Soundtracking- Sound Bites: Karaoke Special!

Soundtracking is a weekly column featuring indie and alternative music, published every Tuesday by Laura Cushing on Gather.com. 

As an official Gather Music Correspondent, I'm pleased to bring my knowledge of indie and alternative music to the community. Soundtracking will feature some of the best up-and-coming bands in indie music today. Soundtracking will feature interviews, CD reviews, music playlists and mp3 downloads, and music discussions.

This week on Soundtracking: Sound Bites: Karaoke Special!

 My daughters (twins, age 16) have caught the karaoke bug.  Both are avid singers - they are in their school's select choir, and love to perform at talent shows and in school plays.  Recently, we bought them a program called Singing Coach to help them learn vocal techniques. We also have a karaoke machine, Karaoke Revolution for the Playstation, and the American Idol board game.  There's a whole lot of singing going on around our house. Occasionally, they get other members of the household to join in. On Friday after school, they managed to get me and their grandma to play American Idol. In addition to Idol trivia (which I was very bad at, because I never watch the show) and other such things, they had a segment where you sing karaoke into an echo microphone. Though this has no effect on the actual scoring of the game, it does send everyone into the room into peals of laughter. 

Unlike in the Cushing living room, karaoke can be serious business. Many bars and restaurants now offer karaoke nights, sometimes with cash prizes and fierce competition.  Karaoke can be found in video games, on mobile phones, even in automobiles. There is even a Karaoke World Championship. Karaoke is steadily growing in popularity online - with many communities available that offer enthusiasts a place to connect and share their recordings.

Some online karaoke singers are so talented, you'd mistake them for pros. Take Gatherer Dale C. , for example. His rendition of David Ball's When The Thought of You Catches Up With Me would make any country musician proud. 

Soundtracking spoke to Dale about his karaoke experience:

ST: How did you first get into karaoke?

Dale: I've been singing for as far back as I can remember, simply because I always enoyed singing. I started singing with others in a chat room, of all places. At that time, we were all singing a cappella. None of us had a notion of putting music to our words. Then I discovered Paltalk and its wonderful sound capabilities as compared to the "other" site. I started hanging out in the karaoke rooms, listening to people and then singing myself. One thing led to another and with help, my sound improved and the programs I used to provide music improved. Then, like many others, I started recording my songs and editing to sound more "professional". I still lag far behind many in my recording and editing skills.

 ST: What sort of equipment do you use to record songs?

 Dale: Most of the karaoke singers you will hear on-line are like me. They sit at their desktop or laptop, play the song, sing and record, right in their living room. It took a while, but I ended up ( so far ) using Winamp, to play cdg files, and a karaoke machine to play hard cdg discs. The karaoke machine is hooked into the sound card, so it's just a bit of clicking to use Winamp or the karaoke machine. Some people use some pretty expensive set-ups... spendy microphones, amplifiers, etc., to sing and record. Some singers just sing out without using any sound editors.

ST: What websites do you recommend for karaoke?

Dale: There are more karaoke websites out there than I can even begin to list. There are sites to buy all the karaoke equipment and cdgs you'll ever need. As for sites to go to put your music on, I only frequent three or four different places. It becomes work rather than play if you start trying to "hang" at too many sites. You are expected to not only post your stuff, but to listen and comment on other's songs.

 I store my music mainly at eSnips. That way it is easily accessed by anyone or myself, to post on different forums. As for forums, I truly love the Music Chat Cafe and Kantstopkaraoke. On both sites, you may need to sign up for a free account to listen. There are singers like Foxe, Lady C, Cantstopsinging, Catalin - to name just a few, who are really worth taking the time to listen to, at the Music Chat Cafe. At either site, just go down the list of names. You'll find something for all styles of music and someone who does it just right!

On eSnips, it's all free. Just go to the main site and at the top of the page, there are different communities...karaoke, DJs, photos, etc. Click the karaoke link and you'll come to a page that lists some of the week's top listened to songs, favorites and latest songs out. Below the individual song links is a listing of folders from different singers. There too you'll find "latest", popular and most favorited folders. One folder will lead you to another. Or, if you happen to know someone who sings and posts there, just type their username into the search. At the Music Chat Cafe, most songs link directly to eSnips. Once you are listening to one singer, you can visit their folder, click the "about me" under their photo and find all of their folders, their favorite singers, etc. It's really a huge site.

ST: What advice would you give someone trying karaoke for the first time?

Dale: My advice to anyone getting started singing on the net is to start out with downloading Paltalk and just going in and listening to people. Eventually, you will get to know others who are willing to help you get set up properly, to sound like a pro. If you love to sing, just get out there and share it. Most people are really polite if you aren't the "best". Rude people are usually asked to leave or kicked out of a room, if they're there just to be rude. That's one feature that's really nice about Paltalk as compared to other chat clients. Download Winamp and start collecting cdg files... people on Pal will lead you to the sites, or ask for files on the KSK or MCC websites. Lots of files are stored on eSnips and freely available. I also buy hard cdg collections on eBay. Man,  great prices there for great quality cdgs. You'll figure out your favorite cdg maker after a while. They are all differently styled and the music is presented differently by each company.

ST: Have you ever performed karaoke live?

Have I ever sang live karaoke? Not in this lifetime! When I was younger and hanging out in bars, if there'd been karaoke at that time... yes, I probably would have. Heck, I'd have danced on the bar if the right lady asked me. I've gone long past the need to get up in front of a crowd. I sing and post my music because it's a new hobby and a growing "thing" on the net. I cannot believe the amount of truly talented people I've met. Besides with live karaoke you can't adjust a song to your key, the KJ's all seem to make everyone that I've ever heard sound like they're singing through a tin can. Besides, I just don't like hanging out in bars anymore. But, if you are a social person, almost every town in America has a karaoke night someplace. Karaoke isn't just an American thing... it's gone worldwide with the internet. More and more people are doing it and sounding like they are pros. With internet karaoke, I've already found my little niche and teeny bit of fame, singing as a featured artist for Spotlight Radio. You can also listen to live singers there while surfing the net.  You just have to explore. The more I explore, the more talent I've found. The stars, the only thing they have over a lot of Internet karaoke singers is the big bucks and the major backing to keep them famous.

Listen to more of Dale's music here

Meet Dale on Gather 

Soundtracking Sings! 

Inspired by Dale, I wanted to give karaoke a try. I didn't have access to any good recording equipment or music files, so I decided to sing an a cappella rendition of In My Life, my favorite Beatles song.  Click here and see how I did. 

 I'd like to get some cdg files and try this properly with music and a proper mic someday, but it was a lot of fun to record!

For More Information: 

• Karaoke on Wikipedia
  
• ESnips
• Music Chat Cafe
• KantStopKaraoke
• Spotlight Radio
• PalTalk

Your Soundtracking:

Do you have a comment, question, or topic suggestion for Soundtracking? Send it in! 

Last week, one of the trivia answers I posted was incorrectly listed as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. This was caught and corrected (albiet somewhat rudely) by Rick McGurr.

No, I'm sorry, that's not the correct answer. Several selections from Beethoven's NINTH symphony appeared on the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, not Beethoven's fifth. That means the grand prize of true music appreciation goes to...

Hopefully it is someone who is well rounded in music of many different styles. It gives a much more complete base from which to review such mundane and mediocre things as the latest indie groove. Don't you agree?

 Obviously not a fan! But thanks for catching the mistake, anyhow, Rick.  The music trivia I include for fun was found in an old box game called PopMusicTrivia which I purchased for 49 cents. As the game is from 1985 and no longer in manufacture, I can imagine some of the other questions may contain errors. Please feel free to write in and correct where needed - politely preferred.

Coming up on Soundtracking:

Next Tuesday: Soundtracking interviews Adam of The 88!

Two Tuesdays: Music to ___ By . No topic suggested as yet - feel free to send one in!

First, the answers to last week's questions  -  how many did you know?

 1.  Who played the lead guitar solo on Michael Jackson's hit "Beat It"?  Eddie Van Halen

2.  For what movie did Stevie Wonder sing the song "I Just Called to Say I Love You"? The Woman in Red

3. Who recorded the song "Forever in Blue Jeans"?  Neil Diamond

4. Which Monkee recorded the solo album "Wichita Train Whistle Sings"? Mike Nesmith

5.  What university gave Bob Dylan an honorary doctorate of music degree? Princeton University

This week's trivia (no fair Googling! See how many you know):

1. Who said "On stage I'm Bela Lugosi, but away from it I'm just good old Fred MacMurray'?

2. Who released the albums "Song to a Seagull" and "Clouds"?

3. In the movie version of the Who's Tommy , who played and sang the part of Uncle Ernie?

4. The Charlie Daniels Band won a 1979 Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for what song?

5. Who recorded the 1965 million seller "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat"?

Contacting Soundtracking:
CDs and promotional materials, interview and/or review requests can be sent to:

Soundtracking
PO Box 141  Newtonville, NJ 08346-0141

Email: Soundtracking@labarc.com   / AIM: Lab Arc Designs

Laura's column, Soundtracking is published every Tuesday in Gather Essentials:Music. Soundtracking is your guide to indie and alternative music -- featuring musician interviews, CD reviews, MP3 mixes, and discussions.

Laura Cushing is a 36 year old writer from the New Jersey Pines. In addition to music journalism, she writes fiction and poetry.

You can find all of Laura's Soundtracking columns by clicking the Soundtracking tag. Keep up with Laura's other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network -- just click here and select the orange Connect button on the left-hand side of the page.

You'll find Laura and other Music Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other music buffs at Music.gather.com.