8/6/2019 Charleston Scene-- "So you want to be a rock super star?"

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8/6/2019 Charleston Scene-- "So you want to be a rock super star?"

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more onlineTo see a video and

photo gal-leries ofpeople sing-ing karaokein Charles-ton, visit

www.charlestonscene.

com.

BY LISA RYANSpecial to The Post and Courier

Whether theyll

admit it or not,its widely known

that everyone secretlydreams of being a rock star.

They use a bar of soap asa microphone and rockout in the shower, or beltout a tune in the car of-tentimes drawing embar-rassed laughs from nearbydrivers.

But given that most of the

population sounds morelike an American Idolreject than winner, thosedreams of stardom often-

times live in vain. Except,of course, when it comes tokaraoke.

Across the Lowcountry,people flock to local water-ing holes whenever theresa chance of living out theirAxl Rose dreams of singingand headbanging throughkaraoke. They leave theirinhibitions at their bar-stools as they step up to the

mike and sing their favoritesongs, with little regard tohow they really sound.

Charleston hosts countlesskaraoke nights at an eclec-tic array of bars offering adiverse selection of karaokeoptions throughout theweek.

WHERE: Upper Deck Tavern,353 King St.WHEN: 9 p.m. Sunday.PHONE: 958-0002.SCENE: Young, hipster, alter-native.POPULAR SONGS: Beerby Reel Big Fish, DrunkenLullaby by Flogging Molly,Last Caress by the Misfits,Hey by The Pixies.

Unmarked and locatedabove Gilroys Pizza onKing Street, the hole-in-the-wall dive bar UpperDeck Tavern has long beena karaoke favorite for thedowntown crowd. DJ Kara-oke Chris, aka Chris Gould,has hosted the evening ev-ery Sunday since 2004, with

a songbook that featuresobscure tunes that you cantfind at other karaoke spots.

Whenever a particularsong becomes too popu-lar, in Goulds opinion, hetakes it out of the songbook,which is why you wont hearDont Stop Believin or

Bohemian Rhapsody atthis bar.

Theres definitely analternative crowd here the punk and art crowd,Gould said. They wouldbe turned off and wouldntcome anymore if I was play-ing country.

Patrons are typically el-bow-to-elbow on a packednight and range from col-

lege students to regularswho have been coming foryears.

There are people whowant to sing A Tribe CalledQuest, and then I get 21-year-olds who ask me whyI dont have Justin Beiber,he said.

Bartender Andy Pearcethinks that the bars chilled-out vibe is the key to thenights success.

Were pretty laid backand accepting in general, sopeople are a bit more will-ing to get up and make foolsof themselves in front ofstrangers, he said.

Lowcountry bars serve up a diverseoffering of karaoke nights

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON LAYNE

Amanda Semian and Kara Cordare sing their hearts out at Wet Willies.

So you wantto be a rocksuperstar?

Please see KARAOKE, Page 21E

0E.ursday, July 28, 2011 _____________________________________________ CHARLESTONSCENE.COM __________________________________________________e Post and Courier

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WHERE: Wet Willies, 209East Bay St.WHEN: 9 p.m. Tuesdays.PHONE: 853-5650.SCENE: Preppy, country,some tourists.POPULAR SONGS: DontStop Believin by Journey,

Brass Monkey by the Beas-tie Boys, Baby Got Back bySir Mix-A-Lot, Shoop bySalt-n-Pepa.

Downtown bar and res-taurant Wet Willies is apopular spot for those insearch of karaoke. Knownfor its strong frozen dai-quiri drinks, the bar drawsa preppy crowd of all ages(over 21) youre sure to

find young men decked inpolos and Croakies singingcountry songs or beltinga sappy Enrique Iglesiastune on a typical night here in addition to some olderpeople and tourists.

For the past year, the eve-ning has been hosted by D.J.Wild Bill (otherwise knownas Billy Covington), an en-thusiastic guy who receives

as many as 200 song re-quests on a given night. Itsreally fast paced and fun,he said. I try to get throughas many requests as I pos-sibly can.

Covington chats with thecrowd, and his open andwarm demeanor helps first-timers loosen up and takethe mike after they enjoy acouple of the frozen liba-

tions. He also said that itisnt uncommon for a moreseasoned singer to join in onthe fun. Sometimes you getone who can actually sing,who comes out and does ka-raoke to practice, he said.

WHERE: Jimbos RockLounge, 1662 SavannahHighway.WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesdays.

Band usually goes on around10:30 p.m.PHONE: 225-2200.SCENE: Rock, punk, laidback.POPULAR SONGS: Zombieby The Cranberries, Rehabby Amy Winehouse, Creepby Radiohead, Mother byDanzig.

Youll never feel more likea rock star than when youre

singing with the live bandat Jimbos Rock Lounge onthe first Wednesday of everymonth. Backed mostly bymembers of local band AsIf, the live band karaoke fills

the huge gap left when Met-al Mondays at the formerCumberlands bar ceased toexist.

As Jimbos is sti ll buildingits reputation as a Wednes-

day night karaoke venue,the live band is restrictedto once a month, with DJ-run karaoke offered therest of the time. Gould hashosted the live band karaokesince February (after host-ing classic karaoke at thevenue since last June), and

said that it draws a differentsort of crowd than his Up-per Deck gig. The crowdhere doesnt drink as muchas other people. They willtravel from Summerville toget to West Ashley, whereasat the Upper Deck, itspeople who live downtownand wont leave downtown,Gould said.

Despite the mellow de-

meanor of the crowd, thebar is still technically a rockvenue and brings in plentyof alternative people. Thereare a few metal and punkfans who come here, andthats what Im trying to cul-tivate, he said.

WHERE: Blues House ofWings, 1039 Johnnie DoddsBlvd., No. 9.

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday.PHONE: 881-1858.SCENE: Country, energetic,older.POPULAR SONGS: DontStop Believin by Journey,Picture by Kid Rock andSheryl Crowe, You NeverEven Called Me By My Nameby David Allen Coe, Crazyby Patsy Cline.

Blues House of Wings has

served up a traditionalkaraoke night for the past15 years with a sea of blueand red LED laser lightsproviding a fun ambienceand a crowd ranging from20-somethings to seniors,all eager to participate or hitthe dance f loor. Steve Rus-sell, a DJ at 96.9 The Wolf

and the nights host since1999, said, Blues is a verypopular place for karaoke onSaturday nights. Its not un-usual to have 30 to 35 sing-ers here on one night.

The evening featuresnonstop music with Russellplaying dance tunes in be-tween songs. Its not uncom-mon to see large groups linedancing or couples twisting

and turning to the livelyclassic songs. Thats whyRussell bills it as a musicand karaoke night theresas much of an opportunityto dance as there is to sing.

Its definitely a countrymusic crowd at Blues,though Russell maintainsthat youre just as likely to

hear people belting out popsongs as well. One of thethings that I like about a ka-raoke bar is that you neverknow what youre going tohear, he said. You mayhear a Garth Brooks song,and the next time you mayhear Rihanna. It goes fromone spectrum to the other.Its true variety and a melt-ing pot of music.

A few other karaokespots around town:WHERE: Chucktown Tavern, 159 Market St.WHEN: 8 p.m. every night.PHONE: 637-3681.WEB SITE: www.chucktowntavern.com.

WHERE: Jacks Place, 1815 Old Trolley Road, Summer-ville.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.PHONE: 821-8030.WEB SITE: www.jacksplaceonline.com.

WHERE: Wild Wing Cafe North Charleston, 7618 RiversAvenueWHEN: 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.PHONE: 818-9464.WEB SITE: www.wildwingcafe.com.

WHERE: Dudleys On Ann, 42 Ann St.WHEN: 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

PHONE: 577-6779.WEB SITE: www.dudleysonann.com.

WHERE: Fiddlers Green, 30 G Coleman Blvd, MountPleasant.WHEN: 10 p.m. Wednesday.PHONE: 884-5203.

WHERE: Wild Wing Cafe Downtown, 36 N. Market St.,CharlestonWHEN: 10:30 p.m. Thursday.PHONE: 722-9464.

WEB SITE: www.wildwingcafe.com.

WHERE: Dog and Duck, West Ashley, 1124 Sam Ritten-berg Blvd, Charleston.WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday.PHONE: 793-3481.WEB SITE: www.dogandduckfamilypubs.com.

WHERE: Dog and Duck, Belle Hall, 624 Longpoint Road,Mount Pleasant.WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday.PHONE: 881-3056.

WEB SITE: www.dogandduckfamilypubs.com.

KARAOKEFrom Page 20E

Mia Jenkins and Chris Gould perform at Jimbos Rock Lounge in West Ashley. Thespot hosts live band karaoke on some Wednesdays.

Zach Groom rocks out at The Upper Deck Tavern indowntown Charleston.

Ron Rivers sings at Blues House of Wings in MountPleasant.

e Post and Courier __________________________________________________ CHARLESTONSCENE.COM _____________________________________________ursday, July 28, 2011.21E