Sing Along
Hanging around a crowded bar is one way to meet a few friends, but that same bar on karaoke night is something else — there’s just something about singing the first few bars of a song that quickly creates a bond, even between strangers. Karaoke nights are coming back all over Charleston, so it’s time again to pick your favorite spot and familiar tune and wait for your cue.
Tucked into the tiny barroom above Gilroy’s on King Street, Bangkok Lounge is downtown Charleston’s go-to karaoke bar — and with karaoke seven nights a week, there’s no shortage of entertainment.
“Usually, something hilarious happens every night,” said bartender and musician Walker Trull, who hosts country night on Wednesdays. “We have been collecting these paper slips that are absurd as far as song names and artist pairings that people [incorrectly] write down. Someone wanted to sing “Dancing Queen” by Usher — I don’t know how they landed on that. We are saving the slips up for a collage we are going to put in the place.”
Bangkok Lounge has revolving nightly themes, whether it’s through-the-decades Sundays, rock ’n’ roll Tuesdays or wild card Fridays, when fellow host/bartender/musician Rebekah Riley snaps people with a pink riding crop when they get out of line.
The bar’s karaoke championship has been going this summer, with the final round taking place Wednesday, when finalists will compete for the belt and “a glorious reputation” said Riley, who also hosts hip-hop Thursdays.
“One of the best parts about it to me is the look of validation on people’s faces,” Riley said. “You’re dealing with people who don’t get applause in real life. They get their nerve up to sing, and everybody cheers for them. It’s giving people their moment who normally don’t get the spotlight on them.”
Karaoke finalist Abigail Fitzpatrick is a Pittsburgh transplant with an affinity for dive bars. She ended up enamored with Bangkok’s welcoming atmosphere as she sang there more consistently.
“There’s no judgment there,” she said. “Nobody even bats an eye if someone gets up and butchers a song. Everyone is there to have a good time. Recently I met two girls there, and they’ve ended up becoming my closest friends in Charleston.”
“Singing with someone helps with the nerves and with moral support,” Fitzpatrick added. “My mom always said when it comes to karaoke, ‘You’ll never be the worst person there.’ It’s hard to be the best, but it’s hard to be the worst.”
William Covington has been hosting karaoke for over 10 years as DJ Wild Bill. “It just gets better and better each year,” he said. “You have your normal crowd that’s been singing since the ’70s — when karaoke came out — and now, the younger crowd is taking over. We have digital apps to sign up with, so now it’s a young man’s game. Technology is advancing how people get up and sing.”
Some of Covington’s first gigs as a host were at California Dreaming and Wet Willie’s, and he’s been hooked ever since. Nowadays, you can catch him at Burns Alley, Uptown Social and Tin Roof. He’s also aiming to host at additional locations, like Sultan’s Restaurant & Lounge on King Street.
“When people get up there and become entertainers and get the crowd going, those are the most memorable nights,” Covington said. “We had one guy who was not the best singer in the world, but he was an entertainer. Even if he couldn’t carry a tune, he could carry a crowd.”
He is grateful to have things turn around after COVID. “I almost had to swap professions. I see that people are now showing up and showing out a little bit more. I feel karaoke is coming back full force. One of our singers always says when he’s performing, ‘If you’re sexy, then you must be vaccinated.’ ”
Covington, who also does the paper slip system, is quite familiar with misnamed titles and mismatched artists. “They get up there to sing and see the title and say, ‘This isn’t my song.’ Then when it starts playing, they realize it is. ‘Love Shack’ by Olivia Newton John and John Travolta was one of those — they obviously meant ‘Summer Nights.’ ”
Brendan Patman, aka Pat Double B, has been doing karaoke since it first came to the United States, circa 1992.
“It’s almost the same thing as when you were a kid and you wanted to shoot off your own Roman candle or your own sparkler — somehow that ends up giving you more excitement than watching professional ones from pyrotechnicians.”
He frequents karaoke at Tru Blue’s, singing classics like “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” “Tainted Love” and “I Melt With You.”
“I’m like the karaoke anti-hero — I know I suck, and I don’t care. I have the stage presence. I get up there, and I act like a rockstar. Even if I’m off pitch, I’m always on melody.”
Veteran host Chris Gould, aka Karaoke Chris, started hosting karaoke back in 2003. He held multiple residencies in the downtown area up until the pandemic at places like Tin Roof, Big Gun, Mynt, Burns Alley and Local 616.
Gould doesn’t think karaoke culture has changed much. “Everybody in the room is holding a drink and singing along,” he said. But the medium has altered with the times. He still brings books of song titles even though he has a digital list for people to choose from, and he remembers when CDs were the only option for compiling popular songs.
He even did a stint of DIY karaoke in the past, in which his band recorded songs without the lead vocals and used software to create the graphics for the sing-a-long. “It’s gotten to the point where I can buy any song anyone asks for, but I still use some of the ones I made myself,” Gould said.
Nowadays, he’s hosting every second Saturday at Garage 75 on James Island and every Monday at Silver Dollar downtown.
“It’s a social thing — sharing music with people,” Gould said. “Karaoke is like putting something on the jukebox, but standing up there saying, ‘I’m the one that put the song on.’ It’s equalizing. There’s no barrier to entry. Everyone is allowed to do it and find out who they are up there on stage.”
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