BUSH GARDEN; SEATTLE, WA
Seattle's very first karaoke bar! (Bush Garden)

By Fred Umayam

The Karaoke industry is alive and well in the Greater Seattle area.

Over 20 years ago, it all began in a restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown called the Bush Garden. Seattle city administrators have changed the name of the community to the International District. Many locals, like me, still call it "Chinatown". For those of you who don't know where the International District is, it's just east of Safeco and Qwest Fields.

The Bush Garden is located at 614 Maynard Ave S. Tel: 206-682-6820. Park for free in the parking lot across the street. Sometimes it's hard to find a parking spot in the area.

What about the food? I'm glad you asked, because the Bush Garden has some of the best Japanese food in town. What's a Japanese restaurant without a Sushi Bar? Bush Garden does not disappoint! It has the best Sushi Bar in the area and offers the freshest seafood around! You can even dine in authentic Japanese settings in the Tatami Room or private booths with fine Japanese décor. Since 1953 the Bush Garden has been a fixture in the community and been a favorite local hangout! Many people affectionately called this place "Home at the Bush" or "The Bush". You can find out more about them by visiting their website at www.bushgarden.net.

When Bush Garden decided to get into the karaoke industry in the late 70's, no one else had done it before and it was quite an expensive venture. In the early days, karaoke music was primarily sung with eight tracks and cassettes. With the 80's came high quality laser discs. The early years at the Bush Garden featured karaoke music primarily sung in the Japanese Language. With the addition of Pioneer discs, the music library includes English and Hawaiian also. Bush Garden has retained a collection of beautiful karaoke songs in Japanese and can still be sung there today. Some of these discs cost several hundred dollars each. They had approximately 20-25 songs per disc. The video graphics were pretty good. Pioneer hired actors and actresses to be in the videos. The music was pretty close to original tracks. All these special features cost money to produce for Pioneer. By the time you had collected 2,500 songs selections you had spent several thousands of dollars just in music. The sound and audio equipment needed to display and play the music was also very costly. The investment has definitely paid off for Bush Garden as they have been offering great karaoke entertainment seven nights a week for over twenty years.

The old Pioneer discs were built with exceptional quality. Many karaoke shows still have their collections of Pioneer discs and they are still being used regularly. In fact, some singers prefer them over the newer CD-G discs. The newer CD-G discs are more compact and convenient to use. Some makers have better quality accompaniment that others. The latest technology utilizes computers that can store 20,000 songs with no problem. All these songs can be accessed with a click of the mouse, and can start playing within seconds.

If you like the Pioneer discs, The Bush Garden is your place! They have the largest selection of Pioneer discs that I have seen. They have many other song selections available as well. Kenny, the long-time KJ for Bush Garden, is eager to get you into the rotation ASAP and loves to chat with the many customers who visit their karaoke show every night of the week. Kenny really enjoys hosting the show, and he loves to keep the party rolling! That must be the reason why he's always smiling. Occasionally, Kenny slips in one of his favorite songs to sing and belts it out, much to the delight of the audience! There's always a party going on at the Bush Garden!

With so many karaoke places to visit in the Greater Seattle area it's enjoyable to see where it all began. On behalf of Karen and Mafa, owners of Bush Garden, we invite you to come visit the Seattle karaoke's birthplace, enjoy a great meal and a piece of karaoke history.

Rolondo

Jeremy

Celestine

Kevin