Karaoke nights are popular pastime in the Flathead

Maybe you’ve showed up at your favorite watering hole to see someone setting up a laptop and testing microphones at the front of the room. You grab a drink at the bar and watch as they fuss with wires, pulling them out of the walkways and attaching them to monitors around the room.

Or maybe you’ve come just for this. You’ve practiced in your car, serenaded your shower head and annoyed your roommates with your rendition of “Friends in Low Places.” You know every line, every subtle accent, and you have your Garth Brooks “yee-haw” down pat.

Either way, once the disc jockey calls your name and you’re standing in front of a crowded bar, there’s only one thing to do.

Take a breath.

Read the monitor.

Now sing.

KARAOKE IS NOT a new trend. In fact, it’s known around the world as one of the simplest forms of entertainment, and has been since the development of audiovisual systems.

The amateur performer sings along with a popular recorded song, following the lyrics on a monitor or screen, filling in the missing lead vocals. The music can range from a song played from a laptop in a bar to a full five-piece band on a stage, and everything in between. The skill levels of musical talent vary from location to location, but everyone is welcome.

Leonard Fusk quickly discovered this when he first began singing karaoke in the valley nearly 10 years ago.

Fusk is something of a local legend among the karaoke DJs and attendees, easily recognizable by his shaggy gray hair, long beard and glasses. Other singers and audience members simply know him as “Leonard” and his passion for karaoke is what makes him a big star. DJs bump him up to the top of their waiting list and other singers regularly call him up for an impromptu duet, which Fusk always obliges in good nature, trying to keep up with songs he doesn’t know and chugging through his favorites.

“I’m not very good,” Fusk said with a chuckle. “But this is always fun. I just enjoy singing.”

It wasn’t a love for music that drove Fusk to sing— doctor’s orders keep Fusk performing night after night.

A decade ago, Fusk broke his back and as he healed, doctors worried he would catch pneumonia. To keep his lungs clear and his health safe, doctors inserted a plastic tube into his mouth and throat. However, Fusk discovered that singing helped to clear his lungs more effectively— and comfortably— than the plastic tube.

He quickly found every opportunity to sing and has been hooked ever since.

Now, Fusk travels to as many karaoke events as he can throughout the week. He makes his way from bar to bar every night, singing old country classics like “Hey, Good Lookin’” by Hank WIlliams.

Fusk is a soft-spoken man with a quiet voice, but even those new to Flathead Valley karaoke scene will recognize him as he steps up to sing, taking his place in front of the lyric monitor. Audience members will cheer as he quietly chuckles, “Alright, let’s rock and roll.”

Karaoke throughout the valley is held one or two nights a week at local bars and lounges and can draw a large crowd. The DJs who run the karaoke sessions are in charge of drawing people out of their shells and encouraging them to sing.

“I’ve always loved singing, ever since I was a kid,” said Al White, who runs Karaoke with Al at the Blue Moon Grill and Bar in Columbia Falls. “This is just a great way to keep doing it and stay involved.”

White has been singing around the area “since karaoke came to the valley” years ago. When the karaoke night he regularly attended started to fall apart at a local bar nine years ago, it seemed natural for White to step up and help out. Since then, he’s hosted several weekly karaoke nights for local bars and has been a bi-weekly staple at the Blue Moon for the past four years.

“People love it, and it’s always packed,”said Charlette Sapa, who has owned and operated the Blue Moon with her husband, Dick, since 1972. “We have some really good people in here, people who just love to sing.”

To start, choose a song, either from a large binder most bars provide or by requesting a tune with the DJ. Submit your name and song title on a slip of paper, then simply wait for your turn — a little liquid courage couldn’t hurt, either.

Now, repeat these lines:

“Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined your black tie affair...”

Reporter Brianna Loper can be reached at 758-4441 or bloper@dailyinterlake.com.