Karaoke is Hardcore
June 17, 2007 at 2:36 pm | Posted by kjtoqer
I have always had that spark in my personality that wanted to be the center of attention. As far back as I can remember, I was always the kid trying to hang out with the adults. I couldn't communicate with them on their level, but I could always dance a little jig or sing a little tune to grab their attention.
My introduction to karaoke happened at a little bar in the Japantown section of San Jose, California called the "7 Bamboo". 7 Bamboo was a local watering hole for the local Japanese for over 30 years, well before the time I got there. While the building was very non-descript on the outside, and the wood paneled interior was reminiscent of the Reagle Beagle from Three's Company, there was something that set this place apart from any bar I had ever been to. They had karaoke.
I think my first song ever was "Rock the Casbah". I totally bombed it. Being that i'm 1/4 Italian, my friend Mike suggested I sing a Dean Martin song. I chose "That's Amore" and after I had finished the entire room erupted in applause. I nailed it! That sense of accomplishment I got from the applause got me hooked.
I use the phrase "KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!" alot in my taglines and signatures. I can't take credit for inventing the phrase though.
When I first started our webTV station ToqerTV I was chatting in IRC in a room called #nullsoft. In case you've been under a rock for the last 15 years, Nullsoft is the company that created Winamp, Gnutella, and played a heavy online role in launching the digital music revolution. The #nullsoft room is where all the Nullsoft staff hang out, and I'm fairly good friends with them.
Now there's one guy in #nullsoft named <germ>. <germ> is like the biggest cynic of the group. I was bragging about karaoke, the 7 Bamboo and the webTV station when he started trash talking it. This isn't the exact conversation, but it went a little like this:
<toqer> I have the best webTV station EVER!
<germ> you suck
<toqer> your NIN sucks, go slash your wrists you emo
<germ> Yah I forgot, KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
<toqer> I like that, KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
<germ> I invented that, I demand 14% of your gross
I started using that as my tagline in every article I wrote. The way I figured it was, that little phrase right there embodied karaoke. Karaoke is hardcore in so many ways. You walk up on stage a little nervous, palms sweaty. You give your performance your all, and when the audience starts clapping, you've basically become a rockstar for those short 5 or 6 seconds of applause. That's pretty hardcore to me.
Beyond just the personal gratification karaoke is addictive. Some of the other KJ's reading this know what i'm talking about. Night after night we see the same dedicated groups of people returning to sing. Once you're hooked, it becomes your life. A way of life. Again, pretty hardcore.
Going right in line with the addiction, we see the bribers. The folks that are so desperate to get their karaoke fix now that they're willing to pay any amount to sing "Right now!" I once had a guy give me $400 to sing 4 songs in a row. (BTW, this is common/accepted practice in traditional Japanese karaoke venues, which is what we are) You're either hard up, or hardcore to part with that kind of dough just to sing karaoke. Of course, to me money means something, and the only thing you'll catch me doing is waiting patiently for my turn in rotation to come around. As long as I know it's coming, i'm in no rush, I can wait.
You embody all these things together, and you can only reach one conclusion.
KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
--Toqer
My introduction to karaoke happened at a little bar in the Japantown section of San Jose, California called the "7 Bamboo". 7 Bamboo was a local watering hole for the local Japanese for over 30 years, well before the time I got there. While the building was very non-descript on the outside, and the wood paneled interior was reminiscent of the Reagle Beagle from Three's Company, there was something that set this place apart from any bar I had ever been to. They had karaoke.
I think my first song ever was "Rock the Casbah". I totally bombed it. Being that i'm 1/4 Italian, my friend Mike suggested I sing a Dean Martin song. I chose "That's Amore" and after I had finished the entire room erupted in applause. I nailed it! That sense of accomplishment I got from the applause got me hooked.
I use the phrase "KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!" alot in my taglines and signatures. I can't take credit for inventing the phrase though.
When I first started our webTV station ToqerTV I was chatting in IRC in a room called #nullsoft. In case you've been under a rock for the last 15 years, Nullsoft is the company that created Winamp, Gnutella, and played a heavy online role in launching the digital music revolution. The #nullsoft room is where all the Nullsoft staff hang out, and I'm fairly good friends with them.
Now there's one guy in #nullsoft named <germ>. <germ> is like the biggest cynic of the group. I was bragging about karaoke, the 7 Bamboo and the webTV station when he started trash talking it. This isn't the exact conversation, but it went a little like this:
<toqer> I have the best webTV station EVER!
<germ> you suck
<toqer> your NIN sucks, go slash your wrists you emo
<germ> Yah I forgot, KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
<toqer> I like that, KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
<germ> I invented that, I demand 14% of your gross
I started using that as my tagline in every article I wrote. The way I figured it was, that little phrase right there embodied karaoke. Karaoke is hardcore in so many ways. You walk up on stage a little nervous, palms sweaty. You give your performance your all, and when the audience starts clapping, you've basically become a rockstar for those short 5 or 6 seconds of applause. That's pretty hardcore to me.
Beyond just the personal gratification karaoke is addictive. Some of the other KJ's reading this know what i'm talking about. Night after night we see the same dedicated groups of people returning to sing. Once you're hooked, it becomes your life. A way of life. Again, pretty hardcore.
Going right in line with the addiction, we see the bribers. The folks that are so desperate to get their karaoke fix now that they're willing to pay any amount to sing "Right now!" I once had a guy give me $400 to sing 4 songs in a row. (BTW, this is common/accepted practice in traditional Japanese karaoke venues, which is what we are) You're either hard up, or hardcore to part with that kind of dough just to sing karaoke. Of course, to me money means something, and the only thing you'll catch me doing is waiting patiently for my turn in rotation to come around. As long as I know it's coming, i'm in no rush, I can wait.
You embody all these things together, and you can only reach one conclusion.
KARAOKE IS HARDCORE!!!
--Toqer
