Karaoke : Tuesday is Moving to Wednesday

Karaoke can be habit forming, and hardcore junkies frequently haunt the same lounges week after week, not only for a momentary fix of sweet stardom, but also to meet with others afflicted with the same addiction. Eventually, bonds form between singers, dramas arise, and it becomes a dysfunctional karaoke family, especially when the evening is accompanied by a $5 bottomless domestic keg special and plenty of Rumple Minz shots.

For the better part of ten years, Tuesday karaoke at ye olde Mik-n-Mac's was one of the busiest nights of the week and was home to my own close-knit karaoke tribe. Our host and "Koala-T" KJ was Jerry, a Neil Diamond lover and an all around nice guy whose mantra between singers is "...and the crowd goes wild." Jerry's fabulous mother Charlene (pictured) always showed up and would amuse us with her many outrageous bar stories and renditions of Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline tunes. We call her "Mom" and she really is our mother figure, bringing baked goods and helping us figure out our lives. Christa was both our bartender and our babysitter, and we must not have driven her too totally cuckoo because she always made a point to request to work on Tuesday nights.

Mik-n-Mac's is now in the history books and it remains to be seen if the new owners will decide to keep karaoke. Thanks to Jessi at Baja Bargarita, our little TV show is rescheduled with a new day and time on a different channel. Baja is beginning karaoke nights on Wednesdays at 7:30 with Jerry KJing, Christa bartending and they're even doing the $5 bottomless keg special. Come down and help break in the new digs, maybe sing your knockout rendition of "Don't Rain On My Parade".

10 Random Songs I've Sung on Karaoke:

1 "Slow Hands" (Interpol) (a recent fave, fun to belt out)
2 "Harmony" (Elton John) (for Sue, its her fave)
3 "Jolene" (Dolly Parton) (in an extra deep voice)
4 "Anarchy in the UK" (Sex Pistols) (only after a LOT of PBR)
5 "I Got You Babe" (Sonny & Cher) (I was always Sonny, Brian was always Cher)
6 "Too Shy" (Kajagoogoo) (always Sam's request)
7 "Ashes to Ashes" (David Bowie) (weirds out the young crowd)
8 "Rock Lobster" (B-52's) (Shannon doing the animal noises)
9 "Angie Baby"(Helen Reddy) (because the lyrics are so odd)
10 "I Know There's Something Going On" Freda (solo Abba duet with Jay)