wedding

7 Tips for Live Band Karaoke

Singing karaoke with a live band is a completely new ball game for most of us and can be pretty intimidating. Not only are you on a bigger stage, but you’ve got to adjust to the (increased) stage volume and high energy. Luckily, we’ve got some helpful hints for you. After playing in San Diego’s original live band karaoke show for over 4 years, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to be successful. Read on and be the rock star that you know you can be.

1. Own the stage. So this one might sound a little obvious, but you’ve got to act like you’ve been there before… even if you haven’t. Even a mediocre singer with great stage presence and dance moves will wow the audience much more than a great singer who just stands there. Rock Out Karaoke regular, Kristen gives us a textbook example of a singer owning the stage.

2. Song choice. If you’ve ever watched American Idol, you know that song choice is key. Make it count. While we like to think that all our tunes rock (since they pretty much do), there are simply some karaoke tunes that rock somewhat harder than others. Go for a song you really know by heart, so you can concentrate on tip #1.

3. Liquid courage. Sure it’s expected that you’ll indulge in a few drinks to lubricate the pipes, but there’s also a point at which you become “that guy (or girl.)” Enjoy the drink specials and try to find your sweet spot just before you hit the stage.

4. Bring your own cheering section. Even if you’re not a great singer, having some familiar faces there to cheer you on makes you seem that much more like a rock star. Plus, they can sing along with you, help calm your nerves, record your performance to post on YouTube, and have that cold beer waiting for you when you return to the table.

5. Look at the audience. This one goes back to points 1 and 2. If you can connect with the audience, they’ll love you. Relax, take your hands out of your pockets, and step up with some confidence. It’s okay to smile, too. Look them in the eye and tell them how you’re the Man in the Box.

6. Stick to the lyrics. Unless you’re singing a Weird Al song, changing the lyrics is probably only enjoyed by you and a couple of your buddies who don’t get to hear the F* bomb enough. Read what’s on the prompter and rock the original version.

7. Come back for more. With live band karaoke shows all over the US, you’ve got no excuse for making it part of your social scene more often. In San Diego, we play about 6-8 public shows each month. That makes for plenty of opportunities to ‘rehearse.’ The best way to get better at something is practice, practice, practice!

Most of all, enjoy yourself and others will too. Rock the stage with a live band and brag about it at work the next day!

Rock Out Karaoke is San Diego’s most dynamic live music performance group, combining the raw power of a live rock band with the fun of audience participation, where individual singers take center stage with the live band! Complete with lyrics displayed on a monitor in real-time with the music, nothing is missing from this unique karaoke show! Rock Out Karaoke is available for your San Diego wedding or special event. Contact us today to find out how we can make your party one to remember!

ROK the Vote!

We’ve been nominated by our friends over at 10News.com for their annual A-list for Best Music in the wedding category. Now it’s up to you to help us get to #1. Voting ends on Sep. 3rd, so hurry!

While you do have to enter an email address to vote, you can deselect one of the choices to receive emails from them – no spam! Click the link below to ROK the vote and help us get to the top. Thanks to everyone who has voted so far and we’ll see you at a show soon.

Will you… marry me?

“Will you marry me?”

History was made on the Rock Out Karaoke stage when a local karaoke singer said those words and proposed to his girlfriend in front of a packed house at the 710 Beach Club in San Diego on June 10, 2010. Brian first gave a stirring performance of Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock,” complete with hip gyrations, finger pointing, sneering, and of course, great vocals. He definitely had the crowd’s attention after an awesome performance. When he asked his girlfriend, Limh, to join him on stage, we knew something was a-brewin’.

Like any gentleman, Brian took a knee and produced a shiny object in a small black box. He sealed his fate and entered the annals of Rock Out Karaoke history when he asked simply, “Will you marry me?” Limh said yes and the crowd went into a frenzy. Exiting the stage, they got plenty of high fives and probably a couple of drinks on the house.

In all the excitement, we failed to get a quality photo of the event. Here’s a fuzzy depiction of the scene that night just so you know we’re not making all this up.

From Misc

Glad to have our friend Mookie and the 91x crew in the house to witness what was an awesome turn of events. It has been noted by one Rock Out Karaoke fan that since the proposal happened on our stage, we become the wedding band by default. Sounds good to us! Best wishes to Brian and Limh – keep on rocking!

A Wedding to Remember

Recently, we played our unique live band karaoke show for a wedding reception in San Diego. We had a blast and figured we’d post a quick re-cap of how things went.

The bride and groom chose a very classy 1930’s theme and the guests and wedding party were all decked out. Everyone was looking mighty sharp! Even the band dressed up in our “1930’s” best. The venue was the picturesque Museum of Photographic Arts at Balboa Park in San Diego. Start to finish, this was a great wedding reception. The cocktail hour and dinner were both pretty low key, but the food looked incredible and the drinks were flowing. We watched some touching toasts, the traditional first dance, and everyone was warming up to the idea of sharing the stage with us.

The cocktails must have worked. From the moment we took the stage, we had non-stop sign ups for karaoke singers. The bride kicked things off with her stirring rendition of Pat Benatar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot. What a way to get the crowd warmed up! Others followed with karaoke classics, like Love Shack, Sweet Caroline, and our personal favorite of the night – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, starring several beautiful women! (see figure 1). All in all, it was a great event that was full of energy and fun. Special thanks to Jeff & Fairlight for having us as a part of their special day – congratulations and best wishes!

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