...I Love Karaoke!

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   It all started back in 1989. I was a nightclub disc-jockey and one of the clubs where I worked was inside of the original Riverside Holiday Inn, next to the campus of UCR. One night I came to work and the U.S. representatives of a Japanese company were there installing a leased karaoke system. I was told we were the first inland California club to try this new form of entertainment. I can’t claim any credit for the idea and I unexpectedly became one of America's first "K.J.s".

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   I was totally afraid to sing in public. The rest of the staff and most of the customers were too. For the first few months, progress was slow. I managed to get only two people to try it the first night and one of them wasn't me. The very beautiful bartender suggested that the waitress and I should stay after work with her, have a few drinks and try some songs ourselves. It was a life changing experience! When we finally left sometime after dawn, I said “Wow, I love karaoke!”

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   The experiment was slow to catch on with the public, partly because it was so new and partly because the song selection was extremely limited in the early years. Slowly though, we kept adding devotees. A couple years later, other local clubs started trying it too. I was still afraid to sing in public without the benefit of alcohol for a long time. Now, I don’t mind at all. It becomes second nature. I’m not a great singer and sometimes that works to our advantage. I’ve had many a customer tell me “I was afraid to go up there until I heard you sing!” (Thanks a lot.)

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   A big break came when another club where I worked as a dee-jay. Don Jose' resaturant in Montclair, asked me to try a 100% karaoke show one night week. They added another night about a year later. After about three years they were up to three nights. Eventually the Montclair store reached seven nights a week and we also started some karaoke shows at some of their other locations. Another huge opportunity came my way when Events Sports Grill in Riverside asked me to do a show there. Success at this location led to many other club jobs and by now I was working seven nights a week. People were asking if I could help them become K.J.s too. I now equip and have trained some of the other local entertainers.

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   I really like new challenges! It's a thrill to go into a new club and help get the ball rolling, but that's only the beginning. Although I can't promise to pack a restaurant the first week or even the first month, I can promise to keep building happy karaoke customers. Here's the proof: I have three bars who have been with me over ten years. There's lots of karaoke shows in the area, but I don't know of anyone else who has been blessed with that much longevity. I just try to keep it fun, lively and adapt to the needs of the club and it's clientele.

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