Times and Bars Do Change

I miss the good ol' days of karaoke.  My little brother and I have been singing karaoke for over twenty years and over that time we have both won contests individually and as a duet.  The most successful of those was the time we sang in a karaoke finals on an outdoor stage at the Benton-Franklin County Fair in Washington State.  There were over two thousand people in the audience and we had won two preliminary rounds with "Woodstock" to get there.  One of the judges was the lead singer from the Tokens (from "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" fame). Alas, some kid hacking "Just a Gigolo" beat us out for the cruise vacation we were trying to win.  [My apologies to my readers who have never heard of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00137TEXI/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk1]

But I digress.  Karaoke was hugely popular at one time and audiences appreciated good singers.  That just isn't the case anymore.  It seems like the purpose of karaoke now is as a platform for the very young to get drunk and embarrass themselves.  Those are the people that are appreciated.  Most others hardly get noticed.

Times and bars do change, but not always for the better.  Smoking bans:  GOOD; Uninterested audiences: BAD.