Earlier this year, I blogged about what I felt was the key ingredient in making a successful karaoke experience (and keeping people coming back to your venue for more): a good karaoke DJ (KJ).
A couple months after that, I added another story that only proved that point further, lamenting about how a poor KJ can really put a damper on a fun karaoke night.
Well, last night, despite a really small turnout of friends and a relatively quiet night at the bar, was probably one of the best karaoke experiences I'd ever had, and it was largely thanks to the KJ. The usual KJ, our beloved G-Man (whose praises I sang in my previous post linked above), was absent that night, and his young protege, Brian, was standing in for him.
I've been to OTT on nights where Brian subbed for G-Man, and always found him a relatively pleasant and unassuming guy. He was still learning the ropes, so we were all patient with him. But now, evidently, he's had enough experience to become more confident and start applying his own style to the KJ-ing. And it's refreshing!
One of the first things I noticed when the singing started was that he was gracious enough, upon seeing a few of us regulars, to immediately put us in the rotation and encourage us to sing, rather than get on stage himself. Now, I think it's perfectly acceptable for a KJ to start the night off with a song, especially when there are so few people in the bar. It's a good way to break the ice and get things going. And Brian tends to be pretty fun and entertaining on stage. But he didn't-- he chose to let us take the lead instead.
The next thing-- and this was really huge-- was that the volume was at a manageable level. Much as I love G-Man, I never go into OTT without earplugs onhand, because he cranks up the volume way too loud! Not Brian. It was loud enough for the entire bar to hear and enjoy, but not so loud that we were overwhelmed. Not once did I have to put on my earplugs that night. My friends and I didn't have to yell at the top of our lungs in order to converse. And best of all, the reasonable volume enabled Allan to actually stay in the bar for over an hour, where he got to hear all of us sing a few songs-- some of which are his favorites :-)
I noticed that every time a new song began, Brian would come out onto the dance floor and stand there for a few seconds, obviously listening to the speakers and gauging the sound level. At first I thought he was seeing if the microphone level was turned up high enough, but it turns out that he was gauging the OVERALL volume and adjusting accordingly-- turning it down for especially loud songs. I thought that was pretty awesome of him, to take the time to adjust the volume on EVERY single song so that it wouldn't overwhelm the bar.
On top of all that, he was just generally a really sweet and friendly person, making small talk when regulars came up to say hi, that sort of thing.
So-- thank you, Brian! For making our karaoke experience one of the best and most enjoyable to date. G-Man picked the perfect guy to sub for him, and I hope we see you around more often-- whether you're managing the karaoke equipment or simply hanging out at the bar, a fun-loving patron like the rest of us :-)
La Maison des Tortues: One third of the "heckled trio" writes...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Royal Flatulence?
My friend Tabitha reposted an anecdote that her mom shared, about an amusing typo that showed up on the lyrics screen of a Christmas concert she attended. When the choir sang "Silent Night", the following appeared on the screen:
Which, of course, made her (and readers of that anecdote) giggle!
That story reminded me of something Allan said long ago, about a song that our worship team frequently sings at church during Sunday services. It's called "Mighty to Save" and part of the lyrics go like this:
Allan swears that the last line sounds like "lizard king" instead of "risen king". So now, everytime we hear (about) that song, I remind Allan: "Hey, it's the Lizard King song!"
Naturally, these two stories combined inspired me to create a cartoon drawing of a crown-wearing lizard with shining beans emanating from its face. Here is the end result:
So now the bigger question is: do lizard kings get gassy from all those radiant beans??
Ah, (gassy) lizard kings and radiant beans... that's the stuff Christmas is made of! ;-)
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beans from Thy holy face ...
Which, of course, made her (and readers of that anecdote) giggle!
That story reminded me of something Allan said long ago, about a song that our worship team frequently sings at church during Sunday services. It's called "Mighty to Save" and part of the lyrics go like this:
Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...
Allan swears that the last line sounds like "lizard king" instead of "risen king". So now, everytime we hear (about) that song, I remind Allan: "Hey, it's the Lizard King song!"
Naturally, these two stories combined inspired me to create a cartoon drawing of a crown-wearing lizard with shining beans emanating from its face. Here is the end result:
So now the bigger question is: do lizard kings get gassy from all those radiant beans??
Ah, (gassy) lizard kings and radiant beans... that's the stuff Christmas is made of! ;-)
Monday, December 5, 2011
Holiday Parade Gone Awry
The annual holiday parade along State Street, the main thoroughfare of downtown Santa Barbara, is an event I normally don't bother with. It's cold, it's crowded, parking is hard to come by, traffic is horrendous, and eating establishments are jam-packed. Not exactly my idea of a fun night out. Still, it's no trouble braving all that when you're actually participating IN the parade, as Todd and I did 2 years ago with his karate class.
This year, his school had a float in the parade, and his class (the 3rd/4th graders) dressed up in cute little tuxes and sat in the float, waving colorful lights and singing Christmas songs they'd learned in choir. They looked so cute and excited at the staging area before the parade began, and they were buzzing about the money the school would get if their float impressed the judges enough to win a prize!
Before the first float took off, Allan and I made our way down the street towards the finish line, since we'd signed up to help with the cleanup efforts afterward. Previous experience had taught us that the streets can be hard to navigate once the parade is underway, so we thought we'd get a head start. So, we didn't actually get to see the float traveling down the street, or hear the kids sing.
Instead, we were greeted at the finish line-- with a float full of unhappy and dejected kids. One of the girls was crying, and the older boys were jumping out, eagerly telling their parents: "They were cussing at us!" The boys, at least, treated it more like an "OMG, can you BELIEVE what they did!?" moment, but they were clearly subdued and no longer the shining, happy faces at the start of the parade.
At first I thought that because it was a Christian school, the hecklers were making fun of that. But evidently, the generator powering the lights and the stereo playing background music cut out a couple times (leaving the kids to sing a cappella in the dark) during the parade, which is what provoked the jeers. According to Todd, one onlooker yelled: "What the [f-word]!? You guys suck!" Another kid told his dad about "the S-word". Admittedly, the float looked a bit ramshackle to begin with. It certainly wasn't going to win any beauty contests. But the kids were happy and excited nonetheless, and looking forward to the event, and my heart breaks when I think of these uncouth punks making fun of them with their foul mouths.
You might say that kids will be exposed to this sort of thing someday anyway, and you may well be right. But that doesn't excuse what happened, nor does it assuage my indignation over the whole thing. It's bad enough to openly jeer at anyone, especially somebody who's struggling to do their best. Even worse when that "somebody" is a group of innocent children. I mean, seriously-- what sort of heartless soul cusses at children!?
Still makes me mad when I think about it....
This year, his school had a float in the parade, and his class (the 3rd/4th graders) dressed up in cute little tuxes and sat in the float, waving colorful lights and singing Christmas songs they'd learned in choir. They looked so cute and excited at the staging area before the parade began, and they were buzzing about the money the school would get if their float impressed the judges enough to win a prize!
Before the first float took off, Allan and I made our way down the street towards the finish line, since we'd signed up to help with the cleanup efforts afterward. Previous experience had taught us that the streets can be hard to navigate once the parade is underway, so we thought we'd get a head start. So, we didn't actually get to see the float traveling down the street, or hear the kids sing.
Instead, we were greeted at the finish line-- with a float full of unhappy and dejected kids. One of the girls was crying, and the older boys were jumping out, eagerly telling their parents: "They were cussing at us!" The boys, at least, treated it more like an "OMG, can you BELIEVE what they did!?" moment, but they were clearly subdued and no longer the shining, happy faces at the start of the parade.
At first I thought that because it was a Christian school, the hecklers were making fun of that. But evidently, the generator powering the lights and the stereo playing background music cut out a couple times (leaving the kids to sing a cappella in the dark) during the parade, which is what provoked the jeers. According to Todd, one onlooker yelled: "What the [f-word]!? You guys suck!" Another kid told his dad about "the S-word". Admittedly, the float looked a bit ramshackle to begin with. It certainly wasn't going to win any beauty contests. But the kids were happy and excited nonetheless, and looking forward to the event, and my heart breaks when I think of these uncouth punks making fun of them with their foul mouths.
You might say that kids will be exposed to this sort of thing someday anyway, and you may well be right. But that doesn't excuse what happened, nor does it assuage my indignation over the whole thing. It's bad enough to openly jeer at anyone, especially somebody who's struggling to do their best. Even worse when that "somebody" is a group of innocent children. I mean, seriously-- what sort of heartless soul cusses at children!?
Still makes me mad when I think about it....
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday Five: Brrrrrr!
NaBloPoMo 2011 may be officially over, but I'm hoping to continue the trend of blogging a bit more frequently, now that I'm more inspired and have gotten into the habit. It actually felt strange last night, knowing I didn't have to sit at the computer and churn out a post before the day was over. Of course, I say this same thing every year, and then I wind up petering out, posting MAYBE once a month (if that) before gearing up for another 30-day flurry. Ah well. New Year's resolution, perhaps? (not that I believe in them)
So let's start things off easy with another round of Friday Five! Today's theme? The cold weather!
1. What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?
2. Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?
3. When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery? (I said what, not whom!)
4. What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?
5. Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?
1.Um... nothing?? That's why I live in Southern California, and in particular, Santa Barbara, with its Mediterranean climate yielding nice, mild temperatures all year round. It's especially satisfying when I read the FB statuses of friends who live in less gentle climes, fretting about snow and ice and sub-zero temperatures, and I can serenely look out the window at the beach and the sun-kissed palm trees ;-)
2. The reason soup and hot chocolate or tea works so well is precisely BECAUSE it's heat in liquid form, and therefore spreads the warmth faster! I can't really think of anything else that would do the trick quite as well or as efficiently. Maybe piping-hot fresh bread?
3. I don't add anything to the bed (since I use the same medium-thick comforter all year round-- like I said, stable, mild temperatures!) but when there's a chill in the air, I will switch out pajamas. In summer I wear short-sleeve/short-pant pajamas, in cooler weather I'll wear flannel pajamas, and in winter? Time to break out the fleece pajamas!
4. Gardening. I enjoy working under the sun, tending to my garden. But overcast weather makes that less enjoyable. Not to mention, it's harder to dig weeds out without uprooting my whole garden when the ground is moist.
5. My husband :-P Seriously. The guy will wear shorts on all but the coldest of days. If I see him wearing his jeans, socks and shoes, and his light jacket, I know I'd better bundle up in multiple layers, scarves, gloves and maybe a balaclava hood
How about you?
So let's start things off easy with another round of Friday Five! Today's theme? The cold weather!
1. What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?
2. Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?
3. When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery? (I said what, not whom!)
4. What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?
5. Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?
1.Um... nothing?? That's why I live in Southern California, and in particular, Santa Barbara, with its Mediterranean climate yielding nice, mild temperatures all year round. It's especially satisfying when I read the FB statuses of friends who live in less gentle climes, fretting about snow and ice and sub-zero temperatures, and I can serenely look out the window at the beach and the sun-kissed palm trees ;-)
2. The reason soup and hot chocolate or tea works so well is precisely BECAUSE it's heat in liquid form, and therefore spreads the warmth faster! I can't really think of anything else that would do the trick quite as well or as efficiently. Maybe piping-hot fresh bread?
3. I don't add anything to the bed (since I use the same medium-thick comforter all year round-- like I said, stable, mild temperatures!) but when there's a chill in the air, I will switch out pajamas. In summer I wear short-sleeve/short-pant pajamas, in cooler weather I'll wear flannel pajamas, and in winter? Time to break out the fleece pajamas!
4. Gardening. I enjoy working under the sun, tending to my garden. But overcast weather makes that less enjoyable. Not to mention, it's harder to dig weeds out without uprooting my whole garden when the ground is moist.
5. My husband :-P Seriously. The guy will wear shorts on all but the coldest of days. If I see him wearing his jeans, socks and shoes, and his light jacket, I know I'd better bundle up in multiple layers, scarves, gloves and maybe a balaclava hood
How about you?
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