Karaoke in San Luis Obispo

Last week, I had the great pleasure of speaking at a conference at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. I spoke on Jan 26th. I did not get into town until Jan 24th.

I make a big deal of the timing just to make sure there are no untoward allegations. It seems that at 11:03 AM on Jan 20th, police were summoned to a park bench on Higuera in San Luis Obispo, where "An elderly man with a straw hat was sitting on a bench in front of H&G Clothing, singing karaoke."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/01/28/1462305/whats-your-emergency.html

This was not me. Honest. I don't own a straw hat.

Ryan Cabrera karaoke scandal

I submit my nomination for the single worst sentence in journalism for the year 2011. I know it's still early in the year, but this one is deserving of some recognition:

Ryan Cabrera and two women who sued the 28-year-old pop star, alleging they were seriously hurt after falling on the driveway of his home, have agreed to have the case decided by an arbitrator.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17194733

Cabrera was at a Burbank karaoke club in November of 2008. He was given a ride home by two ladies. They had a few drinks. On their way out at 3:30 AM, they slipped in his driveway, which they claimed was steep and poorly lit, and slippery. Both were injured. One woman claims to have been in a coma for weeks following the incident.

A lawsuit was filed in June of 2009, and the parties have just agreed to take this into arbitration.

I just don't know what to think of this. They went to karaoke with Ryan Cabrera?!?!!?

Celebrity karaoke - Fantasia

In 2004, Fantasia Barrino won American Idol. Since that time, she has appeard in a Broadway version of The Color Purple, she has written an autobiography, and she had her own VH1 reality show. As of September 2010, she can add "I have sung karaoke" to her list of accomplishments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/fashion/05With.html

Celebrity karaoke - Bill Murray

I think we all remember Bill Murray's portrayal of Nick the Lounge Singer on SNL.  Just in case you have forgotten his smoothly polished lounge act, have a look.

Avid followers of my blogs may remember that Bill Murray is no stranger to karaoke. (See "Karaoke Goes to Hollywood" for a complete list of movies with karaoke scenes.) There was a karaoke scene in the movie "Lost in Translation" where he performed the song "More Than This".


It should come as no surprise that Bill Murray is a karaoke singer. It was a bit of a surprise, however, for a small group of people singing in a karaoke booth in NYC just recently. They got a knock on the door from someone who wanted to join them. They reluctantly let the guy in, but did not notice who he was. Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. They were told that the guy partying down with them was none other than Bill Murray.

More of the ongoing DSB-omania

I found this excellent version of Don't Stop Believin' as performed by Elton John , Lady Gaga, Sting, Blondie, and Shirley Bassey. Enjoy!

Celebrity karaoke - Kelsey Grammer

I loved him on Cheers. I loved him on Frasier. He played the same character in the two series - an overly-intellectual  psychiatrist with just enough of his own neuroses to keep the show going. I suppose that says something about me, that I can relate to an overly-intellectual, slightly neurotic psychiatrist?

Kelsey Grammer recently made the tabloid news for allegedly partaking in not one, but two, acts of such moral depravity that they were shunned by the more mainstream media.

The first (and more socially acceptable) of the alleged acts of depravity was the insinuation of his ex-wife that he enjoys a little cross-dressing. They are going through a divorce and she was appearing on the Howard Stern show, so you know that this is very reputable gossip.

But, that's all not that bad. Quite a number of accomplished actors have donned female clothes for various roles. Robin Williams, Tony Curtis, Dustin Hoffman, and Joel Grey immediately come to mind. I don't recall if George W ever appeared in such a role. Maybe not.

 The second act of depravity perhaps fits better with the slightly neurotic Dr. Frasier Crane, or even better with the character of Sideshow Bob on the Simpsons. Yes, you guessed it. Kelsey Grammer was caught singing karaoke. In public. And not just any song, but James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely". You can judge for yourself, but I think he did pretty well. As for how well he pulls off the cross-dressing, I'm gonna wait until I see pictures to say how well he does.

Yet another update on getting discovered through karaoke

Today I came across another near miss on my ongoing quest to find a star who got discovered as a result of singing in a karaoke bar. Well... it's not even really a near miss, but it is a sweet story.

Meghan Linsey was a karaoke host in a Nashville bar where she met Joshua Scott Jones. They started dating and formed a duo called Steel Magnolias. They entered a talent show called Can You Duet, which is a country music's answer to American Idol. They won the second season.

As I said, this isn't a story of them getting discovered in a karaoke bar. They discovered each other. There was no wildly excited talent scout in the audience who handed them a business card, saying "call me in the morning".

I suppose that someone could argue that Can You Duet is really just a karaoke competition on steroids. I have heard that comment made repeatedly against American Idol. It is usually intended as a disparaging remark. "This is not important culture. The contestants have no real talent. It's just glorified karaoke."  American Idol is a very popular show. And the winners and also-rans go on to get recording contracts. And what's so bad about glorified karaoke anyway?

Linsey and Jones did get a recording contract with Big Machine Records, so they did make it to the big time. They just weren't discovered through karaoke. Maybe this story fits better in the category of karaoke romances.


Want to know more about them?
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Steel Magnolias.
Here is a review of the duo.