The following article is reprinted with the permission of San Diego Scene Magazine

W O O   K A R A O K E  H I S T O R Y

Written by Lyn Anderson

After I bought my restaurant/bar in 1990, some of my dinner guests suggested that I have some kind of entertainment in the lounge. Sounded good to me -- people who stay longer usually spend more money! Hmm. But what kind of entertainment to have? Most of my customer base is from East County, an area that most people (wrongly) perceive as being redneck country. Should I try country music? How about jazz? Maybe rock 'n roll to appeal to the younger generation? Should I try country music? How about jazz? Maybe rock 'n roll to appeal to the younger generation?

Well, I tried all of them.

Country? Dance floor not big enough. Plus, most of the people who came in for the music nursed one, maybe two beers through the evening. Couldn't afford it.

"I have not seen Woo's kind of professionalism in music in quite awhile. I don't think anyone realizes what all it takes to keep the music going smoothly, make the people happy and still keep your cool. She has at least four to five things going on at the same time. Yet, Woo still smiles and gives you top quality music." Carolyn Hawks, Borrego Valley, CA

Jazz? We had some really great jazz musicians at restaurant, including Jaime Valle. The music was fabulous, and we had good support from a few loyal afficionados, but there just weren't enough of them.

Hard Rock -- forget it! Too loud, too rowdy. Definitely not for us.

We even had an Irish Duo in for a while. Excellent musicians, not enough listeners, but the music and the dancing were fun.

Then we hired Kirk Bates. We were very proud to have had Kirk perform in our lounge for over two years. He had a large, loyal following, but not large enough to support the expense. Also, Kirk's show ended at midnight; so at five after midnight, the lounge was empty -- but I still had employees who were hired to work until 2:00 a.m.

Then someone suggested karaoke. Kara -- what -- kee? Karaoke!

Checked out the equipment. Many of the bars had just one little screen, one mic, one or two small speakers. Sound quality wasn't all that great. Then I tried singing a song -- "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." I broke out in the biggest case of hives I've ever seen. I was a nervous wreck. I was also hooked! Tried out a few more bars, a few more songs. And then we decided to give it a go!

"There may be places with bigger stages or fancier equipment, but they don't have the magic of Gerrie Woo. I've tried other karaoke clubs but there is no one like Woo. She creates a professional show and gives it everything she has. She's the best." Richard King, La Mesa CA

At first, we hired independent Karaoke people who brought their own equipment in. Even though the setups that the KJ's brought in were small, the customers loved it. One by one, people would get up and try their hand at it. I could really relate to how nervous they were, so we were very supportive of their efforts. And slowly the crowds grew -- and grew -- and grew.

Soon we bought our own equipment. State-of-the-art stuff, great sound. Then we got REALLY lucky and hired the incomparable Ms. Gerrie Woo as our KJ Hostess with the Mostest. If it hadn't been for Karaoke and the loyal following Woo developed, we never would have made it!

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to Woo and all you Karaoke Krazies (you know who you are)!

This site designed and maintained by WunderWebs 1999-2005 All Rights Reserved © You know, blah blah blah. This, that, and the other thing. Which about says it all, don't it? Contact the WebGoddess with any ideas, comments or complaints.