MANSFIELD — A couple of Thursdays ago I found myself in The Den, an old-school dive bar on Lexington Avenue, trying to steady my nerves before getting up to sing in front of the crowd.
The night hadn’t started well as I’d accidentally sat on a stranger’s phone when I arrived. I didn’t notice, and it took the loud ring cycles of three incoming calls for me to figure out what was going on. (“Who’s bloody phone is that?” I’d been muttering. “It literally sounds like it’s coming from underneath me.”)
I was there for the karaoke. Specifically (although he didn’t know it yet) I was tailing the Karaoke Man himself, Mr. Sam Romagnoli – something of a legend in these parts and, on any given week, host of several lively karaoke nights all over town.
My personal karaoke track record was spotty, to say the least. I first tried it in England while visiting a friend in Oxford, and unwisely chose to sing ‘Top of the World’ by the Carpenters – a song perhaps not best suited to my unorthodox singing style.
I’d hoped the effect would at least be humorous. It was not. The large student crowd was confused and angry, and I was lucky not to be physically attacked as I left the stage.
So it was with a sense of unease that I flipped through the song book at The Den. Eventually I settled on the rap song ‘It Takes Two’ By Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock and asked Sam to put me on the list.
Of course the question for me with rap is, do I use my natural British accent or do I attempt an American one? As I walked to the mike and the music began playing, I was still undecided. In the split-second before my cue I decided to go with the Queen’s English, and looking the crowd in the eye I declared firmly “I want to rock right now, I’m Rob Base and I came to get down …”
Well, I think I pulled it off pretty well. Over the nights to come I would perform a total of seven songs, and although it got easier every time, this was probably my personal best. (See footnote for the full list.) Rapping aside, is it easier to sing a song with a strong accent?
I think so, and maybe this is why so many choose to sing country songs.
So what did we have here at The Den? A vibrant, mixed crowd: young, old, black, white, and when it comes to singing, good and bad. All kinds of music, everyone’s allowed in the mix on stage, and no-one gets short shrift.
We also had some truly great performances that had the crowd up and dancing. It was a party atmosphere and a lot of fun for a Thursday night.
The following evening I went to Sam’s Friday night karaoke gig at the 4th St Bar. Next to the old Westinghouse site, it’s a great, hip little bar that’s not far from downtown and well worth a visit.
It was Fourth of July weekend and according to some of the folks I spoke to, a smaller crowd than usual, but there was still plenty of talent on display. I tried out a few more songs, including the Smokey & the Bandit theme ‘East Bound and Down’ which I was particularly pleased with. The country accent really does work wonders.
Sam recognized me from the night before. When things got quieter at the end of the evening, I introduced myself and told him I wanted to see one more of his nights at another location, and maybe hear a bit of his story.
“Come and see me at the China Club,” he suggested. “It’s out on Park Avenue West opposite the Kroger, I’m there every Saturday night.”
A week later I arrived at the China Club in good time so I could grab Sam for a chat. I took a seat at the bar, ordered a beer and a bowl of beef and rice, and gave him a wave. After getting his equipment set up he sat down and took me back to when it all began.
Sam started his karaoke nights here in Mansfield in 1991, and has been part of the local live music scene for even longer. I asked him if he was a Mansfield native.
“No, I’m from West Virginia,” he told me. “My first introduction to Mansfield came in the mid-70s when my car hit a deer as I was passing through town. I stayed while it was fixed up. I met musicians here, went on the road with them … somehow by 1979 I was living here.
“I don’t know, there’s something about this place,” he chuckled, “so many people leave, but they always come back!”
So were there many places doing karaoke nights back when he started?
“No, but there were some; I remember there was a place called Pickles (in Lucas) that had a popular night. I started at the Holiday Inn (downtown Mansfield) when it had a bar called Murphy’s. Oh, we used to pack that place!”
It wasn’t long before Sam went mobile and started hosting different nights around the area.
“In the early days it was a lot of equipment to move around,” he explained. “All the songs were on laser disc. $120 for a disc with 28 songs, so it was more expensive to build up a collection. Back then I had a few hundred songs for singers to choose from. Now everything’s on a hard drive and I have over 100,000 titles.
“In fact, even if I don’t have something I can often download it by the next time that person comes up to sing.”
I told Sam I was impressed by the quality of some of the singing I’d heard, and asked if the talent had been a bit more raw back in the early days.
“No, not really,” he answered. “The good quality singers have always been there. I mean, they’ve changed – new ones came along as the original ones got older – but there’s been a cycle of talented people from the beginning.”
One thing that’s changed, Sam told me, has been the attitude of fellow musicians.
“In the beginning a lot of them were less than happy with what I was doing. Their attitude was: ‘Well, Sam needs to decide if he’s going to do karaoke or music.’
“That stigma has passed, and in fact I often get a lot of musicians come out to sing and play along.”
Sam often plays keyboards alongside his karaoke singers, although he’s careful to complement rather than overshadow them. He has a few other rules to keep things fair, too.
“I won’t allow a repeat of a song over the course of an evening,” he told me. “I don’t want someone saying ‘I can do a better job of that’ and trying to top someone else, to make them feel bad. Because that person’s just given up a part of their soul.
“And good or bad, I give them all a song in rotation. Everyone gets an equal share and my regulars know that. I don’t bump anybody for anybody.”
It was time to get the show started.
“Look out for Ron tonight,” Sam told me as he made his way over to his karaoke deck. “He has lung problems and carries his own oxygen … and he’s amazing. The first time he came and sang, he did Led Zep and the crowd went crazy, they carried him off like a football player!”
Sam hosts karaoke nights on Thursdays at the Den, 282 Lexington Ave, Mansfield, on Friday nights at the 4th St Bar, 296 E 4th St, Mansfield, and on Saturday nights at China Club, 1217 Park Avenue West, Mansfield. The singing usually starts at about 9 p.m.
Russell’s Karaoke Performance List
THE DEN – ‘It Takes Two’ by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, ‘Rabbit’ by Chas & Dave.
4TH ST BAR – ‘East Bound & Down’ by Jerry Reed, ‘Parklife’ by Blur, ‘She’s Electric’ by Oasis.
CHINA CLUB – ‘Bring The Noise’ by Public Enemy, ‘Baggy Trousers’ by Madness.
As an owner of The Den, I had hired Sam to continue with karaoke at our bar after having some no shows from a previous provider. Sam had a good following, and we had nice crowds, and pretty good singers every Thursday night. Enjoying it myself, I too became part of the singing habit with a friend of mine, and as with others, became part of the Thursday singing crowd. Good fun!