"I'm bringin' blogging back..."

Hey folks - I'm finally back 'online' (somewhat), after my unfortunate incident (apt. robbery) two weeks ago. So, I have two Sundays to recap -- let's see if I can read my own handwriting, through my own wine/gin induced haze...:

Sun. Oct. 5th:

Brandon captivated us with a Reggae version of John Lennon's "Imagine"; Rockstar killed w/"White Wedding", as did a new CCK'er Mike; Natalie gave her all to"Heartbreaker"; Marky Mark w/"Oh Boy"; DJ gave us "Something to Talk About"; Corey Lim rocked "Sweet Child of Mine"; Rosario gave us "Sweet Dreams"; Christine sang "Beautiful"; Ricky belted "Welcome to the Jungle"; Colin crooned some Macy Gray; Vincent couldn't get any "Satisfaction"; Kathy sang "Close To You"; and I'm afraid I did the 'ol 'tear-the-pontytail-holder-out-of-the-hair' move, while beling out "In The End".

By the end of the night, or rather, beginning of Monday morning, around 2:00am, EVERYONE was up, dancing and headbanging to Ryan's "Enter Sandman"! Another rockin' night!

Sunday, Oct. 12th:

Sean entranced with "Creep" by Radiohead; Rockin' Robin rocked out with "Criminal"; and Christine asked to "Give Me One Reason". When Mick sang my favorite, "House of the Rising Sun", it seemed to have prompted a mass make-out session at the bar! Seriously, there were like three couples all connected at the lips - what DOES Andrea put in those drinks?!

Corey Lim wowed us with "Don't Stop Believin'"; John D. and I rocked out "Mustang Sally"; and Kathy rocked out a new song "Reflections" - you go girl! ! And Marky Mark did let me come on board and harmonize to "Dream" - thanks man! And Selene belted out "Heartbreaker"; Christine wowed as always w/"I Love Rock & Roll"; and Rockstar, as always, was a rock star!


Our old friend Gilad from the 'Underscore' days rocked "Message in a Bottle", while Lisa belted "I'm The Only One". And speaking of friends from the past, Ron K. made an appearance, and sang "Come Together", AND, gave me an awesome back rub - thanks Ron K., I needed that!


Mandy & Leah channeled Nancy Sinatra in "Boots..."; Dylan rocked "Interstate Love Song" - Corey Lim was so proud -- and Joe sang "Surrender"! Colin & Sean impressed with "Drift Away", while each of them equally impressed with "I Try"; and "Don't You Forget About Me", respectively.

Props to Charles & Liza for showin' up - long time no see! One of these days very soon, Charles and I will do a duet, and the only hint I'll give is that it's never been done at CCK before!! Can't wait!

Kristina ;)

P.S.
If anyone wants me to include pics, feel free to email them to me -- thanks!

"Weekend at Kenny's"

That's right folks - not just one night of CCK, but TWO! It all started w/Ryan's birthday party on Sat. night, well, actually Sun. morning, as it was just after midnight. Ryan & CCK, a.k.a. Magic Brownies, opened up the set with Linkin Park's "In the End". Props to Joe Mitch for filling in on the drums - he rocks!

Ryan continued to rock out the night with George Michael's "Faith", a favorite of mine, and ended with the rock version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way", after first 'clearing' it w/Bran-DONE. A fun time was had by all, including his Mom; g.f.; neighbors from the 'hood; and several friends from the Outback. Ryan demonstrated his drumming skills with Queen's "We Will Rock You", and Joe Mitch singin'. Ryan also demonstrated his sharing skills as he passed around his bottle of Grey Goose. By the time it got around to me, pretty much everyone had taken a swig. When I voiced my 'concern' over this, he was like, 'seriously?', and was kind enough to 'cleanse' the bottle, so I could drink. Thanks man.

After the Magic Brownies set, CCK opened up the floor, w/Brandon hosting. Joe Holland rocked out "Sympathy for the Devil" like no one's business! I followed w/a little "Heartbreaker", and Marky Mark rocked out as well! Then later in the night/morning, a very special song request from the 'Birthday boy' to me -- and here's a clue:

"IIIIIIIIII CAN'T STAND IT!

I KNOW YOU PLANNED IT

I'M GONNA SET IT STRAIGHT THIS WATERGATE

I CAN'T STAND ROCKIN' WHEN I'M IN HERE

'CAUSE YOUR CRYSTAL BALL AIN'T SO CRYSTAL CLEAR..."

Oh yes. 'Sabatoge'. Beastie Boys. Word. Goin' out by special request. I warned everyone, including "Mrs. Ryan's Mom" to put the earplugs in if they had 'em, 'cause it was gonna get LOUD!!!

A mere 17 hrs. later, we were all back again, including drummer Joe Mitch, who filled in again for Kristie Lee - we hope you're feelin' better girl! Sunday was more of a 'chill' night - w/us regulars hangin' out on the futons -- yes, futons - new additions to the joint. John D. brought the house down w/Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"; Corey Lim, there w/her 'crew', fellow CCK'ers Dylan and her friend Rebecca, gave an ode to Ron K. in Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time"; Marky Mark sang the Kinks' "You Really Got Me"; Maria ("Mrs. D") channeled Joni Mitchell in "Big Yellow Taxi" in the first of her TWO songs! Christine KILLED w/"Give Me One Reason"; Rockstar never disappoints w/bringing us the Grateful Dead. Bran-DONE and his crew were a constant source of entertainment - twirling me around a la "Dancing with the Stars" one minute, to doing calisthenics in the bar area the next!

Colin crooned while Marky Mark and I danced -- props to Colin also pairing up w/John D. in a stunning rendition of "Drift Away"! John D. also harmonized w/Marky Mark in "All I have to do is Dream" - hmm, I'd love to do harmony on that one - maybe John D. & Marky Mark will let me - maybe? Anyway, Ben rocked out to "867-5309", and an ode to James Brown... Sean blew us away w/"You Are So Beautiful" (aw, shucks, oh, just kidding...); and Brandon belted out "Summertime".

Well, I hope to see you all next week - can you believe a very good friend of mine has the gall to plan a dinner party on a SUNDAY NIGHT?! But, what can I say, I'm flattered to be on his 'A list', and it is his b'day celebration. Since it's in B'klyn, my plan is to try to come to CCK later, but, might have to do some finagling, as all of us guests are performers, and, well, we like to perform, even if is just for each other. But I will certainly do my best to show up! If anyone wants to fill me in on the highlights/goings-ons before I get there, or, if (GASP!), I don't make it, feel free to drop me an email afterwards. See you soon!

Kristina ;)

Greetings everyone!  This past Sunday night at Kenny's!  Bran-DONE started out the night, hosting the first set!  One of the first singers of the night was, wait for it, another John D.!  What?  How can that be?  Two John D.'s?  The 'original' John D. wasn't there, so, not much to get corn-fused about, but, thought it was pretty funny!

John D. ("II")

The gals of CCK!

Rockin' Robin rocked out Aerosmith's 'Dream On'; Selene sang 'Heartbreaker'; Brandon had EVERYONE dancing to 'Jump in the Line'; Marky Mark started us off with 'Folsom Prison Blues'; Alton, a musician visiting from Texas took the stage  and hung out; and Ryan joined us at the break and took over the hosting duties!                                               

Rockin' Robin and CCK!

Rockstar Richard did some comedy for us during the first break!  A bunch of his 'peeps' were there cheering him on, and drinking lots of 'cheer'!  He let us in on the secret to he & Christine's wedded bliss... if you want to find out, catch his next standup act!

Davy Monster - rockin' it out w/Rockstar, yo!

Corey Lim and Dylan hung out for a while; Bob Scofield stopped by, sang & took some great pics; Mick played a mean harmonica; Billy sang a little Skynard; & Christine sang a little Christina!

John A., flanked by his friends!

Our host Ryan, and 'sometimes host', Bran-DONE!

Tune in next week for some more CCK goings-ons!  Did I mention the new futons?  They're really 'classing' up the joint!  Maybe that's why the new 'rule' is no-more-bringing-pizza-in,-even-though-the-kitchen's-closed.  And the first Pabst isn't 'free', it's 'three'...my bad -- too hard to hear over the (awesome) live music!  'Things that make you go hmm'...

ALL HAIL "THE WHITE SHIRT CLUB"

Contrary to popular belief, we did not all call each other before Crash Course Karaoke on Sunday night. We all just ended up dressing in white! Go figure...LOL!

Anyway, karaoke got off to a light start on Sunday - mostly it was just 'the regulars'. Then, true to form, somewhere between the first break, which was way later than usual, and the second set, a mass of people came in! Maybe Rockstar could claim this as another job - 'audience hearding', as he did very well with bringing people into Kenny's! It's always fun to have an audience to cheer you on, especially when you're up there on the stage, singing Pat Bentar's "Heartbreaker" and ripping the pontytail out of your hair while singing:

You're a - heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker don't you mess around with me...!

...but I digress...

(Me, before the 'ponytail ripping' incident...)

Some new folks, Karen and Andrew hung out during the first set - Andrew sang a little "Man on the Moon" while Karen mulled over the possibility of nd of duet. It was a night for duets -- John D. and Brandon; John D., Brandon and Ben; Kathy and Brandon - hmm, do you see a common denominator in all three?

The 'Boys of Kennys'

Props to John D.'s "Livin' on a Prayer"; Ben's "Sympathy for the Devil"; Marky Mark's "Oh Boy"; Selene's "What's Goin' On?"; Christine's "At Last"; Rockstar's Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead... And even though I didn't have my 'dancin' shoes' on, it was great fun dancing with Ben, and then Sean!

As always, a great time was had by all! The band was looking mighty colorful on Sunday -- Joe Chica-chica-chica-relli in a lavender shirt (my fave...); Kristie Lee in in a beautiful green top, w/eyes to match! Alan was pleasantly surprised by his warm welcome, as Ryan practiced George Michael's "Faith" before he arrived - props to Ryan! And Andy, as always was his warm, white wine drinkin', bass playin' self!

To those who weren't there, we def. missed you! Hope to see you next Sunday! Actually, I hope to be there next Sunday, as I have a little wknd. trip planned to Lancaster, PA --Amish Country! Then, to Hershey, and Philly to stop off for some Cheesteak sandwiches!

Kristina ;)

I think on Sunday nights at Kenny’s, I am going to need to carry around a little notebook or something, so that I can better remember the ‘goings ons’ from the night before, in better detail. While I do remember the fun highlights from, I can’t say that I can specifically recall who sang what songs, and I ‘credit’ that to the (large) shot of Jamison (thanks John D.), and the subsequent Pabsts that followed (thanks Andrea). But O-M-G! I distinctly remember how much FUN was it to sing Pat Benetar’s “Heartbreaker”! And I know both Corey Lim (who also sang it lastnight), and Selene feel the same way! Next thing you know, we’ll all be ‘duking it out’…lol.

Marky Mark and Bran-DONE celebrated their one year anniversary w/CCK. They each made their own announcements…

MARKY MARK

"Hi, my name is Marky Mark, and this is my one year anniversary w/CCK.”

AUDIENCE
"Hi Marky Mark!"

BRANDON
"Hi, my name is Brandon"

AUDIENCE
"Hi Brandon!"

RYAN
"My goodness, it sounds like we're all here at a meeting!”

In celebration of his year anniversary, Bran-DONE did a fitting tribute – all of his songs were Frank Sinatra songs!

Anyway, it was nice to be back after my TN hiatus last weekend. And a welcome back to Rockstar, Christine, and John A. as well, who all looked sun-kissed from their stint in Cartagena! Great pics!

While I don’t recall what everyone sang, everyone sounded great! There was Marky Mark’s and John D. singing “Dream” – great harmonies! Rockin’ Robin rocked out to K.T. Tunstall – ‘woo hoo’! Dylan’s “American Girl” rocked; Selene sang a little “Black Velvet” (after a Magners run); Isaac almost 'took off' during “Hotel California”; and Colin rocked out as always!

Vince, a ‘regular’ from the past, briefly stopped by w/his drummer friend; Andy’s son hung out with Kate; Leah belted out a song at the end of the night (note to self, start taking notes) she rocked it for sure!

Alan, CCK's lead guitarist, had Ryan pass out flyers to The 2nd Annual Hastings-on-Hudson Music Festival, this Sat., Sept. 13th from 12:30 - 8:30, Draper Park. Not only is Solar Punch, one of his other bands he's affiliated with on there, but so is CCK! Is it CCK, 'like we know it?' Possibly TWO days in a row of singing w/THE MOST AWESOME live karaoke band in the city?! Way cool! I will keep you posted on this, as I find out more information!

As you can see above, I've included a few pictures of Sunday night here. Until I can figure out how to do a slideshow here, I will send an invite link, prob. later on, to those who's email addresses I have, so you can see all of them!

'Til next week, keep on a-rockin’!

Kristina ;)

While I was away...

So, CCK 'regular' Selene took notes for me while I was in TN, enjoying Dollywood w/my 6 yr. old niece, who wanted to ride the scary rides, and, watching fireworks in downtown Knoxville.  I was briefed over the phone by Rockin' Robin, and was told it was QUITE a packed house there at Kenny's, and following is the lowdown:  

Hello All!  Substitue blogger Selene here taking notes and names for Kristina this past Sunday.  Labor Day Eve brought out many regulars and visitors.  The house was packed by 9:15!  We were glad to have our host Ryan back.  Regulars where there in full force although a few were out of town.  Rockstar Richard, Christine and Big John were in S. America for a relative's wedding and Kristina Latour was in TN visiting family.

Corey Lim and Dylan didn't sing but came to show support.  Isaac came to show support,  flirt and poured a little beer on stage for his missing homies, i.e. above mentioned out of towners.  Rockin' Robin rocked out with "Just Like a Pill" by Pink.  John D. received a 'standing O' for "Sweet Child of Mine" as did Selene for "Heartbreraker."  Maria sounded great with "Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson.  Bran-DONE really channeled Bill Withers with his rendition of "Lean on Me".  Marky Mark sounded right on with "Hound Dog".  And Mark must have toured with Cheap Trick due to his tremendous version of "Surrender"!

A few visitors were Eric, Selene's friend from Montreal, who represented Canada with "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams and had everyone singing along to "Living on a Prayer".  Amy Davis and family from FL visited.  She did an astounding job with

"Magic Man" by Heart.  Irene impressed us with Black Velvet and "Before He Cheats".  Jesse sounded like he grew up with The Doors' singing "LA Woman".  Melissa crooned and received lots of cheers for "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes.  Kyle, partying with his Navy buds, protecting us and making us proud to Americans, rocked out with "I Really Want to Know".  Good times were had by all especially with Brandon and Isaac there to keep me laughing (I'm mean!!)  Thanks goes to them and Rockin' Robin for helping me keep track of who did what.

And thanks again Selene - I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Kristina ;)

Greetings from another bleary-eyed Monday... I was just invited out for an evening of exchanging/shopping/girl talk, from a karaoke regular, and had to turn it out down so I could go home after my day job and take a little 'nap-py-poo' on the couch - sorry Rockin' Robin... Even though lastnight wasn't as CRAZY a night as last Sunday, it still had it's memorable moments:

• Rockstar doing double duty as host, AND bouncer.
• Joe Mitch rockin' out on the drums :)
• Selene winning the first-ever CCK raffle, which I picked the winning name! Prizes included a broken guitar string from 'Randy Andy'; a broken drum stick (not the chicken kind) from Kristie Lee; a CD with Alan's picture from when he was a young(er) lad; and a DVD of a movie titled, well, I don't know what it was titled, as it was in a foreign language, but I'm sure either Joe Chica-chica-chica-relli could tell us, or Alan...
• Joe Chica...relli playing lead guitar on one of their newer song additions, "Heartbreaker", which Selene rocked out to.
• Corey-Lim singing anything!
• Dylan rockin' out to 'Self-Esteem' ("La la la la la la la la la la")
• Marky Mark crooning away
• Brand-DONE channeling Elvis...
• Christine's 'lyric-sheet-free' evening
• Bob S. singing Johnny Cash
• Leah's awesome "Joelene"!
• Zach's stellar sound
• Isaac's new Ricky Martin routine, 'the helicopter', to "Message in a Bottle"; (raise hand above head, point finger, swirl around as if getting ready to take off, all while swiveling hips.) "Yeaaaa-aaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaa-aaaah-ahhhh-ahhhh"!!!

Some CCK newbies entertained, with the 'schmoopy' "I Got You Babe"; "Creep" by Radiohead; and who IS that guy who sang "Roxanne" -- off the hook!!

Next Sunday, I will be enjoying the mountains of TN, while Selene will be taking notes for the blog. Being a holiday weekend, I expect lots of notes! I will indeed be thinking of you all on Sun. night starting at 8:00pm, but may be actually "Behind the Wall of Sleep" before the last song around 1:00am, which will be a first since quite a long time! Or, who knows, I may just spontaneously break out into song -- much to the chagrin of my 6 yr. old niece...

Kristina :)

Happy 200th Anniversary show...you rock!

Another rockin' eve lastnight, as Bran-'DONE' guest hosted again, and to a PACKED house, as we celebrated 5 years of Crash Course Karaoke, and 200 shows! From their days at the Underscore (where I first made their acquaintance) one of the 'regulars', Chris Houterman showed up, along w/the Underscore's owner, Paul. And of course there were the current 'regulars', Rockin' Robin; Selene; Marky Mark; Kate; Isaac; Corey Lim & Dylan; Davy Monster; Bob Scoffield; John D. & Maria; Rockstar Richard, Christine & John A.

The newer 'soon-to-be-regulars' were there too; Chuck who 'got no' 'Satisfaction'; and Michelle who took us back to the 80's w/'Like a Virgin'. And there was Shelton who 'Heard it Through the Grapevine' in his smooth 'velvetty' voice. John D. & I 'Played that Funky Music White Boy', and Bran-DONE 'Jump(ed) in the Line' as the last song of the night, where just about the whole bar followed suit! And Ryan, our 'regular' Crash Course host made a guest appearance, and sang his signature song 'My Own Worst Enemy', while the Cookie Monster pinatta took a very bad beating, but bared some delicious goodies - Tootsie Rolls, Fireballs; Dum Dums - YUM YUM!

(My Own Worst Enemy music in background)

Ryan:

Will somebody, somebody please, Alan, Andy, Cookie Monster -

"Please tell me whyyyyyyyyyy,

my car is in the front yard

And I'm sleeping with my clothes on

I came in through the window lastnight...!"

I just realized that I was at Kenny's lastnight, longer than I was asleep! No wonder I'm ready to take a nap while I'm munching on my Cherry Dum Dum... a true sign, of a great night!

Kristina

Another fun-filled Sunday night!

Props to 'Bran-DONE' for his hosting gig lastnight! And his Long Island crew rocked the house! I'll call them 'the NEW Manhattan Trans...', er, rather, 'the Long Island Transfer', w/their awesome back up vocals to Brandon's 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', and also their 'Mustang Sally'. And not only did Gary channel Wilson Pickett, but also Ryan, our weekly host, when he belted out 'My Own Worst Enemy'! Us 'regulars' thought for sure that it was time to introduce the band and pass the tip jar...lol!

Brandon did this cool thing where he played theme music in between songs, to introduce the next singer. For instance, Rockin' Robin's theme/intro. song was 'Different Strokes'; Marky Mark's was 'Chantilly Lace', before he sang Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy!"; and mine was, well, I don't really remember, as I was all set for Usher's 'Yeah!'. So during the break when Christine asked me what my theme song was going to be, a comedy sketch ensued...:

Christine: "Hey, so what's your theme song going to be?"

Me: "Here, I'll give you a hint. 'Yeah, yeah (Da da, da da!). Yeah, yeah (Da da, da da!)"

Christine: (Looking at me as if I have five heads...)

Me: "No?" Christine: (Still looking at me as if I have five heads...)

Me: "'Yeah...yeah!' Still no? It's Usher! 'Yeah...'

Christine: "OH! I thought it was 'Mockingbird'!

Ah ha ha ha ha!! Mockingbird?!! THAT was funny!!

Me: (to Christine) "Ok 'Janice (Joplin), just because I was a tad concerned at first about my version of 'Bobby McGee' sounding like Carly Simon doesn't mean that every reference is a Carly Simon one...lol!

On a side note, I think a Carly Simon version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit", could be quite entertaining! Or not... And speaking of which - it was way cool of Nexus to belt out that very song! (In true Cobain style).

Some 'newbies' to Crash Course rocked out! Melissa crooned "No One" by Alicia Keys and Michelle gave us a taste of Melissa Ethridge; and Erika sang "Black Velvet! And, props to Rockin' Robin's "Ain't No Sunshine" –

"I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know…
(19x, then DEEP BREATH) ...I know, I know..."

(7 more times, then cue Oxygen tank)

Selene's "Enter Sandman"; and John D. and Maria's rockin performances! As always, John D. got the crowd goin', this time while singing “Born to be Wild!”, and Maria and her sweet voice, singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" just took everyone away! Rockstar started us out with the Doobie Brothers “Black Water”; Colin sang "Summertime"; Davy Monster did "Dust in the Wind"; Kathy belted "Magic Man"; and Christine gave a stunning rendition of Etta James', "At Last".

Kenny’s added a ‘catwalk’ to the front of the stage, which could either be way dangerous if you’ve had too many Pabsts, or way fun as I found out while venturing out there with “You Know That I’m No Good”. ‘MEOW!’

Tune in next week, and if you're lucky enough, you'll get to hear Geneva blow the doors off of Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" again.

Here's 4 reasons to come to Crash Course Karaoke every Sunday night -- Alan; Joe; Andy, and Kristie Lee! You guys rock!

Kristina ;)

"All aboard!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha… Aye, aye, aye, aye..."

Ok, that was me, channeling Ozzie Osbourne – how much FUN was THAT!! “SHARON!” I mean, uh, anyway...Sunday night ROCKED!! It was a great crowd, and everyone seemed to be having a BLAST! Most of the ‘regulars’ were there – Marky Mark crooned Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash, to name a few; John D. belted out ‘Play That Funky White Boy’, along with the ‘John D.-ettes’, Christine, Rockin’ Robin, and Yours Truly, singing backup. “Yeah, they was dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin' And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted Play that funky music white boy…!” Rockin’ Robin tried out the K.T. Tunstall song, “Woo-hoo”; Celine, now quite the comedienne, ("Aargh!") rocked us out with some sultry Pat Benetar, and Brandon gave us back the Beatles during ‘Yesterday’. And while Rockstar Richard channeled his inner Billy Idol with ‘Rebel Yell’, Christine channeled her inner Janice with ‘Bobby McGee’. It was a night for seeing faces from the past – Ms. Corey-Lim, and her beau Dillon, showed up after a long hiatus – props to Corey for the ‘blast from the past’ song, Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone”, and to Dillon for “Santeria”! And just when a newcomer to the CCK scene got on stage and belted out “Sympathy for the Devil”, in walks the ‘almost-original-singer-of-the-song’ himself – Joe Holland -- a ‘regular’ from the Underscore days! Rockin’ Robin and I were just talking about him – just then! And then we serendipitously turned around and there was talking to our illustrious host Ryan – we ran right for him (sorry Ryan…) shrieking like teenage girls at a rock concert – making Joe truly feel like, well, a rock star! As always, the band ROCKED THE HOUSE! Props to Kristie Lee for her awesome backup vocals, to my “Crazy Train”, and to Alan & Joe for backin up to “What’s Up!” Tune in next week for some more updates! And don't forget CCK's 200th Anniversary is coming up on Sunday night, August 17th! See you then! Kristina