February 3, 2006 08:05 - New streaming karaoke service
Ksolo.com offers a virtual karaoke service. The site has an index of hundreds of songs and also allows
users to listen to others' versions of the old and new favorites.
With a microphone in hand, members use their computer to browse by all sorts of music types, from ballads to
party songs, and browse by styles from Big Band to R&B.
The site gives you your own Web page where you can keep your recorded karaoke songs, or send the songs to
friends to check out your tunes.
You have to register to use the site. After a week's free trial, it will cost $7.95 a month.
The site's limitations include: Apple computers are not compatible and only the Internet Explorer browser
works and even then it may not work properly - I still can't record!!
February 3, 2006 08:06 - Karaoke dokey, I'll give it a try
Shower singers, take note.
Carry-A-Tune's Singing Coach software might give you enough confidence to belt out a tune with your clothes on.
The Tampa, Fla.-based company brought its latest learn-to-sing software to the International Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas last month, and after several trips to the casino bar, I decided to give it a try.
Not one to sing willingly in public unless coaxed by my daughter, I took a deep breath before asking for the microphone
and listening to the Carry-A-Tune folks' 15-second spiel.
The idea is this: You load the software onto your PC, plug in a microphone, and after the computer assesses your range
(bass, tenor, soprano and so forth), you sing along, a la karaoke, with one significant difference. As the program played
Jingle Bells, it displayed a jiggly (in my case) line -- in real-time -- that represented my voice. I could see whether I was
hitting the proper note.
At the end, I got a score (I rated a 61 out of 100, which I guessed was not bad after watching a man obviously proud of
his singing voice get only six points higher).
Carry-A-Tune's latest product is a singing program for two, so you and your pals can learn to harmonize.
My upstairs neighbor, an Oberlin College grad and trained singer, sounded doubtful that a program could teach proper voice
technique, and I have to agree. And I'm not sure it can take a tone-deaf person and get them on track.
But for a shower singer like me, it was fun to use, get a score, and try to best it.
February 8, 2006 23:03 - Karaoke's Longevity
Who knew, back when it first wended its ways through bars in the late 1980s, that karaoke would still be going strong in
2006?
In our first encounters with it, we marveled at how this Japanese import instantly transformed bankers and housewives into
pop stars and gave rise to a "karaoke culture." But even diehards questioned how long it would last. Rest assured, though,
its place in our world is secure. Wherever you are, there's a place to go and sing for a crowd. It graduated from kitschy
novelty to one of the old barroom standbys - like pool or darts - and is always there for the partaking.
What to account for the longevity of this thing that seemed so larkish - even a bit loopy - just a few years ago? An
"American Idol"-type longing for fame and riches? Or a deep-seated need to musically express ourselves in venues other than
showers or cars?
In some ways, the appeal is simple: Getting a full band together is hard, and it's even harder finding an audience;
karaoke gives you both.
February 9, 2006 23:16 - World Cup Internet Karaoke competition
POMPEY FANS SONG FEATURES IN WORLDS FIRST INTERNET KARAOKE COMPETITION
With pictures
English football fans can pitch their singing skills against rivals in other countries in the run up to the World Cup with
the launch of the first ever internet karaoke competition.
All they need is a microphone plugged into a computer to sing-a-long to Lovely Football a World Cup anthem for the
terraces written to encourage fans around the world to celebrate football at the most famous tournament on earth.
Lifelong Pompey fan Mark Chalmers is the advertising guru behind the song. Some of his lyrics might even seem familiar.
They include:
Were all one team, youll never walk alone
For football is coming home
Its coming home.
Mark, wrote the song after his company StrawberryFrog, an advertising agency with offices in Amsterdam and New York, was
asked to come up with an inspiring song by Japanese sports shoe makers Onitsuka Tiger who have produced an everyday version
of their famous boots from 1972 which revolutionised football with its direct injection technology making them more durable
and stable.
My own knowledge of various football songs meant I wanted to create something that can really be belted out on the
terraces. I took some inspiration from the frenzy that engulfed the last World Cup in Japan and Korea. The fans were so
enthusiastic, said Mark, StrawberryFrog Creative Director who comes originally from London and now works in Amsterdam. I hope
it gets people talking and laughing. It is a celebration of the great game of football, he added.
The very latest Flash technology has been used to allow fans to go on the web and sing their version of the song which is
immediately recorded by the website. The website technology listens to the accuracy of the singers lyrics, tone, volume and
key before allocating them a score. The top five highest scores on 31st March will be declared the winners and receive a pair
of limited edition silver Injector DXs which are set to become one of the collectables of the World Cup.
Fans can even substitute the name of their country and their favourite player. Instead of singing the words:
Onitsuka,
Lovely football,
Onitsuka,
Lovely green pitch.
They can insert:
David Beckham,
Lovely Football,
David Beckham,
Lovely green pitch.
Note to editors: Lovely Football can played by going to www.onitsukatiger.com and click on Singalong. It was commissioned
by the company from international advertising agency StrawberryFrog to promote their new Injector DX, a fashion shoe based on
their revolutionary football boot from 1972. Its shoes have been part of every Olympic games since 1951 and worn by famous
athletes. When they were worn by the Japanese football team in the Tokyo and Mexico Olympics in the 1960s they helped
kick-start a football frenzy in the country that has never gone away. Their fashion designs are based on the companys
sporting tradition.
www.onitsukatiger.com
Use the link below to access the competition then click on competition to start playing
http://www.onitsukatiger.com/lovelyfootball/index.html
For further press information, interviews with Mark Chalmers, Stills Photographs, etc please contact Ray Clancy, Gotcha!
Press and Publicity Ltd on 01594 510532 or 07802 408266
February 19, 2006 20:51 - Karaoke Kare Makes New Years Eve Debut
They couldn't go out for New Year's Eve revelry or even stay in their comfortable homes just to relax and watch the ball drop
at Times Square, but patients in the First Floor Rehab Unit of North Shore Hospital at Glen Cove enjoyed Broadway show and
film tunes, Italian songs, and the music of many popular singers, including Frank Sinatra and Bette Midler, when Karaoke Kare
presented its debut karaoke show there on New Year's Eve.
"We love to sing karaoke all year long and want to bring the same joy it gives us to people who might need their spirits
lifted," said Karaoke Kare Executive Director Sophia Niarchos. "We debuted on New Year's Eve but plan to sing and give others
the chance to sing throughout the year at such locales as hospitals, nursing homes, foster care homes, orphanages and
homeless shelters."
Ms. Niarchos founded Karaoke Kare out of her participation in Landmark Education's Self-Expression and Leadership Program
(SELP), which calls for participants to work on a community project with the idea of contributing something meaningful to the
community, extending invitations to others to take on leadership roles as well so that the project can live on in the
community even if the founder is no longer active with it.
"It was important to me not only to entertain patients at holiday time but to give them the opportunity to sing from their
hearts as well and to build an ongoing community effort that had people from many different walks of life (administrators,
volunteers, patients, visitors and singers) working together for the common good.
"The organization was created and the event organized in less than ten days, after Linda Gendell, my project coach,
suggested I think of another project when the first one I initiated wasn't going anywhere. When she asked me what I was
passionate about, the answer was easy: music and singing. From that moment on, everything fell into place miraculously.
"Ellen Fasulo, a friend of mine who was in the hospital the last two and a half weeks for knee replacement surgery and
rehabilitation, took on a leadership role. Despite her physical condition, she persisted on the phones, asking the hospital's
administration to approve the show to get it off the ground. She then linked with the hospital's auxiliary and the head nurse
on the floor and received their support as well as the help of nurses' aides and others who helped transport patients to the
unit dining area for the show. She also used every opportunity in physical and recreational therapy to invite fellow
patients. I was so impressed with her determination to make this happen. After all, she had suffered a mild stroke a few
years ago, had just had knee replacement surgery on her "good" leg and was in unbearable pain whenever her medication wore
off."
The night of the performance, Vincent Franco, a resident of Seaford who also is passionate about karaoke and loves to sing
the songs of such great talents as Frank Sinatra, Englebert Humperdinck, The Platters and David Lee Roth, served as the
karaoke jockey and emcee, provided the karaoke equipment, and sang a few songs, including "Summer Wind" and "I'm Just a
Gigolo." He was joined by his wife Beverly for a lively rendition of "All I Have to do is Dream," which brought Mrs. Franco
into the audience for some up-close and personal serenading.
Leo Lozito, a resident of Glen Head and long-time member of the Long Island Opera Company, which is no longer performing,
also sang with the group. He offered "O Sole Mio" and "Mama" in Italian, "Some Enchanted Evening," and joined Mrs. Niarchos
in a Phantom of the Opera duet, "All I Ask of You." On her own, Mrs. Niarchos, a resident of Upper Brookville, sang "The
Rose" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
The event became even more exciting when three young karaoke fans, who were visiting their grandmother in the hospital,
participated with a few of their own favorite songs ("Doo Wa Diddy Diddy" and "These Boots are Made for Walkin" among
them!).
"It was such a joy to see young people singing old favorites, laughing and having a good time. It was contagious to the
patients, and many of them were smiling from ear to ear!" said Mrs. Niarchos. "I know that music can be uplifting and
healing; I only wish we could sing to patients all day long!"
Greenvale resident and Glen Cove Hospital patient Olimpia Derasmo, the grandmother of karaoke singers Dominick Campagno of
Mineola and his cousins Olivia Dominique and Antonio Brudente of Greenvale was grateful for the show. "It was beautiful that
these singers donated their time on New Year's Eve to make us all smile. I don't think there would be many people who would
do something like that," she said. "God bless them."
Mrs. Niarchos said singers in Suffolk County and New York City, as well as a KJ as far away as New Jersey, have already
expressed interest in participating in Karaoke Kare, and she expects the organization to continue to grow nationally and
internationally.
"We would love to hear from anyone who would like to join the growing Karaoke Kare network as a KJ or singer, or who wants
singers from Karaoke Kare to perform at their institution," she said. "They should contact Leo Lozito via e-mail at
leolozito@karaokekare.com or, if e-mail isn't available, at 516-671-7432 and leave their name, phone number, whether they're
a KJ, singer or institution representative, their availability (days, nights, weekdays, weekends) and the geographical area
in which they would like to participate."
February 19, 2006 20:52 - Vietnam bans alcohol in karaoke bars
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Karaoke bars in Vietnam will no longer be allowed to sell or have alcohol on their premises as part of
the country's continued campaign against so-called 'social evils,' a government official said Friday.
Under a decree that took effect Thursday, karaoke bars, along with discotheques, will also be required to close down at
midnight, said Le Anh Tuyen, director of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Culture and Information.
"The decree will definitely help reduce negative activities in karaoke bars and discotheques," he said.
Karaoke establishments and discos frequently facilitate prostitution and drug usage.
Friday's Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper quoted Phan An Sa, chief inspector at the Ministry of Culture and Information
as saying authorities have discovered 600 people using the drug ecstasy and 60 women offering striptease dances to customers
at karaoke bars and discos over the past nine months.
Karaoke was introduced into Vietnam in the late 1980s and mushroomed in the late 1990s, with more than 10,000
establishments licensed to operate in the country, Tuyen said.
|
