Friday, August 15, 7 – 9 p.m., San Juan County Fair
— from Reve Shannon —
“So you want to be a rock and roll star,” may just be song lyrics to a 1967 Byrds song, but people all over the world dream about the possibility. And what better way to get a feel for it than to stand up and sing your heart out to your favorite song.
Karaoke has provided that opportunity for millions of amateur singers at clubs and private events for many years. It is usually with an interactive entertainment system, recorded music and lyrics displayed on a video screen. But if you really want to rock your world, the best karaoke is to get up on stage with a full-on live band and back up singers.
This year, San Juan Islander’s can have a chance to experience the best karaoke when the Northwest’s premier live-band-karaoke group, Rock-Bot hits the stage on Friday night, Aug 15 at 7:00pm. Rock-Bot has hundreds of songs to choose from — rock, pop, country, funk, jazz and more. These are top notch musicians who will be there to make your experience the best it can be.
The idea of “karaoke” has been around almost as long as recording. Many performing artists had the lead vocal track to their recordings “empty” so they could perform without the need for a band. During the early 60’s television show Sing Along With Mitch, starring Mitch Miller and a chorus, the lyrics to the songs were superimposed at the bottom of the TV screen so people watching at home could sing along.
The word, karaoke is a clipped compound word from the Japanese kara, meaning “empty” and okesutora, meaning “orchestra.” It is believed that the first karaoke machine was invented by a Japanese performer around 1971.
Since then karaoke has spread in popularity all over the world. Karaoke service is available for Android and iPhone; there are karaoke taxicabs; a Chinese automobile called the Beauty Leopard is equipped with a karaoke machine as standard equipment and Movieoke uses scenes from popular movies where amateur actors replace the stars.
In 2003, Robbie Williams set the record for the most people singing a karaoke song when 120,000 fans belted out his 1998 hit “Strong.” The honor for the longest karaoke event goes to Hungary when a restaurant hosted a marathon karaoke in 2011 lasting 1,011 hours and 1 minute.
Live-band karaoke with Rock-Bot at this year’s County Fair may not offer any opportunities to break world records, but you can bet it will be loads of fun for the whole family.
Don’t miss this chance to show off your stuff. Dress up in your best digs, grab your fan club and come ready to sing your favorite song on the Main Stage Friday night from 7 – 9pm. See you at the Fair – Rock Star!
