Karaoke Club will celebrate 20 years of song
ANNIVERSARY
by Emma DiMaggio
Communications Manager
On Nov. 16, 2005, 25 singers took to the mic and kicked off 20 years of karaoke in Leisure World. Equipped with a karaoke machine and a couple hundred songs, the club attracted singers from across the community.
Now, 20 years later, the club boasts 4,000 attendees a year and a 10,000-rendition song catalog.
Every Wednesday night, the club holds a karaoke party in Clubhouse 1 from 5:30-9:30 p.m., open to all residents and their guests. Singers take turns on the mic, and a dedicated group of audience members cheer them on.
On April 30, the club will hold a 20th anniversary bash in Clubhouse 1 to celebrate two decades of music.
“It’s been a privilege,” said Margie Thompson, who has co-hosted karaoke nights with her husband, Walt Bier, for the past 13 years. “We’ve met so many beautiful friends.”
The pair were thrown into the world of karaoke when Bier’s close friend, Paul Salay, now deceased, decided to step down as president in 2013. Salay formed the club in 2005 alongside Pat Kogok and Anita Peters. The trio’s aim was to create an open, inclusive environment for singers of all kinds, and so they did.
“Karaoke has changed my life,” said club member Donald Horning, who recalled being anxious his first time at the mic. “I’m more confident in public speaking, I have more friends. I love the people and watching them grow.”
The Community Karaoke Club’s ethos is symbolized by a simple act: to encourage singers, members place dollar bills in a container up by the microphone.
The tradition, started by Helen Schultz, is meant as an act of encouragement.
The club's Wednesday karaoke nights have attracted large crowds (below) for the past two decades.
Photos by Paul Kryczko “They love it,” said Bier.
“It’s showing appreciation. Their friends support them, everybody supports everybody, that’s the beauty of it,” Thompson said.
“This group, they appreciate anybody that sings,” said founding member Kogok. “We have people that are just fantastic. We have people that can barely get a note out, but those are the ones that people clap for the most. They’re very encouraging.”
Those dollars go right back to the club, paying for meals and special treats for the group, such as cookies, hoagies, hot dogs and ice cream sandwiches.
Thanks to music and treats galore, the club has a steady group of regulars who attend weekly. Members have their own rituals. When it rains, singers select songs that reflect that: “Singin’ in the Rain,” or “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” followed by “It Feels Like Rain.” And when November hits, the Christmas songs come out.
“Twenty years have gone by and it seems only yesterday,” wrote singer Vito Villamor. “Happy anniversary [to the Community Karaoke Club], you made my life for me.”
The club isn’t just for experienced singers. In the early years, the club decided to organize practice sessions on Mondays in Clubhouse 6 from 1-3 p.m., which it continues to this day. For years, professional singer Bob Slater led the practice sessions, offering tips on how singers could improve.
These days, the practice sessions are more casual.
“Everyone takes their turn, sitting patiently in their chairs watching. I feel they are my prisoners and they can suffer for two minutes—not much to ask, they’ll get their turn,” club member Dotti Brooks said, noting that she doesn’t expect her singing skills to improve anytime soon. “I’ve learned we all make mistakes sometimes. No one is perfect.”
The benefit of the session is two-fold: singers can practice different songs to figure out which renditions best fit their voice, and they can get out pre-performance jitters in front of an intimate, judgement-free group.
Singer Ren Villanueva said that he was so nervous the first time he sang that “my right hand was shaking like I had Parkinson’s disease.” He mustered up the courage to sing and when he finished, “the audience erupted to a rousing applause.”
Even Bier, who co-hosts karaoke nights, attended club events for years without singing. He was eventually coaxed into a rendition of “Delilah” on his 75th birthday. “From that point on, you couldn’t get the microphone away from him,” Thompson said.
Not everyone is a superstar singer, but that’s beside the point. Members widely described karaoke nights as a supportive environment to kick back, have fun, sing a few songs, enjoy snacks and socialize with singers and non-singers alike.
“[At karaoke night], I experience songs from my past being brought into present,” said Linda Spence. “I have made some of my dearest friends I could wish for, and that has enriched my life here in Leisure World in so many ways.”
On the night of April 30, the club will display photos of members past and present. The theme of the night will be country western, though a variety of songs will be sung. All are welcome to join the celebration.
Solos are the most popular type of performance, but duets and group numbers are also sung.Paul Kryczko
