Karaoke Stories & Arena Shows – My Performance Style & Stage Presence – From The Mind of McFarland music blog.
There’s no visual documentation of the night in question, so here’s my friend Mike & I singing “Rapper’s Delight”
Let’s start this one by admitting that I’m a karaoke junkie. Regardless of how many “real shows” I’ve played, there’s something alluring about a book full of songs just there for the picking, the lyrics up on a screen so there’s no danger of forgetting, and the opportunity to get on stage with a microphone, in front of an audience with low expectations, and just have fun. I’ve got a few karaoke stories up my sleeve, but there’s one in particular that had quite an impact on my performance style.
This would have been about 2006, when I was finishing up college in Kent, Ohio. It was a predictably hectic time, and I hadn’t gotten to hang out with my friend Jeff for several months. He called me up (back when cell phones were still primarily used for talking – what a primitive time!) and said, “hey, you down for some karaoke tonight?” How could I say no?
It was a wednesday night, and the only Kent bar hosting karaoke that night was almost entirely abandoned. There were 5 people total in the room: Me, Jeff, the bartender, the guy running karaoke, and one girl by herself at the bar. She wasn’t singing anything, so Jeff & I started stacking up the queue… why wouldn’t we?
If I recall, the first song Jeff chose was “Party Up (Up In Here)” by DMX, with me joining in on the chorus. I followed that up with one of my old standbys – there are a few rock singers that have my exact same vocal range, and I often gravitate to their songs – “Flavor of the Weak” by America Hi Fi. I just had fun with it – no mind to stage presence or performance style. When I finished, the girl at the bar came up to me and said, “That was fun. You sang that like you were in front of 40,00 people.”
I took that as a huge compliment, and have tried to take that to heart every time I get on stage – that I should approach my performance at coffeehouse or pub shows the same way that I would stadium shows. Maybe if I ever get the chance to play arena shows, I’ll see what that would actually be like!
I have many other karaoke stories, along with a great collection of open mic stories. A lot of those are much funnier than this one, but this is one that especially stuck with me.
After all, who really thinks a karaoke night will change their life?
-MMcF
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Unleaded rhythmic alt-pop fuels singer/songwriter and two-wheel troubadour Michael McFarland’s engine. Michael McFarland in the simplest summary? Writer, Rocker, Biker, Geek.
For Michael’s Music, Cd’s, Downloads, Merchandise, live show schedule, music blogs, music videos, and everything else you want to know about McFarland, visit the Michael McFarland Website at http://michaelmcfmusic.com/
