the HELL out!
This place is host to a myriad of different events. You name it. They've done it! From food eating competitions and comedy to open mic nights and of course karaoke. I think the only thing they HAVEN'T done is Jello Wrestling, and I think I'm going to propose it some time to the event coordinator. He's a cool attentive cat with dreads named Dennis. The owner is the beautiful young Filipina gal whom I initially thought was just one of the many beautiful bartenders here I'm used to the female owners of spots bein' older and a little more road weary. I was definitely surprised upon our introduction. Their kitchen serves awesome food from lumpia and chicken adobo to HUGE tiger prawns and the usual American fare.
It's a very mixed crowd. It's the most diverse crowd of karaokers I've ever seen anywhere. You can come down to the Historic 7 Mile House any Wednesday night of the week and see Glenny Kravitz doin' his thang. His lively bunch of regulars always keep the place poppin' 'til closing time. Sweep the floors with his broom air guitar on your way on and off the stage. If you feel like doin the creep around San Bruno mountain home to the Peninsula past Geneva and Bayshore Boulevard, stop in for a bit sports on every tv screen, the great food, their awesome staff, and of course Glenny's show from 8 o'clock 'til they kick us the HELL out!
The Sapphire: Taste of Burma CLOSED
Gary Palmer is at it again with his second new karaoke venue in less than a week. This time he's in San Francisco not San Bruno at a little spot on Sacramento between Battery and Sansome Streets. For a laptop KJ, this man packs a LOT of gear! To avoid another sound mishap like that which occurred at Hooters two nights prior, he packed his own very powerful speakers. I felt bad for the patrons sitting a table away in front of it, but they didn't seem to mind. They actually seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. They just had a common problem most do with the songlist, song overload and indecision.
This is more than just your average sports bar and restaurant in the heart of the Financial District of San Francisco. It actually has the trappings of a club. It's got a lot of open space perfect for dancing if one were so inclined and moved to do so by a crooner. It's got a great regular crowd with a very laid back chill vibe. I attribute this to their blue walls. I'm biased. You know me. I LOVE blue. You know I will DEFINITELY be back. It will be a regular Tuesday venue for Gary hopefully. *crossing fingers, arms, legs, toes, and eyes*
It's not a pub like that of your all wood Harrington's Bar and Royal Exchange down the street. Oh no, tucked away swallowed up between these tall commerce buildings is a modern hip little venue with great lasers and lights. Their sound system is great too! They've got two large house flat screen tv's dedicated to karaoke unless the Giants happen to be playing. Then it's only one monitor and the KJ's own. My only complaint as usual about some places is that they close too early. They're only open until 10 o'clock. That makes sense on a Tuesday night in that area of the City. Once all the worker bees have gone home, it's not very lucrative to keep a place open very late.
Aside from its sophisticated décor and karaoke, they have portions of healthy food offerings at reasonable prices and great happy hour drink specials. It makes you feel pacific and calm. It's hard enough to find a place to open early enough to serve breakfast in hard economic times like these where people are hesitant to spend. I had never sampled Burmese food before, and let me tell you. What I sampled, I liked very much. Enough about the food though. We're here to talk karaoke. You can read about my opinion of the food on yelp if you like.
Mutiny on the Radio: Karaoke Klubhouse
It's been several years since I've been in a studio. It was very nice to be on the air again.
http://podcasts.pcrcollective.org/KaraokeClubhouse/KaraokeClubhouse-20110824.mp3
Anytime you feel like being on the radio singin' your favorite obscure song, come by to 21st and Florida and sing EVERY Wednesday from 6 - 8 pm with Pamtastic & intern Jessica. Have some coffee or hot chocolate and baked goods in their adjoining cafe. Bring your own booze!
http://podcasts.pcrcollective.org/KaraokeClubhouse/KaraokeClubhouse-20110824.mp3
Anytime you feel like being on the radio singin' your favorite obscure song, come by to 21st and Florida and sing EVERY Wednesday from 6 - 8 pm with Pamtastic & intern Jessica. Have some coffee or hot chocolate and baked goods in their adjoining cafe. Bring your own booze!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Rough Start: Hooters - San Bruno, CA CLOSED
Sunday was the first time any Hooters has ever hosted karaoke in any of the 50 states in the Union, and the speakers couldn't handle the greatness. It's tough as a KJ chartering new territory to anticipate any problems that might occur at a new venue. Due to lack of familiarity with how compatible his equipment with the sound system at Hooters would be, Gary Palmer had a late start.
I anticipated as much. Being a veteran, you must know NEVER be on time for karaoke. It's not one of those time sensitive jobs like driving a train or a bus. Some people, I felt, took it a little too seriously. Honestly, it's a short window of time to sing 8 - 11pm. They came on time or early. Me? I'm always late. That is unless I'm stressed, then I MUST SING NOW. You will see me early only then! Still, I'm very understanding. Things happen. He had technical difficulties. It takes at least a few times to get familiar with the house speakers, PA's, and monitors.
The venue also closes early. It's not like places in San Francisco where they cut off the list at last call 1:30am sometimes later. The suburbs have different zoning and codes for entertainment not to mention demographic of people who don't usually party into the late hours. This new location has a lot of potential. I heard a lot of complaints about the food, the service, the fact that Gary didn't take CD's. It's a new day and age. This era of KJ MUST have a laptop. For portability's sake, it's a must. Not every location has a huge stage to set up on or a dance floor large enough for your library of CD's and the rest of your rig.
You can request a song that isn't in the book from the KJ to download off the internet if it isn't on his hard drive already. Always ask a KJ if they have a song that's not on their printed song list on their hard drive. Printing costs are hefty! It would not be cost effective for a Karaoke Jockey to reprint his books EVERY time he downloaded a new song. On average a song can run anywhere between $2.99 to $5. Tip and see where that gets you. If you really REALLY MUST sing it NOW, where there's a will, there's a way. Believe me KJ's are easy. Money talks.
I felt the older patrons who were used to other restaurants and bars with older more seasoned staff and service were expecting a bit too much from this young Hooters crowd. They're young girls not veteran waitresses. We did sit ourselves down without being sat down by the hostess. Things aren't going to go seamlessly when you're not using your own gear which you are completely comfortable and familiar with. Good news is the youngsters who were at Hooters were TOTALLY into it. They're going to be the regulars at this new location anyway. It's not really for your older more serious crowd for sure. Let the kids have somewhere to play.
There are plenty of karaoke places for everyone to enjoy that are a better fit for personality, palate, and price. I foresee this being a VERY popular spot, and a new generation of karaoke addicts cropping up. Exccccellent!
I anticipated as much. Being a veteran, you must know NEVER be on time for karaoke. It's not one of those time sensitive jobs like driving a train or a bus. Some people, I felt, took it a little too seriously. Honestly, it's a short window of time to sing 8 - 11pm. They came on time or early. Me? I'm always late. That is unless I'm stressed, then I MUST SING NOW. You will see me early only then! Still, I'm very understanding. Things happen. He had technical difficulties. It takes at least a few times to get familiar with the house speakers, PA's, and monitors.
The venue also closes early. It's not like places in San Francisco where they cut off the list at last call 1:30am sometimes later. The suburbs have different zoning and codes for entertainment not to mention demographic of people who don't usually party into the late hours. This new location has a lot of potential. I heard a lot of complaints about the food, the service, the fact that Gary didn't take CD's. It's a new day and age. This era of KJ MUST have a laptop. For portability's sake, it's a must. Not every location has a huge stage to set up on or a dance floor large enough for your library of CD's and the rest of your rig.
You can request a song that isn't in the book from the KJ to download off the internet if it isn't on his hard drive already. Always ask a KJ if they have a song that's not on their printed song list on their hard drive. Printing costs are hefty! It would not be cost effective for a Karaoke Jockey to reprint his books EVERY time he downloaded a new song. On average a song can run anywhere between $2.99 to $5. Tip and see where that gets you. If you really REALLY MUST sing it NOW, where there's a will, there's a way. Believe me KJ's are easy. Money talks.
I felt the older patrons who were used to other restaurants and bars with older more seasoned staff and service were expecting a bit too much from this young Hooters crowd. They're young girls not veteran waitresses. We did sit ourselves down without being sat down by the hostess. Things aren't going to go seamlessly when you're not using your own gear which you are completely comfortable and familiar with. Good news is the youngsters who were at Hooters were TOTALLY into it. They're going to be the regulars at this new location anyway. It's not really for your older more serious crowd for sure. Let the kids have somewhere to play.
There are plenty of karaoke places for everyone to enjoy that are a better fit for personality, palate, and price. I foresee this being a VERY popular spot, and a new generation of karaoke addicts cropping up. Exccccellent!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Karaoke A Team Van - SOLD :(
Karaoke to go
2010/08/08 A recent Friday at 8:11 p.m.: Inside a van he scored from a Craigslister a few months ago, Glen Calub, a.k.a. Glenny Kravitz, the Karaoke Shark, provides air guitar backup for karaoke scene regular Ash Townsend as he screams Alice in Chains lyrics. Tonight the party is parked at the corner of Indiana and Tulare streets - far from neighbors who might be offended by amplified karaoke versions of "Mama Said Knock You Out" or "Who'll Stop the Rain?" He uses a power inverter connected to car battery to run the PA and lyric-bouncing video screen. A handful of attendees hungry for the microphone brave the frigid fog of a San Francisco summer night with a level of enthusiasm that is, thankfully, not rated by the quality of the notes being sung. After more than a decade of hosting karaoke nights at clubs around the city, Kravitz decided it was time to expand the party beyond the confines of barroom walls. His followers seem to agree. "I just tell them where I'm at and they follow me," he says.
Old Articles: Punk Rock n Schlock Karaoke - CLOSED Annie's Social Club
This Isn't Your Ordinary Karaoke
Jody Handley of San Francisco sings "Wham Rap" at Punk Rock 'n' Schlock Karaoke night at Annie's Social Club. Chronicle photo by Chris StewartCredit: Chris Stewart
Even punks and goths take advantage of the acoustics in their showers and belt out a ditty (perhaps a medley if they've got the time). And if alternative tunes weren't so darned hard to come by at traditional karaoke bars, more of these folks might be willing to drop the cooler-than-thou act and bask in the karaoke spotlight. So a few enterprising karaoke jockeys, or "KJs," have loaded up their songbooks with music that the city's black-clad, pierced and tattooed set can slur along to after a few too many and still respect themselves the next morning.
PUNK ROCK 'N' SCHLOCK KARAOKE
Eileen and Jody share hosting duties at this thrice-weekly karaoke party in the back room of Annie's Social Club. Rock out to live bands up front. Then stumble back to the karaoke parlor and have a hopefully in-key go at tunes that run the punk, new wave and alt-rock gamut. We're talking everything from X-Ray Specs to Nirvana to Green Day, all handpicked by Annie, the owner, herself. Should you opt for schlock, Eileen and Jody also have plenty of ABBA, Air Supply, show tunes and so-bad-they're-good Top 40 material on hand.
Best KJ - 2010 Glenny Kravitz Loggins-Messina
Best KJ - 2010
Glenny Kravitz Loggins-Messina
Karaoke jockey Glenny Kravitz Loggins-Messina loves you. Or maybe he's making fun of you. Either way, chances are good he's standing beside you, playing his signature fake guitar, not-real keyboards, or obviously plastic saxophone while you either humiliate or distinguish yourself in song. From where we sit, his job looks like our version of hell. Journey song after Journey song after Journey song, he cues it up, calls your name, and rocks out next to you, often soulfully harmonizing with even the most off-key performers. He's like a nurse on the front lines; a saint among the lepers. But he seems to like or even love it, a staggering four nights out of every single week. "Wed: 7 Mile House. Thurs: Pissed-Off Pete's. Sunday: 500 Club Happy Hour. Tuesday: Amnesia," he wrote to us when we asked. How? Why? He does weddings, birthdays, and other parties on top of his regular schedule. He is the wind beneath your wings.
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