WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

[The following is from the Toledo City Paper, January 24, 2007]

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Best Karaoke Song List: Premiere Karaoke, LLC

Karaoke has come a long way since it first hit the United States from Japan. No longer is it simply a tipsy uncle singing "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang at your wedding. For many people, it's a weekly tradition, a chance to shine and impress a crowded room while celebrating a huge spectrum of music. TCP asked Doug Richardson about the karaoke empire he's built with Micki Greenburg to get some insight into what made Premiere Karaoke our readers' choice for Best Karaoke Song List.

TCP: How long has Premiere Karaoke been around?

DR: To us it doesn't seem that long, but Premiere Karaoke will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this October. We got our "start" at Buster Brown's Lounge in Maumee. Our second year there, Buster Brown's won "Best Karaoke Bar" in the City Paper's ‘Best Of Toledo’ poll, and since then, several of the clubs that we do, or did at that time, have been honored with that award (Jalapenos, JaK's Press Box, and Mutz; Mutz & Bier Stube were winner and runner-up last year, respectively).

TCP: What are some of the places that Premiere services?

DR: We currently provide karaoke services to the following clubs (in alphabetical order): Bier Stube, Buster Brown's, Jalapenos, Mutz, Old Roadhouse, Southwyck Lounge and T-Zers Sports Bar. And yes, we have actually done karaoke wedding receptions.

TCP: What is your favorite thing about being in the karaoke business?

DR: This is a difficult question for me to answer. Other than my love of music (I'm one of those people for whom the music drowns out the voices in my head), I think we enjoy the ability to interact with people of all ages — we've had singers ranging in age from six to over 60. I personally like designing and building the sound systems that we use, and (this may sound crazy) I get a rush from fixing them when they malfunction ... Yeah, that's right, I'm a geek! Fortunately, we rarely have any major problems at the shows.

TCP: What sets Premiere apart from other karaoke companies?

DR: There's really no big secret on how to be sucessful in the karaoke business. Just like any other business, you provide your customers a high quality product when they want it. Aside from our vast song selection and unequaled sound systems (everyone in the business claims to have that), we've recently integrated music videos, together with the karaoke and music tracks, to create a complete entertainment experience. Keeping a fair karaoke rotation is also key. We've also been very fortunate to find some very good karaoke hosts to run our shows over the years.

TCP: Have you noticed any trends (in people's music choices, etc.)?

DR: College kids love singing their grandparents' songs.
Only white boys sing rap music.
If a person comes up to the karaoke host towards the end of the show, and tells him to put his friend up to sing next, it's because either
he's going to get this party started, or
he's gonna Rock This Bar
There's a 99.9999% chance the singer's going to suck!

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Let me just add that I am proud to be one of those hosts, and I am honored to be part of Doug & Micki's empire. Congrats you guys! And thanks to everyone who voted for us!