may 19, 2003
sid & buddy karaoke
My friends Matt Lesser and Matt Lavin (aka - "Sid and Buddy") started throwing a kick-ass Monday night karaoke party just a few blocks from my house. They took the basement of the Nolita Tavern and turned it into a custom karaoke room! If you combine the fact that I'm a karaoke ham with the fact that I rarely leave a 15 block radius of my apartment, that adds up to me pretty much being there most Monday nights from 12-4am. (These pictures are taken from 5 different Monday nights that I was there. Yeah, I know. "Hi, my name is Brian and I have a karaoke problem.")
Matt Lesser The Hairdresser (aka "Sid") and Matt Levine (aka "Buddy).
Oh, did I forget to mention that they have a giant bag of costumes and (if you want) you can dress up as whoever you're singing a song by? Er, or as in this case, you can dress up in random, white jumpsuits. (Sorry guys, I forgot who you're supposed to be here!)
But oh! This is and easy one! As Axl and Slash...
Matt dressed up as Moby...
Matt and Dan as the White Stripes...
...and my personal fave, Double Elton Johns!
Also a steadfast fixture in the karaoke community, ladies and gents I present to you: Herman the Cowboy Jew!
Herman in action (most likely kicking his signature rendition of Britney Spears' "Hit Me, Baby [One More Time]") with Sid and Buddy on backup.
Duet with a stranger.
Usually as the night gets going, impromptu dance parties break out...
...complete with shirtless-man action! (Now that's a par-tay!)
Look! Sometimes there's even the occasional celebrity. That's Peter Reigert (he played "Boon" in Animal House, remember), up on stage to sing "Shout." (He was there because it was the wrap-party for a movie he'd just finished directing. Beverly D'Angelo [aka - Ellen Griswold *swoon*] was in the movie too and I was hoping that I'd get to dedicate a karaoke jam just for her, but she was a no-show. Bah.)
On Monday, May 19th at 12:14am history was made as Sarah Lewitinn (of "Ultragrrrl" fame) finally drank enough to climb up on stage and pop her sweet, virgin karaoke cherry! She was a lil' shy at first...
...but soon enough she was rocking her hips and belting out with the best of them!
You know what baby's got...
..."Baby's Got Back!"
She's got eyes of the bluest skies...
Sweet, floor-writing, air-guitar action.
Whoops! Herman Did it Again! He played with your heart! (Whatever ladies, don't buy it. He's! Not! That! Innocent!)
Me, Grant and Herman.
Grant freestyles to the BeeGee's classic, "You Should Be Dancin'" (with Buddy on falsetto backup pipes).
Matt and Grant.
Wait, what's that I gotta have again?
Oh, that's right. Faith. I gotta have faith.
In a fantastically bizarre twist, if it's your birthday, you get to spank Sid and Buddy.
Yo, you can diss and say that karaoke's gay and all. But you clearly have no idea what you're talking about because karaoke makes chicks totally hot and then they want to do you.
What, you don't believe me? See those two smoking hot, blonde hula girls? Yeah, that's right! They got so hot and bothered by my karaoke jam that right after i was done singing they took me in the bathroom and I totally got down with both of them! So who's gay now, huh? Huh?
Herman in action.
Matt in, um, action.
Short People Got Big Reasons to Smile.
And for the big finale of the night, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody!"
Complete with mad Twister scramble during the instrumental break...
Bwa-haha.
And I saved the best for last...check out the ghetto pyrotechnics! That's right, they took sparklers and scotch-taped them to the ceiling for the big "Wanted Dead or Alive" Bon Jovi hair-metal finale!