Ah, the lazy weekend

That's right, no Silverwing gig this weekend.  What will we do?  Of course, we still host Karaoke on Friday night at our local bar with our buddies.  So, it's not a total lazy weekend, but still no Silverwing gig?  Ugh, I'm having the shakes.

Anyway, Karaoke used to be a forbidden word around our dining room table.  The evil Karaoke singers were going to destroy live music and bands weren't going to be needed and on and on.  We just resented it and were offended by it and now? Guess what?  We run Karaoke!

Are we sell outs?  Perhaps.  Is there a dime to be made with our gear that is sitting idly in the garage? Oh, yes.  But more so, we get it.  Karaoke allows everyone to participate.  It accessible to everyone who has the guts to get up there and open their mouth and squeak out a tune.  For the moment you can be Carrie Underwood or Jon Bon Jovi.  You can get the whole bar to sing Na-na-na-na-na along with Journey to thunderous applause.  Who doesn't love that?

We get it.  It's about everyone and we can all join in.

I personally have become a much better singer since we started running Karaoke.  I am a fair singer, good pitch, fair tone, buy I was shaky and worse yet, I didn't practice.  I didn't open my mouth until we got up there on stage with a crowd in front of us.  Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?  Sometimes it was just really weak and timid, but now I am the queen of Karaoke.

Okay, not really the queen, but I'm part of the crowd.  I have done well on some songs and then I've picked songs that were a total stretch and bombed!  I bombed and did it in front of people and lived to tell the tale.  That's actually helped my singing skills also.  You wouldn't think so, but really butchering a song and laughing at yourself is good for your mental health.  It takes the perfectionism down a notch or two.  People...it's not the end of the world.

Plus, now when I step up to the microphone to sing I have some practice time under my belt.  Just like learning chess, you remember the moves.  My throat remembers the shape that makes that sound.  I've stretched for that note before and I know I can hit it.  I've swooped that country sound before and I can do it again.

So the evil Karaoke has become one of my favorite things.  I have a room full of friends who I encourage with my whooping and applause and they do the same for me, even when I totally, totally ruin some beautiful song, my friends still applaud, gotta love it.