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    Where to Karaoke in Columbus (Almost) Every Night of the Week

    Columbus is the karaoke capital of the U.S.

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    That isn’t hyperbole. Okay, it might be, but where else can you get on a stage for a poorly executed rendition of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” any day of the week? The fact is Columbus is home to a vibrant karaoke scene with a variety of styles to choose from.

    The origin of this xanadu can be pinpointed to the early 2000s in the dark, windowless dive of Cafe Bourbon Street, 2216 Summit St. in Old North. Whether it’s Excesss, which puts on 25 karaoke shows each week on its own, Parker Paul live music karaoke, a once-monthly production, or Punk Rock Karaoke, hosted at Spacebar every Monday, each iteration finds its roots there. These days, Cafe Bourbon Street still hosts a karaoke show every Wednesday, but we’ll get to that.

    Parker Paul Live Music Karaoke

    This is karaoke for folks who know. their. song. Pianist Parker Paul is at Little Rock Bar, 944 N. Fourth St. in Italian Village, every month with keyboard and accompanying drummer, recreating the iconic chords from a whole host of top hits and deep cuts. The setlist he brings with him gets an update every now and then, based on customer requests and his own whim.

    “You’re really kind of on your own out there,” Paul says of the brave souls who take the mic.

    This isn’t typical karaoke where the original song is playing in the speakers around you, and you can’t always count on exact timing. There’s a touch of improvisation to the craft. The music starts up, and you’ve got just a moment to get acquainted with the song you’ve grown used to singing in your car being reduced keys and drums. Paul doesn’t leave you entirely stranded – he’s there with background vocals.

    Paul has been doing live music karaoke for years, since the now-closed Tree Bar on McMillen Avenue was Andyman’s Treehouse. He did a show for some time at Cafe Bourbon Street as well, before settling at Little Rock Bar. Now, he does one show per month, committing most of his energy to his day job of social work. But if you think about it, karaoke is a kind of social work in itself.

    Parker Paul Live Music Karaoke – Photo by Lauren Sega

    Punk Rock Karaoke at Spacebar

    One of the longest-running karaoke shows in the city is Punk Rock Karaoke (PRK). Now making its home at Old North’s Spacebar, 2590 N. High. St., PRK initially popped up at Cafe Bourbon Street before moving to High Five (now a Condado near the corner of High and Fifth) about 23 years ago. PRK was first named for the crowd it gathered, bringing in folks wearing Minor Threat tees to sing Meatloaf and Journey. Now its moniker describes both the patrons and the collection of music.

    “You don’t get a lot of the same ‘Love Shack’ sort of stuff here,” says PRK host Ace Mayes. “Everyone does different, more obscure songs from The Ramones, The Damned, stuff like that.”

    Bartender TJ Steppe has been slinging drinks for showgoers since its early days at High Five. Long hair partially dyed pink and in a muscle tee, he steps up for a rendition of The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine.” A cold January Monday, the crowd is sparse, but he belts it out like he’s at Shea Stadium.

    At first, the old punk avoided singing, finding it an exercise for the excessively inebriated to embarrass themselves. But inevitably, the karaoke spell fell upon him.

    “I started working it, and after a few weeks my regulars were just like, ‘Dude just get up there and do something,’” he recalls. “So the karaoke host tracked down the song ‘Kick Out The Jams’ for me, knowing I would lose my mind.”

    Since then, he’s gotten up to sing for every show, and on slow nights like tonight, he’ll be up about a dozen times. Even the small crowd that’s gathered vocalizes their support, letting out some yeahs and woohoos during the peaks of each song. Steppe says that’s the thing about karaoke: people eat it up, no matter how talented you are.

    “Even though there are catty bitches everywhere, it’s great to know you can just get up there and train wreck, and as long as you stick with it, people will have your back,” he says.

    Punk Rock Karaoke at Space Bar – Photo by Lauren Sega

    Excesss

    Arguably the most prolific of karaoke shows, Excesss started around 2003 at – you guessed it – Cafe Bourbon Street. Founder and owner Dave Casto launched it as a way to provide a show with reliable quality and fair rotations. He and his wife Pam would go to the bar to sing but never get a turn, meanwhile seeing the same handful of people get on stage. Rather than putting on an entertaining show, he’d see hosts reading a book the whole night.

    “I was already DJing in the raver/electronic scene,” says Casto. “And I thought to myself, ‘I could do a better job than this.’”

    Now, Excesss boasts the “largest legal collection” of songs in the city. They’re sitting at 70,000 songs and adding new ones every week. They’re busy, too, with 25 shows every week around Columbus. They can be found at a number of well-known bars across the city, like Oddfellows, Ace of Cups, Fourth Street Taproom & Kitchen, Oldfields, Threes Above High and more.

    The draw, says Casto? Alcohol and ego. Plus, “When it’s good, there’s a sense of community that’s created,” he adds. “It gives folks somewhere to go, something to engage in, and someone to root for.

    “It’s one of those things that you get out of it what you put into it. The presence of each individual that comes to a night matters, even if they don’t sing.”

    Karaoke regular Keith Jackson says Excesss has made the local karaoke scene what it is, bringing higher technological standards and greater options for times and places to sing than anywhere else. He’s been singing karaoke for years, supplementing his other work in voice and stage acting. From what he’s seen, people love the instant spotlight they get when they sing on the same stage as their favorite local or national act.

    “You don’t even have to be a likable person with a voice that other people want to hear,” he says. 

    And that is the magic of karaoke. Whether you’re putting on your own America’s Got Talent audition or singing your favorite Clash song off-key, for those three minutes, the stage is yours, and there’s nothing anyone can do but cheer when you leave.

    Dave Casto of Excesss Karaoke – Photo by Lauren Sega

    Honorable mention karaoke shows:

    • Mickey’s Bar (Grandview), karaoke available Thursday through Saturday
    • Bristol Republic (Short North), live band karaoke on Thursdays
    • X Space Karaoke (Bethel Center), private room karaoke Tuesday through Sunday
    • Quarry Bar & Grill (San Margherita / Marble Cliff area), karaoke Tuesdays and Saturdays
    • O’Connor’s Club 20 (Old North), karaoke on Fridays
    Punk Rock Karaoke – Photo by Lauren Sega
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    Lauren Sega
    Lauren Segahttps://columbusunderground.com
    Lauren Sega is the former Associate Editor for Columbus Underground and a current freelance writer for CU. She covers political issues on the local and state levels, as well as local food and restaurant news. She grew up near Cleveland, graduated from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism, and loves running, traveling and hiking.
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