Karaoke Connections

Carl Gibson

When folks like “Hope and Law” gather at local watering holes like Fenian’s to belt out karaoke classics, KJ Matt Collette keeps the tunes coming.

by Carl Gibson
July 28, 2010

In a darkly lit corner of Fenian’s Pub on Fortification Street, an older long-haired man in a T-shirt looks around tentatively as he puts down his pint. His wife, still clad in her hospital scrubs, smiles eagerly.

“Up next, we got Hope and Law!” Karaoke DJ (or KJ) Matt Collette announces.

Lawrence Warnock picks himself up as his wife, Hope Magee, leads them to the stage. The Monday night crowd hoots and hollers behind them. The screen behind him flashes, “I’m going to Jackson—Johnny Cash/June Carter.”

From the karaoke stage, the Monday crowd at Fenian’s is a bit intimidating. It’s a diverse throng, with white and black, young and old; some are on their second or third beer as their designated drivers look onward, sipping water and coke. Crowds chatter loudly over the music that blares from the speakers.

The familiar two-step and fast guitar strumming of Johnny Cash gets a squeal out of a group of pretty, well-dressed younger women in their early 20s. As they and the rest of the bar cheer them on, Hope and Law get a little more courageous. They belt out the chorus with flair, and Law gives a fist pump for good measure.

Monday night karaoke at the neighborhood pub has been a long-standing tradition for the couple. It turned their relationship into a marriage after just six months of dating.

“Our first date was karaoke night at Fenian’s,” Hope recalls. “It helped both of us realize that we don’t care what other people think about us. We’re ourselves.”

Hope and Lawrence are among the regular Monday crowd, and are usually there to sign up for multiple songs around 8 p.m., usually belting out songs well after midnight. Regular Mary Fisher Hames, better known as Fish, says some of the shy patrons at Fenian’s will try crowing their favorite tunes once they see the regulars entertain the crowd.

KJ orders Fish to the stage with two others perform Lil’ Jon’s “Get Low,” to the roaring delight of the drunken audience and to the surprise of the performers.

“This isn’t ‘American Idol,’” Fish says. “What sets this place apart is that you know that no matter how bad you do, no matter how much you suck, the more people cheer for you.”

It takes the crowd an hour or two to warm up to the singing, but the cheering becomes louder and more enthusiastic as bar patrons order their second and third drinks. The songs become increasingly varied: A lone white guy sings Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”; a group of black female college students belts out “Lady Marmalade” after some encouragement from their friends at the bar; four men with thick Irish accents put their arms around each others’ shoulders and growl “Champagne Supernova” by Oasis.
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Sometimes they just need a little bit of liquid courage,” Fish says. “If they have to wait two hours and sing, most people get good and drunk, and then they don’t care by the time they get a microphone in their hand.”

Fish, Collette’s girlfriend, accompanies the KJ around town to his regular round of haunts—her singing everything from Alanis Morissette to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while he moves through stacks of song requests from barflies eager to sing their favorite songs.

The crowd is a bit different at Sportsman’s Lodge on Wednesdays, where a slightly older demographic gathers to hear their friends sing themselves hoarse to classic rock and country songs. Men at pool tables interrupt their games to watch a shy, skinny kid in glasses ostentatiously perform Prince’s “Kiss.”

Fish laughs and cheers with the rest of the Lodge patrons.

“This is what karaoke is all about,” Fish says. “You already have a podium to make fun of yourself and nobody judges you. It helps you relax. The funnier, the more classic.”

After each performance, no matter the karaoke scene is happening, the growing crowd inevitably gives a round of rebel yells and applause. This night, KJ Collette continues announcing names under the next rotation of singers as he sips a beer from behind his rig. Collette has won some local accolades: JFP readers chose him as the second-best KJ in Jackson. JFP readers also picked Fenian’s as the best bar for karaoke in the 2010 Best of Jackson awards.

“People come in and hand me songs. When I get a big enough stack and I know I’ve got another stack about to form, I let them know if they turn any in now, it’s going to be on the next rotation,” Collette says. “I’ve had at least 64 people at one time in one rotation.”

Karaoke deejaying, since 2004, has become Collete’s full-time job. His weekly rotation starts at Fenian’s on Monday nights and moves throughout the week to Martin’s, Sportsman’s Lodge and Last Call. Occasionally, he may set up shop at Dick and Jane’s for Friday night “Gayraoke.” Somehow, Collette still finds the energy to sing a song of his own between rotations.

“I’ve been doing this for about five years,” Collette says. “Why do I keep doing it? Because it’s just too much fun.”

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