BIDDIX PLACE; MOUNT VERNON, WA
Double shots, RockBand Contest bring boom to Biddix

By Kasey Erickson

On a recent Thursday trip to visit my brother from another mother, I spotted the blinking lights of Stallion Entertainment’s karaoke cruiser, parked outside Biddix Place on Mount Vernon’s Riverside Drive. The last time I was in Mount Vernon this was Cascade Pizza, and I was curious how successful Jim Biddix and his crew were transforming the popular area dance club into a block rockin’ sports bar.

This place, according to local radio station 92.9 KISM, was the exclusive Skagit County location for SingWithRocky.com’s $1500 Battle Of The RockBands contest, and I was dying to see what all the buzz was about.

Pulling into the well-lit parking lot, I reached for my purse, which feels a bit lighter than normal. Houston, we have a problem. My piggy pickup’s gas tank is even thirstier than I was, eternally on “E” as of late, and I pondered my allowance for the evening when a bubbly blonde bartender bounced up and introduced herself as Kealy. Seemingly feeling my pain at the pump (she has a pickup, too?) I sigh in financial relief as she snags me a $5 domestic pitcher, and I watch at the bar as she pours extra-generous $2.50 wells and $4.50 Long Islands to a foursome loudly dressed in leather and acid wash jeans. RockBand contestants, no doubt. This should be fun!

Taking in the ambiance of this not-so-little sportsbar, I plant my happy self in a central spot, positioned to see the action on stage, but still close enough to the pool tables to put some quarters down and wait my turn next to one of Biddix’s HD plasma bigscreens. I initiate people watching program version 2.0. People watching is a favorite spectator sport of mine, often yielding some very funny eavesdropping moments, and Biddix’ place is full of potential for exactly that. These hardcore party people are a very diverse population, ranging from cool collegiates to hip Hispanics to high-tech rednecks, and I think if I go there often enough, some of the regulars are going to make me tri-lingual. I speak English fluently, Spanglish passably, and admittedly can pound a PBR with the best of them, so I felt right at home be-bopping from party table to party table before landing next to a SingWithRocky karaoke book.

With the largest Spanish song selection I’ve ever seen, I can practice crooning the language of love at every Stallion Entertainment show I come to, and the Wednesday/Thursday Biddix extravaganzas are no exception. ?I keep my senses in check as I gander the massive songbook, with a staggering seventy-five thousand-plus songs to choose from (75,000 just didn’t look big enough in type font, man.) I find it tough to pick a first performance piece, although once I decided, it was refreshing to be able to locate it extremely quickly, thanks to the professionally-bound and EZ-find format of these stylish songbooks. I somehow manage to make up my mind (I am, after all, a woman, and will change my mind) I turn in one slip to E.J. “Rocky” Balboa, the studly CEO of Stallion Entertainment. He greets me warmly, takes my slip with a smile, then gives me a quizzical look. “Where’s your second song?” he asks, and explains to my delight that every Thursday at Biddix’s Place is “Double-Shot Thursday,” where every singer performs two songs in a row every time they’re up! I nearly wet myself with the thought of a mini-concert with myself as both opening act and headliner. If you love to sound amazing and sing often to an appreciative crowd, you’ll be in heaven here at Biddix.

It would appear I’m not the only one who thinks so. Rocky has had no problem translating his high-energy hosting style made famous in Bellingham to fit the Skagit County audience, and it shows in the smiling faces of the customers and the wild applause of the crowds here. Regulars like Justin, Simon, Tabitha, Scott and Jorge each claim Biddix Place as their new home for karaoke, due in large part to the incredible sound, selection and original promotions neither they nor I have been able to find anywhere else.

At the end of a fun karaoke rotation of double shots, Rocky switches gears and runs a round of his new brainchild, the $1500 Battle Of The RockBands, taking the evening to new heights of fun and games (pun intended). The next generation of “Guitar Hero,” RockBand gives entire groups of people the opportunity to wield not just an axe, but bass, drums, and vocals as well, and with a $1500 “Rockstar makeover” on the line, this crowd of virtual Van Halens are chomping at the bit to perform live onstage.

After explaining the rules and thanking sponsors such as Reset Games, Hooligan’s Tattoo and Buffalo Exchange, Rocky calls the first competing band, known as “Spork,” to the stage. Their lead singer’s a no-show this night, so I’m invited to get myself up there with the rest of the band, and as we’re performing Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” we simultaneously get a feeling unlike any “normal” karaoke experience. Where Guitar Hero maxed out at fun for two at a time, RockBand seems to have been created in light of the motto “The more the merrier”. With gameplay for up to four at a time, there’s four times the energy being put out by the players, and in this crowds opinion, it’s four times as much fun! Something akin to getting smacked upside the head with a good time in Dolby digital surround sound, with the full impact of “These go to eleven” Marshall stacks, and the delusions of grandeur that was spawned between the four of us was absolutely intoxicating.

RockBand is taking air guitar to new heights, while giving air drummers their time in the spotlight, and seeing to it that the vocalists don’t feel left out either. In short, it’s a shindig of a time, and I found myself hi-fiving my bandmates one by one in virtual ecstasy.

The thing that makes SingWithRocky.com’s new contest such a challenge is the level of teamwork required by the contestants. If any notes are missed by the bandmembers, it doesn’t play, or if it does, it’s a sour twang. Any member can mess up and throw off the other members if they’re not careful. By the same right, if one of your bandmates flunks out, you can bring them back by using the onscreen energy from your own performance. It’s kinda like when Mario got a flower, but without all of the fireballs. When lead guitarists and bassists start to shred, the background to your tab gets backlit and cool looking, and you can use your ¾ size Fender Stratocaster’s multiple effect switches. Drummers get fills and mini-solos to build their energy bank, and the vocalists know they’re on top of it when your voice gets delay and reverb added and the scrolling lyrics practically burst into flames. There are four levels of difficulty, from easy (for beginners), to medium, advanced, and expert, so no matter the skill level, there is something for everyone.

I don’t play video games, but this experience was totally different, largely thanks to the way Rocky and Biddix’ band of merry mixologists packaged the promo. RockBand is like digital crack, air guitar the way it looks in your head when you’re dancing around in your underwear singing along to your favorite songs, daydreaming of being in the limelight, only instead of slamming out your solo on a broom, you actually get an axe to play. Tracks spanning a wide variety of eras and genres, there is sure to be something for just about everyone. You won’t find Lena Horne or Frank Sinatra, but you will find Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones and Smashing Pumpkins, just to name a few. Regardless of your age, this event is sure to be a favorite whether you fancy yourself a drummer, bassist, guitarist or singer. Get four people jamming at the same time and you get the experience of performing live with a band... without the tedium of actually having to learn how to read sheet music, tablature, or play an actual instrument. SingWithRocky.com has details and directions to this and several other locations where you can rock out to RockBand, and with the contest finals looming, that $1500 jackpot starts to look really, really good.

So bust out your chaps, black eyeliner, and ripped up t-shirts. Dust off your leather jacket, and please, for the love of all that’s sacred, leave the spandex at home, even if you look like Rico of the WWE. With so many very friendly people, awesome drink specials, Double-Shot Karaoke and RockBand running on the Biddix mainstage, there was no shortage of ways to amuse myself. The verdict is in. The gauntlet has been thrown. Owner Jim Biddix and superhost Rocky have created something unique and special in a town desperate for originality and fun. You can bet your boots I’ll be back to Biddix with my bitchin’ butt-rock band in tow.