Sunday, April 16, 2006
Top 10 Reasons why I'd rather deal with actual kids than drunk college kids
Last night I ran karaoke at a short private party for a 4th, 5th, and 6th grade girls' basketball team celebrating a championship season.
Now, maybe this was just a particularly terrific batch of kids. But I cannot even begin to tell you what a refreshing change this event was from, say, my regular Thursday night gig, which is mostly University of Pittsburgh students with fake ID's blowing off steam.
Here are some of the reasons why:
10: Their party began at a downtown restaurant/bar at 7:30 and ended at 9:30, getting me home at a normal human hour.
9: The kids were drinking coke without the rum, thus eliminating 95% of the problems one encounters while trying to deal with the karaoke public. They were fun, polite and respectful at every turn.
8: The place wasn't loud. I didn't have to yell or crank the music up to annoying levels to be heard over the crowd.
7: They completely understood and successfully executed the most basic rule: "If you want to sing, put your name and song number on a post-it note, and hand it to me." You'd be surprised how few adults can listen to and comprehend this. There are actually four separate things that people screw up in just that one sentence.
6: There was no screaming into the microphone.
5: They sang pretty good songs, and sang them reasonably well. I was surprised at the variety: from the more predictable Avril Lavigne and Hillary Duff, to Eminem, the Beach Boys, Missy Elliott, and some showtunes.
4: Watching their moms was a little like a live episode of Desperate Housewives.
3: There was no cigarette smoke.
2: When I told one of the girls that it was the last song and I couldn't take any more requests, she said OK and thanked me. She didn't whine, bitch at me, or tell me why I should make an exception for her. Nor did she try to bribe me with an insulting amount of money. (Don't get me wrong -- not all adults do such things.... many are in fact polite).
1: Free pizza and cake!
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Now, maybe this was just a particularly terrific batch of kids. But I cannot even begin to tell you what a refreshing change this event was from, say, my regular Thursday night gig, which is mostly University of Pittsburgh students with fake ID's blowing off steam.
Here are some of the reasons why:
10: Their party began at a downtown restaurant/bar at 7:30 and ended at 9:30, getting me home at a normal human hour.
9: The kids were drinking coke without the rum, thus eliminating 95% of the problems one encounters while trying to deal with the karaoke public. They were fun, polite and respectful at every turn.
8: The place wasn't loud. I didn't have to yell or crank the music up to annoying levels to be heard over the crowd.
7: They completely understood and successfully executed the most basic rule: "If you want to sing, put your name and song number on a post-it note, and hand it to me." You'd be surprised how few adults can listen to and comprehend this. There are actually four separate things that people screw up in just that one sentence.
6: There was no screaming into the microphone.
5: They sang pretty good songs, and sang them reasonably well. I was surprised at the variety: from the more predictable Avril Lavigne and Hillary Duff, to Eminem, the Beach Boys, Missy Elliott, and some showtunes.
4: Watching their moms was a little like a live episode of Desperate Housewives.
3: There was no cigarette smoke.
2: When I told one of the girls that it was the last song and I couldn't take any more requests, she said OK and thanked me. She didn't whine, bitch at me, or tell me why I should make an exception for her. Nor did she try to bribe me with an insulting amount of money. (Don't get me wrong -- not all adults do such things.... many are in fact polite).
1: Free pizza and cake!
0 comments. Leave one!
