Fuller O’Riley’s

By Rocky & Kristine Fields

It never ceases to amaze me how once the year begins, it seems to just roll by faster and faster.  Here’s hoping you’ve stuck to your New Year’s resolutions, made progress in the areas you want to improve, and been good to yourself thus far.

One of our goals for 2011 is to expand our coverage area to bring you places that you may not have thought to look for great karaoke shows, highlight cities that would be fun to visit, and venture farther away from our usual stomping grounds. Be sure to browse through the paper and read about all the other shows we’ve found, both far and wide. If you’re wanting to find adventures in karaoke, you’ll be able to scout out these new venues too!

This month, the Karaoke Corner is proud to present to you a little place called Fuller O’Riley’s.  Formerly The Hitching Post, Fuller’s is located in the Frontier Village area of Lake Stevens, and is a fine Irish pub. For those of you who are not familiar with Lake Stevens, it is situated just east of I-5, on Highway 2.

Fuller O’Riley’s is a really cool little place, and yes, they’ve got karaoke. Dr. Dan hosts here on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 9pm to 1:30am and this place really gets rocking. The music is loud, the patrons are all happy, and the song selection is excellent. If you’re strictly a weekend warrior for karaoke, you can also check out Fuller O’Riley’s karaoke show on the first Saturday of each month.

Fuller O’Riley’s features a full bar, and a full menu served later than most places in the general vicinity. There is a cozy fireplace, but with all the bodies packed in here, it’s really just pretty to look at. We settled in quickly, shedding our coats and taking in the warm atmosphere. We had no problem finding a seat, the folks there were friendly and didn’t mind sharing a table with us.

Doctor Dan kept the rotation moving along smoothly, as singer after singer belted out every kind of song you could possibly think of. We heard everything from “Soulja Boy” to “She’s Country”, and even a little “Peggy Sue” with a twist. If you’ve ever heard of a karaoke singer who goes by the name of Yukon Jack, then you’ll know how he sang “Peggy Sue”, and if not, feel free to ask the host at Fuller’s just what I am talking about. I won’t repeat it here, but suffice it to say, it was pretty funny.

If you enjoy pull-tabs, they’ve got them. The bartenders are well-versed in the art of mixing drinks and treat the customers well. Although it’s not the biggest bar in town, it seems to be the most popular, at least on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Shawn, the bar’s manager, mentioned that they have live music occasionally on the weekends, and hope to have it more often than not in the next few months. We decided to re-visit on that weekend on our way out of town and sure enough, there was a gentleman by the name of Andy, I didn’t catch his last name… but he was playing guitar and singing to a crowd of dancers all around him. Everyone seemed to really love this guy, and he sure was having fun. To learn more about the live music events at Fuller O’Riley’s, Shawn suggests you give them a call at (425) 334-0604.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun new karaoke venue, and you like it good and loud, you’ll love this place. They’ve got an outdoor smoking area too, although I didn’t check it out, I heard that you’re allowed to take your drinks out there. Either way, we think you’ll enjoy the change of pace at Fuller O’Riley’s. We did, and yes, we will be back.

That’s it for this month’s Karaoke Corner. We appreciate you taking the time to read our opinions and we respect yours as well. Feel free to contact us anytime with comments, questions, suggestions at (425) 359-9450, email to rocknkris@yahoo.com and be sure to look us up on Facebook! We look forward to meeting you, and hope to see your smiling face in the Karaoke Guide soon. Keep on singing, keep on shining!

~ Kristine & Rocky Fields

We have several great Sound Systems, several competent hosts and a 10,000-plus song library available at any time. We run a fun and different show, and we have some of the weirdest contests you’ll ever experience.

I’ve had several long term accounts including McMurphy’s, Park Place, The Barrel. I’ve managed such accounts as The Bull Pen and Gregory’s. We have been the main Karaoke Vendor for the Special Olympics since 1999 (Those kids love the Orange Guy).

Hosts: Sam, Connie and Ray
Contact info: Orange Guy Ent (206) 755-2632
Email: OrangeGuyEnt@yahoo.com
Interesting people to talk to about my shows: Connie Greenwood (Host & friend) 206-618-9079; Bill or Rene Enerson (Park Place Owner) 206-755-5026; Michael or Michelle Dyer (friends) 206-715-1384; Debbie Waters (Special Olympics Contact) 206-329-5627

Please allow me to just say right now, “Don, please don’t ever do that thing you did to that pole again”. Although, I gotta say, you are bendy and have some pretty good pole-dancing moves. I’m sure that takes practice. Kudos for tryin’, that’s fer sure!

Mikki hosts a great show at Toby Magee’s every Saturday and her regulars just love this woman to death. She’s of course been around the area for a good long time, so she’s got friends all over the place.

Cami and her brood of friends will burst into song at any given time. Don’t be shy. Right Don?

Whitney wasn’t shy when she got up on the stage and took the mic for her first karaoke experience. What do I do? Attack her with a camera – nice, huh? No, I gently took one shot and she’s probably glad it exists now.

Brian is one of Toby’s regular singers too. He’s been hangin’ out here for years and loves the atmosphere. His friends are here, it’s his favorite bar. Brian’s a humongous karaoke fan and gets around plenty to check out the shows around town.

“Toby Magee’s had a record-breaking month of October”, according to owner Cami, “Karaoke has been popular and busy.”

And we’re glad to hear of it, Cami. We like to see folks out enjoying themselves. Takes the edge off some tough times sometimes. It’s good to have a release, and karaoke at Toby’s is just what the doctor ordered. You just never quite know what you’re in for when you visit Toby’s. Always something going on and the people make it a very special place full of surprise. I’m sure Don and Cami would agree. They’ve put in yomen’s work at Toby Magee’s and it’s definitely paid off. Their circle of friendship has grown immensely.

The staff is super friendly and always easy to look at. They all support the karaoke without doubt. Some even sing themselves, just ask Bonnie who works the bar, and sings beautifully.

Christy took a turn, Mikki has really begun to build a great following and hopes to see you at Toby Magee’s next Saturday night for some singin’!

The big party celebration was of course attended by lots of folks, some who’ve been around from the very beginning and always supported Sandra Dee’s show and everything she’s done for them over the years.

Among the honorable mentions were fellow karaoke host Fehrone, who took the entire night off from his hosting job to help celebrate. Auntie Pumpkin presented Sandra Dee with a vase signed by all the singers. Paula and Phillip from the Red Lion, Bellevue days of karaoke also showed up to support this festive occasion, among many, many others.

Sandra Dee raised $700 for Brigadoon Youth & Dog Services during the event, which is one of her favorite charities. You can learn more about them at brigadoondogs.com if you are interested in more information.

The 2009 Krammy Awards were presented, some just for fun and others in appreciation of service within the karaoke community. Duffy Owens received Best Costume.

Many cards and gifts were bestowed upon Miss Sandra Dee, who honestly deserves a huge pat on the back for being such an inspirational karaoke host, and friend to all who’ve ever attended her shows. She’s surely one of a kind, a true gem if you ask us!

In true Mazatlan / Sandra Dee tradition, Kristin celebrated her birthday in Mazatlan style… for her 15th time! Now that’s something to brag about! The celebration was amazing, the support was overwhelming to Sandra and she wanted to extend a big thank you to all of you who came out and to those of you who were there in thought, but couldn’t make it. Without the singers, any karaoke show would be nothing. She thanks you all, from the bottom of her heart.

We thank YOU, Sandra, for being an awesome host who’s seen the best and the worst the karaoke world has to offer, and you still stick by all of us crazy karaoke singers anyhow!

Some go through the night saying the same thing over and over and over; saying “give it up for …” as the new singer makes their way to the microphone. Then again as they get the mike in their hand, and still again after they sing their song.

I’d like to never hear the words again, truthfully. And uh, clapping three times for one singer is a bit of overkill, don’tcha think?

Here are some fun alternatives to mix it up a bit and keep the energy:

“How about we show some love for…?”
“Let’s welcome … to the stage.”
“Who’s got two hands?”
“Wasn’t that awesome?”
“Who’s got the clap?”
“Did you just hear that?”
“Let’s thank … for that original rendition.”
“Anyone impressed with the stylings of …?”

I’m sure you could come up with many ideas if you put your mind to it. You could even solicit ideas from your audience.

Some hosts are SO good at what they do. Sometimes, they’ll have a list of funny rules. Tiger has a list of songs with a dollar amount next to them… if he has to hear the song one more time, it’ll cost you this much. And the fees vary to how obnoxious he finds the song, unless it’s your birthday, then the song is free.

Or they bring toys, like play guitars, saxophones, wigs, feather boas.

Let’s hear it for our hosts! …Okay, that expression is also overused. How about, “To our great hosts… your awesomeness is duly noted, recognized and muchly appreciated!” (Sometimes proper grammar has to be ignored.)

Future topics: Wrong words; harmony; ghost writer – guess who?; special occasion songs; choosing songs; rotation – duets; length of songs; decades of music; sharing the books, saving slips; dedicating songs; suicide “murder of a good song” ; Blind suicides, kamikaze; auto tune; the great equalizer

Another fun night was had by all at Lake Street Bar and Grill in downtown Kirkland as they put an exclamation point on their 12 week contest.

Old timers and newcomers alike came together on a Wednesday night in November to challenge each other with their golden tones. Twenty-two finalists in all did their best, vying for a thousand dollars in cash and prizes! Emcee and Host Tiger B. kept things loose on stage while hosts Sandra Dee and Kalika kept things running smoothly behind the scenes.

The evening started out with a bang. Clad only in a corset, garters and stockings Ruthie Reed did an eye- popping rendition of naughty nasty boy. Karaoke contest veteran David Stanford came up and blew out some Tina Turner, whipping the crowd into frenzy. Valerie was only ten days into her karaoke career, yet there she was warning all the men out there what happens if you cheat on her! Monty hit a fun note while trying to convince some young ladies to ride his “Pony”.

Dave Kuhns did a spot on impersonation of Louis Armstrong in wonderful world, Kid Curtis was channeling the great rock bands of the 90’s as he poured his soul into the Counting Crows’ “Round Here’. “Mike The Graduate” and the “Sexier Mike” did their version of Shoop while Nadiah yelled at them from the side of the stage trying to keep them on track.

Arlie was feeling it as she sang Heart’s “Alone” and Sasha had everybody’s ears while she belted out Beyonce’s “Listen”. Dan Milam left everything on the stage as he impassioned Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones”, and Jason Stone rocked on with Journey’s “separate ways”.

The $500 top prize for the contest went to the beautiful and talented Sarina Macke as she had a bad attitude and some words to the wise as she sang Carrie Underwood’s “Before he cheats”. She wowed the crowd with her velvety pipes, abundant tresses and scandalous top. Afterward when asked how she felt about the win she said, “…everybody was so good, I can’t believe it. I’m so happy that Michael Wastman was here to see me”.

The rest of the winners were David Stanford in 2nd Place, Sasha Bernhard took 3rd Place, and 4th Place went to Dan Milam.

The contest was another slam dunk for Sandra Dee, Tiger B. and Lake Street. As Lake Street owner and contest judge Cindy Power said, “Everyone was eating, drinking and being merry, what more could you ask for? What a way to start off the holiday season”.

Lake Street features karaoke Sunday through Tuesday with Tiger B. and Wednesday with Sandra Dee. Join the fun through the holidays and keep a lookout for a brand new contest on starting up on Tuesday nights coming soon!

It’s karaoke night here every Sunday through Wednesday with Tubbs. He will not bore you, trust me on this. His unique flavor and style will win you over. We’ve discussed his undeniable attraction to the tennis racquet and it’s public battery. If that’s not enough to entertain you, certainly the light show will.

McCloud’s loves their line dances – all of ‘em. So, bring your friends, your appetites, sing your heart out and chase some pretty girls around the room. Or boys, whatever. They’ve got a mechanical bull!

McCloud’s is at 2901 Perry Ave Mall in Bremerton (360) 373-3093.

GOAL:
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.

Starlight Entertainment is sponsoring the Toys for Tots in 2009. Last year Starlight Entertainment donated services to the Toys for Tots and this year is even bigger! At each show through December 22, Starlight Entertainment will be collecting toys and donations for the Toys for Tots.

You can help by coming to each karaoke show with a new toy donation or money donation in support of Toys for Tots. Starlight Entertainment will match 50% of all money donations through December!

Starlight Entertainment has also donated all-ages karaoke shows to the American Legion (701 Murdock St, Sedro Woolley) Toys for Tots on Wednesdays, December 2, 9 and 16 from 7pm-10pm. This is a non-profit show and we ask that you bring toys or cash donations to support the Toys for Tots. The American Legion is a private club and this event is open to members and guests. Guests will be signed in at the door. Make sure to tell them Mel and “T” sent you to get signed in.

Other karaoke shows you may bring donations to include:

DRAFT PICS Sundays 9-1am
516 S 1st St, Mount Vernon
THE DOGGHOUSE Tues 9-1am
100 S. Barker St, Mount Vernon

If you’re not able to make it out and want to contribute, please contact Rick Crossley at crossley_richard@hotmail.com or visit the toys for tot’s website at http://mt-vernon-wa.toysfortots.org.

Help us give to the children and families this year by making your contributions at karaoke! Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the show! Remember, Toys for Tots only accepts new, unwrapped toys for donation.

“‘The Candy Lady’ is what they call her” is what someone whispered to me with chocolate-flavored breath when I walked into the ol’ Flying Boots Cafe and Spur Room. And suddenly there was Sandra sportin’ a massive bowl of assorted candy free to all! Found out later that it was KJ Larry, who hosts shows around the Tacoma area.

Eddie-boy (that’s what Sandra called him, btw) was up singing. The system was warmed up and sounding great.

Turned arouund and ran into Edward and Michael out for a sing. Jodee was chillin’ in the back of the comfy little bar with Bobby and friends.

The Flying Boots was busting with local celebrities and familiar faces. Everybody completely enjoyed themselves and each other.

Sandra had quite the rotation going. Heather, Rozanne and Teri were everywhere and partayin’, whoa yeah! Folks were dancing and having a blast. Sandra does a great job and me thinks the people kinda like ‘er, y’know?

Bill sang Dream On from his stool very comfortably, thank you very much. Dee and Rick were hangin’ out and getting an earful as the hits just kept on coming! Karaoke at the Flying Boots is a kick. Pun intended.

Later on, I was inntroduced to Jimmy JJ Slappz, and he’s all singin’. Pretty sure he’s a local star or somethin. I’m not quite sure what his em-oh was, but he was cool.

Jodee, from Gloria’s, no longer, was looking great, sharply dressed and thoroughly enjoyed her opportunities to sing.

John H. came in with his killer tie-dye shirt. Sandra has been thankful for his contribution to her shows.

Rick was on tour with his band and in town for a spell. He’s from Lake Superior! How cool is that?!

Rozanne and her girls were all sexy as ever, flirtin’ and drinkin’ and well mostly singin’… kinda. They had poor Edward’s heartbeat all aflutter.

Meanwhile Sandra’s over here being as sweet as ever to everybody. With that sweet smile, she didn’t even need the candy to pull ya in. The cozy little bar fills up immediately, so you better get here in a hurry and grab a quiet wallside table. It’s amazing how there really didn’t seem to be a shortage of space. Maybe ‘cause I didn’t mind rubbin’ elbows with everybody here. Good Times!

Sandra brings the goods every Friday and Saturday night from 9pm to 1:30am at the storied Flying Boots, one of Tacoma’s true landmark location. Owner Peggy recently went through a scramble when the place was robbed of tons of stuff. So, she’s trying to dig out of that hole. Stop in folks and check out the Flying Boots, let’s support those that support us. You’ll be amazed at all the familiar faces cuttin’ loose here.

Breakfast served. Food always available up to midnight. The dining room is actually where Sandra’s set up. In fact, she’s just running it right from the counter, I think. It totally works. The sound is evenly distributed around the front of the cafe which is openly connected to the Spur Room. There’s two huge openings in that wall. There’s more opening than wall right there. So everybody parties to the fullest and the karaoke is the central focus by far.

Even Thea the bartender got up there and sang Kiss Me Deadly, and she was too… deadly. Outstanding!

Get on out to the Flying Boots this weekend, you’ll quickly feel right at home here among friends and friendly, fun-loving people. Just whatever you do, leave the tootsie rolls for me!

Peggy says, “Come in for Tipsy Tuesdays and get $2.75 wells from 8-1am!

By “Dangerous” Dan McKay

Seattle KJ, DJ, Blogger,
President of the Seattle Disc Jockey Assn.

Recently I went to see some hyped-up new KJs at a popular Seattle karaoke spot. With all due respect, I couldn’t figure out what they were trying to do.

The pair worked in tandem, one ran the gear while the other acted as MC. The latter had tons of energy in pumping up the crowd, but I couldn’t understand why they would play 3 to 5 minutes of music between songs. The place wasn’t packed, though busy, yet there was a two hour wait to sing.

As a KJ, I know first and foremost we’re in the entertainment business, but when people come to a bar which advertises “Karaoke Night”, I personally think it’s a crime to play so much dance music when there are already 15-20 people waiting to sing.

People want to dance – there are clubs for that. My take is that by trying to straddle the line, the KJ ends up pissing off the partiers who begrudgingly wait through karaoke singers to dance, and singers who have to endure full dance tracks before they can sing.

So this month we asked area KJs how they incorporate dance music into their shows. Do they play a snippet of bumper music? A full song? An entire dance set? Here’s what they had to say…

Angela DeLand-Calhoun, Spunky Monkey, Auburn, WA

“Oh yeah! I burn discs of bumper music at home; always high energy music that people like to sing along to.

All summer long we did ‘YMCA’ during the night, lately it’s been the ‘Cupid Shuffle’. I play it at least once a night. Otherwise I’ll usually play just portions of songs. Occasionally the crowd is having so much fun dancing, someone will come up and say, ‘Hey let this song play out.’

I watch the crowd and see how they are reacting. It’s difficult on crowded nights when it’s a karaoke bar to keep hearing: ‘When’s my turn, when’s my turn?’ and you have people there who probably can’t stand karaoke. The way I do my show, we always have people come back who really don’t like karaoke.”

Scotty B., O’Finnigan’s Pub, Everett, WA

“I play music between singers; how long I play it depends on the crowd and how many singers I have. If the crowd starts dancing I could end up playing a couple of dance songs. Sometimes in the middle or toward the end of the show, I break away from the karaoke and go all dancing.

It’s never written in stone, it’s the feel of the room, sometimes they would rather dance than sing. A lot of people like to breakup the monotony of karaoke songs, so I don’t just appeal to people who come to sing, but people who come to have fun.

If there are all new singers, I let them sing. If it’s the same people and the same rotation, then they don’t get to sing, and I play dance music. I want everybody to have a really good time whether they sing or not.”

Candy Lynn, Johnny’s at Fife, Fife, WA

“Yes, I play dance music and turn it up to the same level as the singers. If you have dead air between singers it sort of brings the energy level down, so I like to keep music going at all times. I’ll fade it in and fade it out because I don’t like to do anything insulting to the ear. I let the music play until my singer comes up and is ready. I know that there are some there who aren’t there to sing. If they ask me then I’ll play a whole song for them and then go back to the singers.”

Eric Turnbow, ET’s Cosmic Karaoke, 2 Mile House Pub & Eatery, Olympia, WA

“I always play dance music between singers. I keep a six-disc player loaded with discs full of hit music that is constantly running. I’ll turn it up and let it play until the next singer gets up. I hate when there’s a lull or quiet spots where you can hear birds tweeting in the background! If it’s a good song, and people get up to dance, I’ll always let the song finish. On those occasions when I’ve cut the music before it’s over because the singer is ready to sing, the crowd will yell out ‘Heyyyy!’ The boss doesn’t like that.

I don’t care if the people have to wait to sing. I think it’s rude to cut off the song if people are still dancing. In fact, once an hour I take a break and play several songs in a row and everyone jumps out on the dance floor.”

Karen Knapp, Star Lounge, Collector’s Choice Restaurant, Snohomish, WA

“I do not play music specifically to get people up to dance. I have some pretty serious singers who come to my show and my goal is to get them up as quickly as I can. Because I use a computer program that displays upcoming singers, they’re usually scrambling to get up. Between singers I basically play background music at a lower volume because singers want to hear what I’m saying or bar announcements. I’ll go on Rhapsody to get new music and put playlists on my laptop that correspond to the venue, and just hit the fader between singers. If I see that people are responding to a different kind of music then I’ll change it up. There have been gigs where I’ve played dance music because it was more like a weekend place to go and be entertained but that’s not the show I do now.”