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Comic-Con 2011 Heats Up

San Diego is always buzzing this time of year, and not just because of Rock Out Karaoke. Summer marks the arrival of epic events like the San Diego County Fair, the Del Mar horse races, and of course, the annual Comic-Con International. This year our fans will have two chances to sing karaoke with the band during Comic-Con. First, of course, is our regular weekly show at the House of Blues on Wednesday night from 7-10pm.

Special bonus: we got tapped by our friends at TechKaraoke to play our one-of-a-kind live band karaoke show Saturday night during Comic-Con. Read on for more details.

In case you haven’t heard, Comic-Con is one of San Diego’s signature events – bringing crowds of over 100,000 from all over the world. Movie buffs, video gamers, comic collectors, and entertainment junkies descend on the San Diego Convention Center every year to celebrate all things even remotely related to comics. Comic-Con 2011 is July 21-24.

Here’s the scoop on when and where we’ll play:

When: Saturday July 23, 2011 8pm – 2am

Where: 97 Horton / Westfield Horton Plaza

Who: Open to ALL Comic-Con Attendees/San Diego locals. RSVP REQUIRED.

What: Caped and masked crusaders singing, dancing, and networking is only the beginning…

Last we heard, there were only a handful of tickets left for this event (literally) and you must register and print your ticket to get in. This event is open to the public.

We’re hoping to see you on stage with us at Comic-Con this year, rocking your favorite live band karaoke tunes!

Special thanks to our sponsor, Twonky for hooking this one up!

Discover and Experience digital media on any web-connected gadget or device.

http://www.twonky.com/

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Photo: Creative Commons courtesy of http://parkablogs.com/

The Local Pub Crawl

What do you get when you mix 550+ rowdy pub crawlers with San Diego’s best live band karaoke on the main stage at the House of Blues San Diego?

An epic, one-of-a-kind, unforgettable stop on the best pub crawl in town.

For the second consecutive, back-to-back year in a row <grin>, Rock Out Karaoke had the privilege of playing for 90 action-packed minutes as the second stop along the way for the annual Memorial Day “Sing, Dance, Crawl to the Park” put on by San Diego’s own Local Eatery & Drinking Hole.

Click on the image to see all the photos from this event!

Naturally, the party started at The Local. But when the House of Blues doors opened at 2pm, the energy from 550 people had the room instantly buzzing. Starting with the National Anthem (a fitting tip of the cap to the reason why we have the freedom to enjoy a 3-day weekend), the next hour and a half included some of the best karaoke singers we’ve seen in quite some time. Beach balls flew through the air as 500 beautiful voices sang in unison to songs like Santeria, Sweet Caroline, and Livin’ on a Prayer.

Then, just as quickly as they stormed in, the crawlers were on to the next stop.

With no shortage of beautiful women, an energetic crowd, and awesome support from The Local and the House of Blues, this is a party we could get used to playing for many years to come.

See you next year! See all the photos at our Facebook page.

Top 10 Karaoke Songs

Top 10 Live Band Karaoke Songs

We see a lot of top 10 lists out there these days. Things like – top 10 worst karaoke songs, top 10 ways to get fired, and top 7 Tips for Rocking the Stage with a Live Band. We’ve been playing San Diego’s best live band karaoke show since 2006, so we thought we’d create our own top 10 list of tunes that get chosen most frequently. Our list is far from scientific; just a record of the most popular songs chosen at our weekly live shows and private event gigs. Behold, the top 10 most popular live band karaoke songs:

10. Plush – Stone Temple Pilots: Early 90’s grunge wasn’t limited to Seattle. In fact, many people don’t know that STP built a following right here in San Diego (at least according to the stoners who wrote the STP entry in Wikipedia). We hear a lot of great Scott Weiland impressions at Rock Out Karaoke, so this one kicks off our list.

9. Santeria – Sublime: Another Southern California favorite, you simply can’t go wrong with a little Sublime karaoke. Santeria gets the entire crowd singing along with you.

8. You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette: Nothing says, “I love the 90’s” more than AM’s first single from the 1995 album “Jagged Little Pill.” That’s right, sister. Just let it out. Once upon a time even former American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi rocked this song with us at a private event.

7. Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi: Rock Out Karaoke fans love this 1987 Bon Jovi/Sambora-written tune that starts with the windy acoustic intro, crescendos into a face-melting guitar solo, and ends back on the signature riff. Anyone with the moxie to tackle this one is frequently rewarded with lots of praise from the crowd.

6. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon: Not all of the most popular tunes are “oldies.” This 2009 smash hit from Tennessee family band Kings of Leon has gotten lots of radio play and gets lots of love from those who take the stage with us.

5. Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood: American Idol’s fourth season winner, Carrie Underwood, found a hit with this tune about smashing headlights and slashing tires. Guys, watch out for the girl who sings this one…

4. Rebel Yell – Billy Idol: This 80’s classic by sneering, spike-haired rocker Billy Idol is what Rock Out Karaoke is all about. Raw, real, intense rock and roll, led by an energetic frontman from the audience.

3. Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar: like Billy Idol, this one is a staple of our song list and gets lots of love by fans young and old.

2. Sweet Child O Mine – Guns N Roses: Another great rock anthem that lets our karaoke singers really unleash their inner rock star. This tune has been on the ROK song list since day 1, and it’s no wonder why people choose to belt it out week after week.

1. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey: There are two types of people in this world. Those who love Journey and those who are liars. This crowd favorite is guaranteed to get the entire bar singing along with you. We’ve seen many a bachelorette/birthday groups rock this one and capture the attention of everyone within earshot.

So there you have it, sports fans. The top 10 most-chosen tunes at Rock Out Karaoke. We certainly hope to see you on stage with us soon, rocking one of these songs or one of the other 190-some-odd (and counting) songs on the list.

Honorable mention goes to the following great songs as well: Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash; Alive – Pearl Jam; Love Shack – the B52s; and Possum Kingdom – the Toadies.

San Diego Wedding Band

Looking for a wedding band? How about live band karaoke for your special day? Your guests will never forget when Grandma takes the stage with a live band at your wedding reception. Or how about Uncle Randy, who has a few too many before his best Bon Jovi impression? Let us help you make your day one to remember!

We’re happy to announce that Rock Out Karaoke will be attending the Bridal Bazaar at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Oct. 24th. In fact, we’re giving away some free tickets and discount admission passes! Just go to our Facebook fan page and “like” us there – let us know you want to go and they’re yours! First come, first served…

But don’t take our word for it – here’s a great Yelp review from Tom and Kristen, the most recent wedding we played at a beautiful winery in San Diego county.

Lemme tell ya- it was about 80% their fault that the guest reviews of the wedding were exclusively: “BEST WEDDING EVER!” I am a discerning karaoker, and I HIGHLY recommend singing with them wherever they are playing- or hiring them for your event.

Remember that we do a lot more than just karaoke. In fact, we can put together a wedding package that works for you. We can DJ/Emcee the whole event, provide dinner/acoustic music, music during the ceremony, reception cover band, and of course, live band karaoke. If your wedding day isn’t the right time, how about the rehearsal dinner? Those can get a little rowdy – and we can help!

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!

Looking for Love

When I first stumbled upon the karaoke gold below, I was pretty amazed and amused at the video personal ad. A little further investigation revealed an entire YouTube channel dedicated to this guy and his favorite hobby – singing karaoke. There are so many things we could say about this, but the videos pretty much speak for themselves. In case you’re wondering, this guy is a great demonstration of how to own the karaoke stage as explained in our blog post last week.

In his own words,
“i am a 45 y/o karaoke singer from the Sacramento area looking for a woman to go out and sing some songs with. i would like to try working on some duets because that would be fun.
if you are a woman between the ages of 37 and 47 and are interested in calling me after viewing the video you can call me at…”

Here’s another one with a demo of his superb karaoke skills:

Think we should add some Steve Winwood to the Rock Out Karaoke song list?

And finally, in case you’re interested in hearing a 12-minute monologue (and a little singing) on life, love, and this guy’s killer karaoke gear setup.

“Doing this beats sitting there with all the other losers at the old-time, world famous, neon dive bar while they warble their way through Sweet Caroline, Don’t Stop Believing, Before He Cheats… I could go on, but I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I’m trying to make my life into a work of art, so I can have the spiritual peace of mind to go about the “mundanity” that is my life.” (Notice that the three songs he mentions are some of our top picks!).

So maybe this fella needs to go back to rehab for a while. Or quite possibly, he’s simply a hopeless romantic. We’ve already seen an on-stage wedding proposal this year, so who’s to say he can’t find love at a karaoke bar? Too bad this guy isn’t in San Diego or else we’d invite him to take the stage with Rock Out Karaoke anytime. Maybe we can take up a collection at our next show to buy this guy a plane ticket from Sac-town..