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By Neil Farrell Telegram-Tribune - June 3, 1995 Tuesday night's Karaoke sing-off was the culmination of nine weeks of competition at Rose's Landing, Brannigan's Reef and Otter Rock. Karen Greever, a housewife from Atascadero, beat out seven others to win the trip to Vegas and the trophy declaring her the best singer on the Central Coast. Greever, an actress in several plays, was a little nervous in the contest. " Singing in front of people is harder when it's not a character like in a play," she said after belting out the Dolly Parton classic "And I Will Always Love You." She revived Donna Summer's disco hit "Let's Dance," for the win. But the competition was close. Penny Smith made it to the finals singing the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody." " Let us pray I reach this high note," she said before the music started. She did. Smith got hooked on Karaoke after her son talked her into doing it. In the finals she sang the country classic, "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia." Mike Kendrick of Atascadero is an old hand at Karaoke. His father bought a Karaoke Outfit years ago in Oklahoma. Kendrick, who sings under the stage name Sax, got hooked while running Dad's Kar-aoke Jam Crue. " My dad loved Karaoke since it started," said Kendrick, who made the finals by singing "At this Moment" and followed it with Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses." |
Kendrick was hoping the trip to Vegas
could be a honeymoon. "I really need it," he joked. "Tough competition
tonight," commented Doc Thompson, owner of California Karaoke, which
put on the contest. Even though the competition was at clubs in Morro Bay, the people who sing Karaoke travel to where the music is. A subculture of sorts has grown up around the music and it hasn't faded much from its beginnings in the early 1990s. Karaoke is good for business, too. Otter Rock Cafe Owner Joanne Shifiett said Tuesday nights are "wonderful. These people travel and they've brought in friends on other nights, too." The other contestants gave Greever, Smith and Kendrick a real run for their money. Tyna Harriman, of Morro Bay, sang the Eagles' "Desperado" in a deep, sultry voice. Harriman, a mother of four, plays the piano and has performed with bands and soloed. She got hooked on Karaoke instantly. " It's a lot of fun," said Harriman. "But I'd rather be in a band. This is like practice." She' likened Karaoke to Toast-masters. "You go out there and you're risking it because you could mess up. It's a confidence builder." Lori Walker, a hairstylist in Cambria, prefers the standards like Patsy Cline's ballad, "She's Got You." " It's scary," Walker said, "but once you do it, it's a lot of fun. You get hooked and want to sing all the time." |