Karaoke in SL is a thriving and a
vibrant activity. There are many venues
to consider as well as how to set up to participate. You will find the singers have all levels of
skill. They are alike in one way, they
are having fun. A karaoke venue is never
predictable or the same place two nights in a row.
I learned that for Karaoke, all paths
lead to the~O~ Lounge.
SL Karaoke was born here. The ~O~
recently celebrated nine years of operation which is incredible for any
venue. Nine years ago when Canipanic
Maslow, the venue’s owner, wanted to bring karaoke to SL many wondered how he
would do it. Now that process is easy
and anyone may go to the ~O~ Loungeand sing. The ~O~
Loungemakes karaoke a
community not just a TP stop. This venue
is supportive of other karaoke venues as those are part of the larger karaoke
community that resonates out from the ~O~ Lounge. The singers I see at the ~O~ lounge I have
also seen at other venues and vice versa.
At the ~O~ their statement is very true “Singers
come get discovered here, venue owners find your new talent here.” The ~O~lounge is open 24/7.
There are several people who hit all
the hot spots on a regular basis. So
much so that many of them have friendships that have lasted years. Speaking to Canipanic Maslow I asked him who
should sing karaoke. He told me
everybody. He told me that he is “the
guy” who, when he goes up to sing everyone realizes they can karaoke. And he does, every night, gets up and sings a
couple of songs.
The great thing I noticed about
karaoke, is no matter how talented a person may or may not be everyone is
supportive at the venues without exception.
I have listened to a lot of people sing over the past two weeks and I
have heard quite a range of talent. All
having fun, all cheered after their song.
All types of people karaoke too.
I mean ~all~ types, men, women, animals, other characters. There is one man who frequents the ~O~lounge
who is a spiderman actively roleplaying his namesake while interacting with the
regulars. Some of the people sound like
professional singers. I was not
surprised to watch a fox playing a guitar while singing. You gotta love SL.
Another great Karaoke spot is Coastal
Castaways Karaoke. At Coastal they offer something special that
most karaoke venues don’t have. They
have time when there is a host there 5-8 M/W/T/F 3-8 Sat/Sun specifically
to help out patrons. Their karaoke board
is available other times there just isn’t a host available making this venue
another one that is 24/7. The owner, FaithFromund,
runs things very smoothly there often participating herself. It is a breezy open platform surrounded by
palms and sand. The atmosphere is
friendly, welcoming and laid back.
Everyone is always dancing and quick to offer the dance HUD to new
comers.
Fireside
Karaoke is frequently by many
of the people you find at ~O~ Lounge and Coastal Castaways. It is a popular stop to practice with taking
over a stream and singing to a small audience.
The owner says “Practice, teach or just
bring your friends and relax...but whatever you do ... SHUTUP AND SING!!”
Most of the karaoke venues support each
other. For example Canipanic Maslow
maintains a music hall of fame boards & open mics places board with portals to twenty four different venues
that have karaoke, open mic or both.
Cani keeps the board updated for closings and moves so it is always
current.
There is a very clever club making the
rounds at karaoke venues. Maintained by
Jeena Cyberstar the iKaraoke club is a definitely club to
join. The club is described by Jeena as:
“Love
karaoke? Me too!! :) Let's have some fun! We're all a work in progress. This is
a mobile karaoke community that finds and creates liveliness wherever we go. “
Jeena sends out a notice from the venue
she is at so members of the club know where they may karaoke with a crowd. This club is already 100 members strong.
If you know where to go you probably
want to know how you can participate in karaoke. What do you need to sing? You may sing in voice or using the stream. Using the stream involves having your own
broadcast software [many are free] as each person provides their own backup
music. One very popular is Butt
[Broadcast using this tool] and it can be used on PC or Mac. I used Mixxx
software on a Mac to pick up the stream.
You need the stream information for the venue you are visiting to input
into your software then you are ready to go.
For your music, there are many sites with karaoke versions of your
favorite songs. Karafun
is one place for pure karaoke type of music.
I definitely highly recommend the
~O~Lounge, Coastal Castaways, Fireside and the venues list on the Music Hall of
Fame and Open Mic Board. For a little
more fun, try Jeena’s club to circulate with a group.
~O~
Lounge
Costal
Castaways
Fireside
Music
Hall of Fame Boards & Open Mic [24 venues]
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