no guts no glory

Karaoke crooners in the spotlight at Whitefish VFW

Wendy Blanton was itching to sing and it was almost time.

At 9 p.m. every Thursday, the Whitefish VFW Lounge makes the transformation from laid-back neighborhood bar to karaoke kingdom, where those who have enough guts, or drinks, or both, take to the stage to sing their hearts out.

Blanton, a cook at IHOP, had a song in mind, but she didn't want to go first. Melissa Etheridge's mid-1990s hit, "I'm the Only One," is her flagship karaoke tune.

"I do that one very well," she confided.

It was the kitchen crew at IHOP that prodded her into karaoke.

"I never would have considered karaoke in my life until I started hanging out with those guys," she said. "I got pressured into it. Now I like it. Even if you sound bad, it's kind of a release mechanism."

Blanton waited for J Clark (J is his stage name) to get the show started. He's a VFW karaoke regular and belted out Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" to kick off the evening. When it was Blanton's turn, she warmed up with "Daddy's Hands," a country song, then later rocked out on classic Etheridge.

THERE WERE no perfect performances that night, and that's as it should be, John Schultz, the "sound guy" from Mobile Beat, said while he set up equipment for the weekly event.

"The secret is not to be too good, so you're not intimidating," Schultz explained. "Somewhere in the middle is good. Here it's about having a good time."

The VFW began holding weekly karaoke nights as a way to generate traffic to the bar that historically has catered to veterans.

"This is their best night," Schultz said about Thursday karaoke.

"The regulars all run when we come in," he added with a laugh.

Mike Rogers, the head bartender and assistant manager of the VFW, said karaoke has added a youthful element to the bar.

"It's great. It's a really good crowd, young, extremely enthusiastic," Rogers said. "I've never had any problems. It's pretty loud, but they spend good and tip well, which I love. They don't give me any trouble."

THE employees at Wasabi Sushi Bar in Whitefish, mostly kitchen workers, have staked their claim as one of the most popular groups at karaoke night. Their group ensembles are becoming legendary, Rogers said.

"I know them all," Rogers said. "They're all in their 20s or early 30s."

Rob Barwikowski is one of the Wasabi regulars. He's partial to 1980s rock and Bon Jovi, but mixes it up with whatever moves him.

"We get off shift and come on over," he said. "Since there's no more open-mic night at the [Great] Northern, this is the only thing going. I was nervous at first, but after the first song I found my confidence and I've never been nervous since that first song.

"I try to get the crowd into it. And I usually tie a buzz on," he smiled.

True to his word, Barwikowski and his rich, resonant voice mesmerized the crowd with Red Sovine's classic country ballad, "Teddy Bear."

Vietnam veteran Charles Thiel is one of the few older VFW patrons who hang around for karaoke night.

"It gets crowded. I usually stay 'til about 11," Thiel said. "I've never gotten up to sing. My voice cracks because I smoke too much."

As the night wore on, singers took their turns, mowing through "I Will Survive," "Watermelon Crawl" and "White Wedding" for starters.

"The No. 1 most popular karaoke song of all time is 'Crazy' by Patsy Cline," said Corey Burke, who was filling in as the karaoke host recently while regular host Sam Kennedy was ill. "Neil Diamond is popular, Bob Seger, a little CCR, it depends on the crowd. Tourists from the East Coast sing a lot of Frank Sinatra. The locals like classic rock."

THERE'S TIME for 60 to 70 songs during the four and a half-hour session, Schultz estimated.

The Whitefish VFW is one of numerous area bars that offer karaoke. The word 'karaoke' comes from joining two Japanese words - 'kara,' empty (as in karate - empty hand) and 'oke'(short for okesutora), orchestra. It was the Japanese who shaped karaoke into a popular form of entertainment in the late 1970s. Since then it's become a mainstay in the United States and other countries.

Marie Degele of Whitefish said how many times she gets up each Thursday depends on the crowd. The smaller the better. Sometimes, she said, it depends on how many drinks she has.

"I have tons of favorite songs," she said. "It's just lots of fun."

Blanton takes a more philosophical view.

"It's all about getting over your fears," she said. "I want to feel it. I want to be it. I want to do it. And it just comes."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com