Encouragement from my wife

My wife is a wonderful person. She makes me feel loved. And we have this special musical connection. We both love to sing. We go to sleep singing to each other and wake up singing to each other.

Gypsy has sung semiprofessionally since a teen. Recently, she resumed her performing. She started singing at retirement centers and nursing homes. She would bring in her guitar, bring in some music for the piano, and play for them as the Gypsy Songstress. It didn't pay much, at least not in terms of money. Gypsy brought them her lovely voice and music, and she came back with so much more.

My wife told me that she loved it because the audience was so accepting. She connected with them, and it didn't matter whether it was a polished act. Everyone had a good time. That's what I think karaoke should be.

I went with her on a few gigs. I brought my drum, I sang harmonies, and every once in a while if I was good, she would let me have a song as well. I enjoyed it.

Gypsy's pursuit of her passion inspired me to pursue my own passion. I started putting together equipment. I found a few mikes, I bought speakers and a wireless mike and an amp on eBay. I hit stores around town to find speaker wire and mike stands and stuff. I found a mixer at a pawn shop in Michigan. I had to take it apart, but luckily it went back together and worked.

I built a pair of subwoofers. I did a lot of studying about how to do this. What I learned in all my study was that I don't know how to build subwoofers. But, I had the parts. I took the time. I put them together. And they work. I am sure that most any audiophile would turn their nose up at the speakers. But they work, and they didn't cost me much. As I get gigs, the money will go into upgrading the equipment.

I designed a DJ box. It is a rectangular box on wheels, just about three feet high. The shell folds out to become a 4 foot by 20 inch table, and in the box is the amp and mixer, as well as power strips. I can set my laptop up on the table, as well as the DJ mike a lamp, and I have plenty of room for all the drinks that people buy me.

Ok, so I'm not an accomplished carpenter! I do think the design is nifty, if I do say so myself. It folds up nice, it is a good way for me to make sure I have all the pieces I need, and I get a really good workout carrying it up the steps out of my basement.

I started buying karaoke CDs left and right. In a few months, I had collected over 100 of them. Each of them was downloaded to my laptop computer. With some software from Siglos, I could then run karaoke from my computer without bringing piles and stacks of disks.

And I was ready to start DJ-ing!