“Daisy Quin and Anne Kapranos, known for their indie electro club night at Proud, bring back Rockaoke for one night only. Front a live four piece rock band and belt out your fave alternative tracks. Expect some famous faces to drop by and have a go, and DJs Thoughtless Hussies will keep you moshing ’til the wee hours too.
ROCKAOKE’s love of all things festival-related dates back to 2007, when they were invited to play at V FESTIVAL by Virgin Radio (now Absolute Radio) in their VIP area. They shared the stage with acts like Manic Street Preachers, The Kooks, The Fratellis, KT Tunstall, Paulo Nutini and McFly and were joined for a few numbers by Al Murray (singing Queen of course), James Nesbitt and Christian O’Connell.
In the VIRGIN RADIO VIP area, star guests enjoyed bespoke rock & roll cocktails from the HARD ROCK CAFE bar and make up application courtesy of the MAC Pro team. Lily Allen was first in the queue having her trademark thick black eyeliner applied.
Paulo Nutini, The Fratellis and McFly were among the acts who performed exclusive live sessions for the intimate audience in the Virgin Radio VIP Sessions, setting the stage for ROCKAOKE, which was kicked off by James Nesbitt and went on into the night.
OK, so we’ve all had a go at ANGELS in the local karaoke bar. But if you fantasise about belting out a rock classic with a live band behind you, visit Karaoke Rock Star, held on thursdays at the Loop Bar in London.
“Karaoke has come a long way since tacky pub crooning competitions that sent a million wannabes flocking to the X Factor auditions. We’ve since seen the social sport become hip by way of Japanese-style, Lost in Translation-influenced booths. Well now karaoke has gone upmarket with the introduction of live bands. The amazing Shunt (020 7378 7776; shunt.co.uk) members’ lounge beneath London Bridge station regularly hosts classy karaoke sessions, with jazzy musicians bolstering brave singers who are willing to get up on stage to belt out contemporary songs – from Blondie to the Beatles. Membership (basically an entry fee) for the evening costs £5. Alternatively, become lead singer, for one song at least, with Rockaoke, a rock band who play at the Loop Bar in London (020 7493 1003;theloopbar.co.uk) on Thursdays.
The trend is exploding in the States, so join The Human Karaoke Experience at O’Flanagan’s bar (myspace.com/humankaraokeexperience) in New York, scream away at the Metalsome (metalsome.net) rock night at the Dark Horse Cavern in Atlanta or join the Live Band Karaoke collective (<a href="http://livebandkaraokechicago simvastatin medication.com/” target=”top”>livebandkaraokechicago.com) in bars across Chicago.
The Observer – sunday 26 august 2007
I’m on stage, staring out at a sea of sweaty, excited faces. A band – guitarist, bass player and drummer – tunes up behind me. I grip the microphone as a booming voice announces my name to the crowd. So this is what it feels like to be a rock star. I’m Joan Jett, I’m Janis Joplin… I’m Avril Lavigne!
The first eardrum-perforating bars of “I Predict A Riot” fill the room, and suddenly I’m Ricky from the Kaiser Chiefs! Immediately infected by the atmosphere, I can’t help but jump about the stage like a lunatic, hands in the air, drunk on the roar from the crowd – and perhaps, but just a little bit, from the six vodkas it was necessary to down before my nerves were numb enough to take centre stage.
Sadly, it’s not Wembley… yet. I’m at the Zoo Bar in Leicester Square. More often it’s the home of half-cut tourists experiencing the capital’s nightlife. But tonight, and every thursday, it’s the setting for KARAOKE ROCK STAR, and my five glorious minutes of fame.
This is the newest karaoke night to hit London and offers, possibly, the most intense karaoke high yet.
Anyone who has felt the thrill of a three-hour session in a private room in Karaoke Box, and felt the deep disappointment when the microphone is switched off at the end of the night, will love it. Infact, they’ll crave the high for days afterwards. Take it from me.
The basement room at Zoo Bar, packed shoulder to shoulder with an enthusiastic post-work crowd, vibrates with energy. The front few metres of the dance floor turn into a grinning, pogo-ing mosh pit, and every singer that comes on stage is greeted with cheers and whistles and the kind of hysteria usually reserved for acts with at least one platinum record under their belt.
This is karaoke to the power 10; with none of the plinky-plonky rip-off backing tracks from cheap DVDs. The band – called ROCKAOKE – is the real deal, a group of bona fide session musicians more used to providing music for the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Def Leppard than for a bunch of gurning amateurs. Three years ago, the trio came up with the genius concept of revamping the karaoke scene, and set about learning note-perfect renditions of dozens of rock songs, from classics like “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, to Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic” and Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out”.
Now, following a successful stint at Manumission’s IBIZA ROCKS last year, when Ricky Wilson jumped on stage in his flip-flops to belt out his own (almost certainly inferior to mine) version of “I Predict a Riot”, ROCKAOKE has become huge.
The presence of the band certainly adds a whole new dimension. It eradicates almost all those cheesy connotations. There’s no S Club 7 reaching for the stars or Steps’ “Tragedy” because the 200 songs on the list have been chosen for their gnarly guitar riffs and intoxicating drum beats. There’s the requisite “I Will Survive” and “It’s Raining Men” – they have got to get the girls in somehow – but they are given the rock treatment.
ROCKAOKE lures obsessed individuals out of windowless karaoke chambers and gives them the audience they secretly crave.
And the most reluctant performer would have to admit that the stage environment makes for a far more electrifying night. Unlike private karaoke, even watching others becomes a buzz, rather than an irritating obstacle between you and the microphone. A friend of mine ended up with girls throwing their undies at him – eat your heart out Tom Jones.
Sadly, the session only runs from 8.30pm until 12.30am, with a break for the band halfway through. So, with a crowd of hundreds and just 30-40 performance spots in a night, it’s wise to get your song requests in early rather than wait for Dutch courage to kick in.
The only real downside – aside from my addiction to “the crowd” and desperate need to do it all again – is the resident cameraman on hand to capture your caterwauling so that, should you feel narcissistic enough, you can watch it back on the KARAOKE ROCK STAR website. Me? I think I’ll stick with my hazy memory of my stellar performance, which is almost certainly a lot better than the real thing.
Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson has been doing karaoke, DJing and even dancing on tables in Ibiza as he kicks back after T in the Park.
The outrageous singer known for his onstage high jinks kicked up a storm when he appeared on stage at a bash in flip-flops and shorts yesterday morning.
Clubbers at Manumission’s Bar M in Ibiza couldn’t believe their eyes when a sunburnt and tipsy Ricky launched into “I Predict A Riot” with ROCKAOKE…
HE may have gone to Ibiza hoping for a spot of rest and relaxation – but it seems Ricky Wilson’s trip abroad is rapidly turning into a busman’s holiday.
The Kaiser Chiefs frontman was spotted living it up in typically flamboyant fashion at the trendy Bar M nightspot near San Antonio on Wednesday evening.
He stole the show at the venue’s weekly karaoke bash by getting up on stage and treating revellers to a surprise rendition of his band’s hit I Predict A Riot.
And that wasn’t all – Ricky later clambered onto a table with pals from New York rockers We Are Scientists to belt out a raucous version of the Oasis classic Wonderwall.
One onlooker told the YEP: “No one had noticed him in the bar – it was a bit of a shock to suddenly see him up there on stage!
“At first he had his back turned to us, so when he span round and we realised it was him doing one of his most famous songs the place went absolutely mad.” Ricky, who comes from Ilkley, also performed a rapturously-received DJ set at the launch of this summer’s Ibiza Rocks event at Bar M on Monday evening.
Ibiza Rocks is the brainchild of former University of Leeds student Andy McKay and his brother Mike, the men behind the party island’s legendary Manumission club night.
Billed as a bid to bring top live bands to a destination that’s traditionally been dominated by dance music, its line-up over the next four weeks includes Dirty Pretty Things, The Streets and Kasabian.
They will be following in the footsteps of Leeds lads the Kaisers, who played at the first Ibiza Rocks extravaganza last summer.
But one bunch of Sheffield musicians have proved the exception – and landed a dream summer booking despite having no frontman.
Then again it could be said that ROCKAOKE have actually got through around 7,000 singers during their 3 years touring British venues.
The band is a live karaoke act which encourages punters to get up on stage and sing the songs of their idols to a full live musical backing. Now the threesome have been invited to repeat the winning formula at the notorious Manumission nightclub on the holiday isle of Ibiza. “We are essentially a Sheffield rock band who, around three years ago, decided it would be fun to start doing shows without a singer,” said Jon Short. “We kick off each show, then rely on getting people up out of the audience to sing.”
“It sounds awfully cheesy I know, but it really is more about offering people a genuine and unique opportunity to get up and perform live with a professional rock band.”
“And, unlike karaoke, it seriously rocks!” The band is booked regularly at venues around the country, including a weekly residency at Sheffield’s Walkabout Aussie Bar on Carver Street.
But a few weeks ago they were called out of the blue by club millionaire Andy McKay, co-founder of Manumission, the Ibiza nightspot once famed for its live sex shows but now expanding the dance-dominated Ibiza scene by staging live rock bands.
