Karaoke

Though the owners of Johnny Rad's have pledged to resume the long-lost karaoke at Kelly's Tavern, mostly likely it will never be the same. There's an odd attraction to singing awful covers of guilty pleasures in dingy dive bars. With that in mind, here are three low key Baltimore bars with karaoke on a regular basis. Walt's Inn Not too far down the road from Johnny Rad's, Walt's Inn (3201 O'Donnell St.; 410-327-1495) is a small Canton corner bar just off the square that gets crammed tight on Friday and Saturday nights.

Ed Reed had plenty of Christmas spirit this year, judging by a video of him singing “Silent Night” that was posted this month. The clip was reportedly made Dec. 2, during a karaoke party just hours after the Ravens were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-20. The video shows the Ravens safety and likely NFL Hall-of-Famer dressed in a three-piece suit and showing off a sometimes-shaky falsetto. Among the pack of fellow singers is tackle Bryant McKinnie, providing backup, moral support and a giant, striped cardigan.  Clearly, both the Ravens players and everyone else in the bar, identified as Supano's Steakhouse downtown (“Supano's knows how to throw a party,” one poster comments unnecessarily)

So you want to try karaoke but you're too embarrassed to do it in public. Or maybe you've tried in bars, but some lounge lizard is always hogging the microphone. Here are a few tips to get you started. First, karaoke isn't an aristocratic activity - there are plenty of home machines priced at around $200. Although the technology behind karaoke players is more complicated than standard audio, a home machine is easy to set up and use. A karaoke CDG (Compact Disc with Graphics) is a specially-formatted music CD which contains graphics that are timed to display on a TV or monitor through a "sync track" on the disc.

Unlike seasoned musicians, NFL players don't have much experiencing working a stage - they tend to get a standing ovation just for walking into a room (or a stadium). So the Tuesday night Gridiron Singoff at Rams Head Live, featuring several Baltimore Ravens, was less of a polished musical revue than simply a chance for fans to be in the same building as a few home-team players in the middle of a very exciting season. Running back Ray Rice was the host of the event, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 16th.

JOEY P remembers the first time he tried it, how it made him feel, the warm rush that enveloped him long into the night. It was at a bar in Cockeysville 12 years ago. Someone said: "You oughta try it, man." Nah, that stuff's not for me, Joey P said. Maybe someone else called him a chicken, although he can't be certain of that. Anyway, he finally swallowed his fear and tried it. Man, it was everything they said it was. Pretty soon, he couldn't get enough of it. He was doing it two, three times a week.

Frazier's on the Avenue wasn't ready for my falsetto. To be honest, I wasn't ready to unleash my full vocal onslaught at the bar's famous karaoke night, either. My buddies Evan and Jeremy and I went a couple of weeks ago with the best intentions. Even so, Evan and I ended up making fools out of ourselves. Frazier's has hosted karaoke every Tuesday night for several years now. Over time, it has built up a reputation as one of the city's best spots for self-inflicted embarrassment. The bar, which occupies two adjacent buildings, is split into two sections.

Taneytown Police Chief Melvin Diggs will perform karaoke at a benefit for the Maryland Special Olympics from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Post 120, 9 Broad St., Taneytown.The second annual fund-raiser features singing, dancing, food and raffles.Admission is a donation to the Special Olympics.Information: 410-751-1150.FiresWestminster: A Taneytown resident told police that someone broke into her business at Carroll Plaza and stole $150 Thursday.Reese: An employee of Bell Atlantic in Woodlawn told police that someone stole a pay telephone from the vacant carnival grounds in the 1700 block of Baltimore Blvd.

LONDON -- Yes, Elvis lives. And soon he may be singing your song.Ken Lomax of the University of Cambridge has developed a way to reproduce the singing and speaking styles of performers, living and dead. So far, Lomax has generated voice "templates" for opera stars Maria Callas and Kiri Te Kanawa -- and the king of rock 'n' roll.Lomax's "voice morpher" builds a template of a performer's voice from recordings. It captures features of the performer's distinctive singing style, such as how the words of a song are pronounced, the tone of the voice and the characteristic timing of certain phrases.

Pablo Retes is a 47-year-old police instructor in Nayarit, Mexico. Anne Hiscock, 44, is a Web site administrator a half a world away in Tasmania. But on any given day, they may be crooning directly to each other - and to a worldwide cyber-karaoke audience of 50,000 would-be pop singers. "When I sing an Elvis tune, the world's out there listening," says Retes, one of a growing number of karaoke fans letting loose on the Internet. "I never sing in bars. Just on the Web." Adds Hiscock: "It's wonderful.

By day, No. 6 in the karaoke contest doesn't get much feedback from her boss.Almost certainly, she doesn't hear "Awesome!" or "You were so good."But No. 6, Tiffany, is bombarded with such accolades as she comes off the stage at a restaurant in Seattle on a recent work night. She was terrific, her mates tell her. Too bad she doesn't win the singing contest, but she basks in the praise.The need for a moment in the spotlight is what's given The International Karaoke Intelligence (TIKI) its galloping circulation since it started 18 months ago in Seattle, one of the first if not the first newspaper in the country devoted to karaoke.

So that's it, then. No more Superfresh. The grocery store at 1020 W. 41st St. closed its doors July 6 and is awaiting a revamp and takeover by its new owner, Mrs. Greene's Natural Grocery.. The grocery store at 1020 W. 41st St. closed its doors July 6 and is awaiting a revamp and takeover by its new owner, Mrs. Greene's Natural Grocery. Depending on whom you talk to, this is either a welcome change or a very upsetting disruption. I've been unable to get a comment from the new owners about when they'll be opening, what kind of grocery store it will be, and whether the Superfresh employees will be rehired, among other questions.

Though the owners of Johnny Rad's have pledged to resume the long-lost karaoke at Kelly's Tavern, mostly likely it will never be the same. There's an odd attraction to singing awful covers of guilty pleasures in dingy dive bars. With that in mind, here are three low key Baltimore bars with karaoke on a regular basis. Walt's Inn Not too far down the road from Johnny Rad's, Walt's Inn (3201 O'Donnell St.; 410-327-1495) is a small Canton corner bar just off the square that gets crammed tight on Friday and Saturday nights.

They have grabbed folks off the streets of Fells Point at dawn, bribed them with free breakfast and put them on the air live — hoping they could sing. They have sweet-talked crew members of the NBC series "Homicide: Life on the Street" into leaving their early-morning network shoot to come over and do a little karaoke at the last minute. And they have gone live with a family of ducks squatting in the middle of their "set" refusing to move. Just another and another and another Manic Monday — the results of an off-the-wall idea sounded 13 years ago in the WJZ newsroom that is now must-be-there TV for thousands of Baltimore residents despite the early hour.

Anne Arundel County Fair Junior Board's annual "Teen Dance" for ages 12-16 will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds, 1450 Generals Highway, Crownsville. There will also be karaoke, food and sodas. Admission is $5. Information: 410-271-4358 or aacountyfair.org.

Harford Road has long been home to a bevy of colorful bars. But in recent years, gentrification has left its mark on the two-mile stretch from Baltimore's Hamilton/Lauraville neighborhood to Parkville. This mix of newer, high-end watering holes and bizarre hometown bars makes Harford Road a prime destination for a bar crawl, where a group of adventurous drinkers hits up several spots in one night. Since each bar is one stop on a larger trek, the trick is to have a drink, then move on to the next destination.

Derrick Mason can carry a football much better than he can carry a tune. But on Tuesday, the Ravens veteran wide receiver did his best to serenade seniors at the Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville. Flanked by Ravens backup quarterback John Beck, tight end Edgar Jones and practice squad wide receiver Justin Harper, Mason delighted a crowd of about 75 guests with a lively karaoke show, the second time that he has chosen the community center for an unconventional way to connect with Ravens fans.

Ocean City's deck parties and bikini contests still draw large, fun-loving crowds, but one of the newest rages at the beach this summer is karaoke.Karaoke is the Japanese music system that allows would-be singers -- and those who shouldn't sing -- to belt out popular songs, usually in front of an audience. You hear the music from the original song but not the artist."Everyone wants to try and sing and be a star for five minutes," says Brian Storman, manager of the Commander's Showcase Cafe.

Derrick Mason can carry a football much better than he can carry a tune. But on Tuesday, the Ravens veteran wide receiver did his best to serenade seniors at the Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville. Flanked by Ravens backup quarterback John Beck, tight end Edgar Jones and practice squad wide receiver Justin Harper, Mason delighted a crowd of about 75 guests with a lively karaoke show, the second time that he has chosen the community center for an unconventional way to connect with Ravens fans.

Say this much for Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III: He's willing to deliver on a bet. Bealefeld appeared on radio station 98 Rock on Tuesday morning to sing a karaoke version of Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman," honoring an agreement he made with the mayor's office after his all-male police team lost a marathon relay Saturday to an all-women's team headed by an official from City Hall. "Suddenly, every drug dealer in town is petrified," cracked host Mickey Cucchiella after Bealefeld cruised through his droll rendition of the song.

FRIDAY KARAOKE AT THE SENATOR: This is your big chance to perform in the spotlight on a historic stage. The Senator, 5904 York Road, offers touch-screen song selection of more than 65,000 songs accompanied by the theater's impressive sound system. Video of the performances will also be projected live on the screen. Doors open at 7 p.m. Karaoke starts at 8 p.m. The karaoke contest is free and culminates in costume karaoke on Oct. 30. Call 410-435-8338 or go to senator.com. TEQUILA TASTING: The opportunity to taste a brand-new tequila doesn't come along every day, which is why you should get to Morton's the Steakhouse, 300 S. Charles St., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Don Roberto Tequila Experience includes samplings of three Don Roberto cocktails, three tequilas and several of Morton's hors d'oeuvres.